Suspense

Found this an enjoyable read. It was well written with a well thought out story line. The reason for only 3 stars is the it was mundane and did not really pull me into the story. If you have enjoyed previous Raymond Khoury books you will enjoy this one but it just doesn't have the edge some of his better novels do. ( )

Some of it was a little hard to follow, but mostly the same action as the previous titles. ( )

I was searching for a novel to read for my June selection for the Year of the Asian reading challenge; my original pick ended up in the did-not-finish pile. Thankfully, I stumbled over the Raymond Khoury thriller Rasputin’s Shadow on the shelves of my local library. Rasputin and his influence in the Russian revolution has always interested me, so the title grabbed my eye. I didn’t know this was number four in a series. Even so, it works fine as a standalone, so don’t feel that you must read books #1-3 before this one.

What I liked:

1. The thrills

Khoury excels at ratcheting up the tension. He seems to know exactly when to end each scene or chapter: the point of highest tension. He raises the stakes. And raises them . . . and raises them . . . and raises them even more.

2. Sean Reilly’s voice

Not his physical voice, obviously. But the way he narrates his sections of the story is appealing. At turns he’s wry, frustrated, angry, and horrified. He never loses his humanity or empathy for others, even when dealing with the horrors of his job.

There’s not much narrative about his family, which is unfortunate as I would’ve liked to have seen him interact with his lover, Tess, and her daughter and his son. People who’ve read the previous novels by Raymond Khoury might be disappointed at this; apparently his family (especially Tess) played a larger role in previous books. It didn’t matter as much to me. I would’ve liked more, but what I saw showed Reilly’s tender side.

3. The historical sections and Sokolov’s background

Sokolov’s background is heart-rending, grim, and fascinating. When as a child he finds a decades’ old journal of his grandfather, the contents–which we read throughout the book–grab his mind and light his imagination. Khoury notes in the afterward that everything in the historical sections of the book actually happened. (He fabricated the journal-writer, though.) Rasputin was one nasty guy. The title is apt. Rasputin’s shadow: he certainly cast a long shadow over the Russian people.

Sokolov has a horrible background. He’s not entirely sympathetic. Yet he loves “his Daphne” and is completely devoted to her safety.

What I didn’t like

For a story that constantly raised the stakes, the actual climax fell flat to me. I also felt that several characters could’ve been better developed: Larisa, in particular, didn’t feel as real or deep as she could’ve been; she felt like "generic female spy with gorgeous body." (Why must ALL fictional female spies have terrific bodies?!) That’s unfortunate, as she’s a vital part of the story.

My verdict? Four stars. It was good, enjoyable, and intriguing. But I felt like something was lacking. ( )

Story loosely connected to Rasputin. As a mystery, fairly well paced, with some diversion into Russian history. ( )