January 27, 2012 / Leslie

Review – Audiobook: The Devil’s Elixir by Raymond Khoury

The Devil’s Elixir (Templar #3)
by Raymond Khoury
Read by: Richard Ferrone

Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: December 22, 2011
Format: Audio CD | 12 hours
Rating: 4 of 5

I didn’t realize that The Devil’s Elixir was book three in the Templar series, probably because it didn’t have ‘templar’ in the title like the previous two books. The only connection it seems to have to the first two are the same main characters, FBI agent Sean Reilly and his girlfriend Tess Chaykin. It is not necessary to have read the first two books to enjoy this novel. It works well as a stand alone. The author sets the stage and gives us the necessary background information.

The story opens with a few brief vignettes, one in 1700s Mexico, and the second, a drug bust Sean was a part of 5 years ago. Eventually we will understand the connection to these events. Fast forward to the present and Sean had just received a phone call from an old girlfriend. Someone has broken into her home. She escaped with her young son but knows they are still after her and she doesn’t know why. Events quickly escalate and we encounter drug dealers, nasty bad guys and some violence.

Although I read a fair amount of crime novels and had heard of the previous Templer books, this was the first book I’ve read by Raymond Khoury. What I found was an entertaining, action-packed thriller with complex interesting characters. It was fast-paced with a lot of plot twists, including one towards the end of the story that I didn’t see coming. Always more enjoyable when I am unable to accurately predict the outcome.

Richard Ferrone demonstrates what a versatile narrator he is. He does a great job with the voice of Sean Reilly. I had no trouble imagining him as a hardened FBI Agent who thought he’d seen it all. His voices for the other characters were distinct and the female and child characters were very good. (That is one of my annoyances in audio, when the narrator cannot vocalize a believable version of the opposite sex.)

Fans of crime fiction will enjoy this one and anyone new to the genre or the author will find this is a good place to jump in with a likeable main character and exciting plot.