Tag: Vince Flynn

Book Reviews

Executive Power by Vince Flynn

1 New York Times bestselling author of American Assassin—now a major motion picture

I have yet to find a Mitch Rapp story I wanted to put down!

Bestselling author Vince Flynn—“the best pure adrenaline-charged action writer out there today” (The Providence Journal)—puts Mitch Rapp in the crossfire as America’s enemies tighten their grip.

Returning from a covert mission, Mitch Rapp was publicly hailed by the president for his role in the fight against terrorism. After years of working in the shadows, Rapp was caught in the media spotlight—and marked for death by virtually every terrorist in the world. Now a CIA advisor, Rapp, is ready to battle terror far from the front lines. But when a Navy SEAL team in the Philippines is ambushed, all evidence points to a leak within the US State Department. And a greater threat lurks—a ruthless assassin working for the most powerful men in the Middle East, who are bent on igniting a world war. With the world watching, Rapp must hold back the flames of Armageddon…

My thoughts …

Mitch Rapp has now been promoted and given a desk job. However, he very unhappy in this new position. While he misses being in the field, his new bride worries about losing her new husband if he continues his former “wet work,” won’t have it any other way. However, when Mitch develops a plan to free the American hostages from the Muslim terrorists in the Philippines, he can’t resist the opportunity to take a lead role. Unfortunately, he pays a stiff price for his transgression.

Once the hostage rescue is over, Mitch moves on to tracking down an unusual and particularly shrewd lone-wolf Palestinian terrorist named David

David, a Palestinian, twists his way throughout the rest of this intriguing narrative. With the financial backing of a wealthy rogue Saudi prince playboy who sails around the world on his luxurious mega-yacht, David is scheming to force Israel to the peace table by staging terror acts that Israel will be blamed for. His plan seems to be working when Mossad’s hard-liner spy chief takes the bait on the first one. As part of his plan, David hopes to eliminate obstacles to real Middle East peace – by killing key players on both sides.

The Vince Flynn “Mitch Rapp” books continually get better. It’s tough to put one down once you’ve started. I am a big fan, and I highly recommend them for action/adventure junkies like me.

Book Reviews

Book Review: American Assassin by Vince Flynn

American Assassin: An exciting read from start to finish!

Mitch Rapp is a trained assassin on a mission. His mission is to rid the world of terrorism one terrorist at a time. Since reading this book, I have learned that the Mitch Rapp series first appeared on bookshelves in 1999 with the release of Transfer of Power and that this book along with Kill Shot are prequels to the earlier books. I really enjoyed this book as an action-packed adventure tale. While certainly not a literary masterpiece, it moves well and keeps the reader interested. There are also some good examples of spy trade-craft as well.

Plenty of Excitement and Action

The story moves like a roller coaster ride, If you are an action junkie, this book will keep your interest. You will not want to put the book down but only to turn to the next page to see what happens next. Past administrations have gone soft on terrorism and their policies have allowed terrorists to really take hold, establish fund raising activities, and indiscriminately attack innocent victims around the world. The new CIA director has had enough, and realizes that they only way to beat terrorism is to eliminate the terrorists and the criminal activities that support them.

The CIA director creates a organization whose job is to recruit and train assassins to work off the grid. This gives the U.S. government “plausible deniability.” Mitch Rapp is one of these assassins. A young man, he was a successful college student and a nationally recognized athlete with a girlfriend who is the love of his life. When she is killed by terrorists who blew up Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, his life ended. He was a man lost. Then something changed. He found a new purpose in life. That was to kill the terrorists responsible for this evil attack.

My Recommendation

This book is not a “great work” in the classic sense. But, readers who enjoy counter-terrorism yarns will love it. I do plan to read the other books in this series as time allows.  For my recommendation, I give it 4 out of 5 stars, because I love stuff like this and I couldn’t put it down. It may not be suitable for young readers due to the violent content.

Oh! And, don’t waste your time on the movie. It did the book no justice at all!

Also, if you have read this book and did enjoy it, you should give Serpents Underfoot a shot. I bet you will enjoy it too!