Book excerpt: Raymond Khoury, the international bestselling author of The Last Templar, is back with another ingenious, fast-paced thriller that straddles present-day NYC and Russia in the early 1900s—the time of the infamous Rasputin and his mysterious rise to power. FBI special agent Sean Reilly is tasked with a delicate case. A Russian diplomat seems to have committed suicide by jumping out of a sixth-floor window in Queens, New York. The apartment’s owners are missing, while a faceless killer known only as Koschey—“the Deathless”—is roaming the city and leaving a trail of death in his wake. Joined by Russian FSB agent Larisa Tchoumitcheva, Reilly’s investigation soon uncovers a deadly, desperate search for a mysterious device whose origins reach back in time to the darkest days of the Cold War and to Imperial Russia. A device that, in the wrong hands, could have a devastating impact on our world. Packed with the twists and suspense, the impeccable historical research, and the present and past story lines that Khoury’s fans have come to expect, Rasputin’s Shadow will keep readers turning pages long into the night.