The Devil's Elixir (Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin Series #3)

by Raymond Khoury

Overview

Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin, the heroes of Raymond Khoury's New York Times bestselling Templar novels, return in an edge-of-your-seat thriller that reaches from the present day back to 1700s Mexico—and beyond…

What if there was a drug, previously lost to history in the jungles of Central America, capable of inducing an experience so momentous—and so shocking—that it might shake the very foundations of Western civilization?

What if powerful forces on both sides of the law launched a ruthless, no-holds-barred pursuit to get their hands on it?

What if FBI agent Sean Reilly and archaeologist Tess Chaykin were the only ones who could stop the unthinkable from happening?

And what if they’re already too late?  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101549100
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/22/2011
Series:	Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin Series , #3
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	528
Sales rank:	131,477
File size:	810 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Raymond Khoury is the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Templar, The Sanctuary, The Sign, The Templar Salvation, The Devil’s Elixir, Rasputin's Shadow, and The End Game. His novels have been translated into more than forty languages and, in the case of The Last Templar, adapted into a comic book and an NBC television miniseries. An acclaimed screenwriter and producer for both television and film, he has also penned several scripts for BBC series such as Spooks and Waking the Dead.

Editorial Reviews

An amazingly powerful drug provides the MacGuffin for Khoury’s exciting thriller with a paranormal twist. Narco kingpin Raoul Navarro (aka El Brujo, the shaman), who for years has been ingesting a medicinal herb known in 18th-century Mexico as the Devil’s Elixir, sees a huge market for the drug if the chemical can be synthesized into a convenient pill form (“It’ll make meth seem as boring as aspirin”). FBI agent Sean Reilly is at home in Mamaroneck, N.Y., when he receives a panicked phone call from ex-girlfriend and former DEA agent Michelle Martinez, who says she’s fled her San Diego home after armed men broke in and shot her boyfriend. Catching the next flight to California, Sean discovers a strange link between Michelle’s four-year-old son and the Devil’s Elixir. Khoury has to work hard to make the drug’s earth-shattering ramifications believable, but fans of the author’s bestselling Templar novels (The Templar Salvation, etc.) will play along. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Devil’s Elixir
 
“The author provides enough contextual backstory for new readers without risking vexing loyal fans. His ample cultural references are fresh, and most should withstand the test of time. History, mystery, suspense, and action—Khoury knows the recipe for a good read.”—Library Journal

“A fine thriller to start the new year with. A sure bet for fans of Steve Berry and James Rollins, too.”—Booklist

From the Publisher

The tenuous domestic tranquility enjoyed by FBI agent Sean Reilly (The Templar Salvation) and archaeologist-turned-author Tess Chaykin is jolted by a blast from Reilly's past. Fleeing a gruesome home invasion, former DEA agent Michelle Martinez calls Reilly, her ex-boyfriend, to protect her and Alex, the son he didn't know they shared. As Michelle's case unfolds into more than a thwarted burglary, the body count rises, and Reilly is suddenly embroiled in a multiagency investigation. Drug kingpin El Brujo (The Sorcerer) pursues Alex, believing him the means of decoding the formula of the most powerful psychotropic drug ever synthesized. Weaponized or distributed, this drug in El Brujo's hands would wreak global havoc. Khoury's screenwriting experience is evident in the easily visualized action scenes, but unlike his previous novels, the prose here lacks elegant phrasing between the punches. VERDICT This time, Khoury's soapbox topics include biker gangs, Mexican drug cartels, veterans' affairs, and the criminalization of drug use, but his key interests in this thriller are ethnobotany, proprietary rights, and the ethics of bioprospecting. For thriller fans, this exciting if sometimes dry lecture is still worth auditing. [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/11.]—Laura A.B. Cifelli, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., FL

Library Journal

Drug cartel overlord El Brujo, The Sorcerer, will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and FBI Agent Sean Reilly stands in his way as a secret shared past reveals itself. Richard Ferrone’s portrayals of main characters Reilly and Tess Chaykin are intense, and his masterful narration maintains the suspense at a fevered pace as the two suddenly find themselves both hunter and hunted. The delivery of the many action scenes will have the listener flinching and ducking to avoid punches. The powerful narcotic that is the “devil’s elixir” may be the focal point of the story, but Ferrone makes the listener understand that the true drug of this novel is adrenaline. F.T. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2012 - AudioFile

Lust for a potent, mind-ripping drug brings only trouble and dead bodies in this fast-paced thriller set primarily in Mexico and Southern California. In 1741 Mexico, a Jesuit priest has an extraordinary experience that may destroy his soul. Over two centuries later in the same country, a covert U.S. drug operation turns sour. Years later in San Diego, a man and woman are murdered, drawing in ex–FBI agent Sean Reilly, the woman's former lover. Reilly has since married. His wife Tess takes the murdered woman's 4-year-old son Alex under her wing as Reilly tries to learn the reason for this crime. Meanwhile, young Alex has drawn a disturbing picture he can't explain, but that couldn't have any connection to the mystery—or could it? Reilly had killed a man in that botched Mexican operation, and he now learns that all the events are connected. Suddenly he is thrown into a situation much bigger than the mortal threat to him and his family. A cartel is after the ancient secret to a mysterious hallucinogen that may have the power to shake the world to its core. The criminals see Reilly as the key to finding it—or is he the person they really want? The novel is full of twists, one of them hard to believe—or is it? Reilly faces a formidable opponent in El Brujo, a vicious beast with interesting means of punishing his enemies, but they are not the only hazard Reilly faces. Luckily, he has critical support from Tess despite a couple of big surprises. What with all the poisons, gunfire and wholesale bloodletting, he needs whatever help he can get. Vivid, energetic scenes ensure that Khoury's tale never falters or bores. It's the sort of novel that could make a colorful movie, but meanwhile, enjoy the book.

Kirkus Reviews