“The Last Man” by Vince Flynn (Simon & Schuster / Atria Books)

The final Mitch Rapp novel

An invaluable CIA asset has gone missing, and with him, secrets that in the wrong hands could prove disastrous. The only question is: Can Mitch Rapp find him first?

Joe Rickman, head of CIA clandestine operations in Afghanistan, has been kidnapped and his four bodyguards executed in cold blood. But Mitch Rapp’s experience and nose for the truth make him wonder if something even more sinister isn’t afoot. Irene Kennedy, director of the CIA, has dispatched him to Afghanistan to find Rickman at all costs.

Rapp, however, isn’t the only one looking for Rickman. The FBI is too, and it quickly becomes apparent that they’re less concerned with finding Rickman than placing the blame on Rapp.

With CIA operations in crisis, Rapp must be as ruthless and deceitful as his enemies if he has any hope of finding Rickman and completing his mission. But with elements within his own government working against both him and American interests, will Rapp be stopped dead before he can succeed?

The Mitch Rapp series is in many ways the one that kick-started my passion for international and espionage thrillers. After reading Transfer of Power, the novel that introduced Rapp as the man who takes back the White House from terrorists, I quickly caught up with the rest of the series, and have read every one since. The Last Man is, sadly, the last novel. Flynn passed away last year, after a long battle with cancer. It’s an awkward ending, however. Thankfully, though, while the novel began shakily, it ended strongly. Long-time fans of the series and characters won’t be disappointed, as this is another fast-paced, gripping international thriller, featuring all of the key series characters.

On “OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN”, “TRANSFER OF POWER” & an Author Appreciation

Director: Antoine Fuqua | Writers: Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt | Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune, Angela Bassett

I finally Watched OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, tonight. I thought it was really good, too. A political Die Hard for the modern age, perhaps? The movie is action-packed, very well-paced (I never got bored, and never felt like the screenplay or movie as a whole was padded with anything that was unnecessary). It is quite brutal, though – but in a “realistic way”, if that makes sense? Gerard Butler (the hero, and a member of the Secret Service) offers a very good portrayal of a hyper-efficient, highly-trained killer (former special ops, etc.). There’s no “flash” to the fight scenes, he doesn’t suddenly break into any wire-work or seamless, stylised martial arts. It’s quite chilling, in its brutal directness. Here’s the extended trailer…

So. Why is there a picture of Vince Flynn’s TRANSFER OF POWER? Well, because there are some startling similarities. Transfer was the first Flynn novel I read, and introduces readers to Mitch Rapp, the CIA’s best operative (translation: assassin). Here’s the synopsis:

What if America’s most powerful leader was also its prime target?

On a busy Washington morning, the stately calm of the White House is shattered as terrorists gain control of the executive mansion, slaughtering dozens of people. The president is evacuated to an underground bunker, but not before nearly one hundred hostages are taken. One man is sent in to take control of the crisis. Mitch Rapp, the CIA’s top counterterrorism operative, determines that the president is not as safe as Washington's power elite had thought. Moving among the corridors of the White House, Rapp makes a chilling discovery that could rock Washington to its core: someone within his own government wants his rescue attempt to fail.

“Kill Shot” by Vince Flynn (Simon & Schuster)

A second novel of Mitch Rapp’s early CIA career

For months, Mitch Rapp has been steadily working his way through a list of men, bullet by bullet. With each kill, the tangled network of monsters responsible for the slaughter of 270 civilians becomes increasingly clear. He is given his next target: a plump Libyan diplomat who is prone to drink and is currently in Paris without a single bodyguard.

Rapp finds him completely unprotected and asleep in his bed. With confidence in his well-honed skills and conviction of the man’s guilt, he easily sends a bullet into the man’s skull. But in the split second it takes the bullet to leave the silenced pistol, everything changes. The door to the hotel room is kicked open and gunfire erupts all around Rapp. In an instant the hunter has become the hunted. Rapp is left wounded and must flee for his life.

I am a huge fan of Vince Flynn’s novels – I’ve read them all except the latest, now. Sadly, the author passed away earlier this year, so there is actually only the one other novel (which I will read A.S.A.P.). Flynn’s novels are action-packed, tightly written, and always a great read. If you’ve never read any of the Mitch Rapp novels (or Term Limits, the set-in-the-same-time prequel of sorts), then I highly recommend that you do. Kill Shot was a little bit different, following on from American Assassin, the first novel set during Rapp’s very early career as a CIA assassin. It’s a very good novel.

“Supreme Justice” by Phillip Margolin (Harper)

Intrigue & Corruption at the Supreme Court

Sarah Woodruff, on death row in Oregon for murdering her lover, John Finley, has appealed her case to the Supreme Court just when a prominent justice resigns, leaving a vacancy.

Then, for no apparent reason, another justice is mysteriously attacked. Dana Cutler – one of the heroes from Margolin’s bestselling Executive Privilege – is quietly called in to investigate. She looks for links between the Woodruff appeal and the ominous incidents in the justices' chambers, which eventually lead her to a shoot-out that took place years ago on a small freighter docked upriver in Shelby, Oregon, containing a dead crew and illegal drugs. The only survivor on board? John Finley.

With the help of Brad Miller and Keith Evans, Dana uncovers a plot by a rogue element in the American intelligence community involving the president's nominee to the Supreme Court, and soon the trio is thrown back into the grips of a deadly, executive danger.

This is the second novel in Margolin’s Washington Trilogy (the first was Executive Privilege), and it continues the series in very fine form. The novel reunites us with Brad Miller and Dana Cutler – the former is now a clerk at the Supreme Court, while Dana continues to work as a private investigator and also some-time reporter for Exposed, the supermarket tabloid our protagonists turned to in their previous novel. Supreme Justice has a couple of great twists and red herrings, as well as political and courtroom intrigue. This is a pretty solid, entertaining and gripping political/legal thriller.

“Mounting Fears” by Stuart Woods (Putnam)

The third President Will Lee, Washington Thriller

President Will Lee is having a rough week. His vice president just died during surgery. Confirmation hearings for the new vice president are under way, but the squeaky-clean governor whom Will has nominated may have a few previously unnoticed skeletons in his closet. And Teddy Fay, the rogue CIA agent last seen in Shoot Him If He Runs, is plotting his revenge on CIA director Kate Rule Lee — the president’s wife.

Plus there are some loose nukes in Pakistan that might just trigger World War III if Will’s diplomatic efforts fall short. It’s up to President Lee — with some help from Holly Barker, Lance Cabot, and a few other Stuart Woods series regulars — to save the world, and the upcoming election.

This is the third novel by Woods that focuses on Will Lee’s presidency (after The Run and Capital Crimes). It maintains the relentless pacing of the first two novels, but it unfortunately doesn’t address some of the issues I found with the previous books in the series – in fact, the flaws are more pronounced. Entertaining, but thin and ultimately unsatisfying.

[There are spoilers in this review – they were unavoidable, due to my chagrin at how the story played out.]

“American Assassin”, by Vince Flynn (Simon & Schuster)

What type of man is willing to kill for his country, without putting on a uniform? The education and evolution of a CIA Assassin

With tensions simmering in the Middle East, CIA Director Irene Kennedy is instructed to form a new group of clandestine operatives – men who work under the radar and do not exist. She finds just the candidate in the wake of the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack.

Two hundred and seventy souls perished that cold December night, with thousands of friends and family left searching for comfort. Gifted college student Mitch Rapp was one of them. But he wasn’t interested in solace. He wanted revenge.

Six months later, after intense training, Mitch finds himself in Istanbul where he tracks down the arms dealer who sold the explosives used in the attack. Rapp then moves on to Europe, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. All roads lead to Beirut, though, and what Rapp doesn’t know is that the enemy is aware of his existence and has prepared a trap.

The hunter is to become the hunted, and Rapp will need every ounce of skill and cunning if he is to survive…

After a short teaser-introduction set in Beirut, Flynn takes us back to the beginning of Rapp’s CIA career, and the punishing training he is put through. After an eye-brow-raising note stating that this began only a year before the Beirut job (surely it takes longer than that to train an assassin?), I quickly found myself swept up by the driven pace Flynn gives his story. It certainly helps that I’ve read every single one of Flynn’s novels, so the characters are familiar for me already, but there is no denying Flynn’s skills as an author – this is thriller writing at its best and most addictive.

Flynn takes us straight to the training camp, and how Rapp learns to fit in with the army and special forces recruits. Without any military service, he has some catching up to do in firearms, but in every other area he surprises and excels. A common thriller trope, there is also an antagonistic good guy – someone the reader will come to hate, and seems to be there just to torment our hero. In this case, it’s Victor. When the inevitable face-off takes place, I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a sinister thrill and quietly cheer when Rapp takes him down. After his training, Rapp is dispatched on his first mission (in Istanbul), and we are taken along for the ride. As we can expect from the genre, Rapp is a bit of a loose-cannon, and takes it upon himself to do things ‘his way’.

When the team are sent on their first missions, the novel’s story ratchets up a notch, as Rapp and the other operatives of Team Orion get to grips with their new lives. They go chasing terrorists and sympathisers in Istanbul, Zurich, Hamburg and Beirut. All the while, Rapp starts to realise why his CIA instructor, Hurley, has been such a bastard during training, and the lessons he’s learned are put to the test. American Assassin offers some interesting insight into the lives of special, covert operatives; the provisions they need to make, the risks they have to take, the secrets they have to keep (from friends, family, and also their own employers).

I wonder if Flynn’s decision to take us back to the beginning of Rapp’s career for his 12th novel (the 11th to feature Rapp) is a commentary on the thriller genre as a whole – after so many novels by so many authors, the US (or UK, in some instances) hero going after Islamic Terrorists in a post-9/11 world was starting to look worn around the edges. There are a number of successful authors writing in this genre who are now well-established – alongside Flynn, authors like Brad Thor and Alex Berenson are the most noteworthy and skilled authors (but far from only) writing near-exclusively about terrorism. Others, like Kyle Mills, spread their net a little wider.

Flynn’s writing and plotting are excellent, and the novel whips along at a pleasantly brisk pace. Everything about the novel and the characters is realistic and engaging – the institutional, geographical, and operational detail is superb and totally realistic. There’s no apparent exaggeration in the events that take place over the course of the novel, giving the novel an all-too-real feel.

There is, however, one thing that niggled: Rapp is a little too good. Sayyed, in Beirut, is also a little cliché for an Islamic Fundamentalist Bad Guy (he doesn’t actually feature as much in the novel as one might expect – most of the first half is from Rapp’s perspective). Flynn knows his audience: we’re not supposed to sympathise with the monster, or anyone connected with them, but we are supposed to find comfort in the knowledge that the US has supremely capable (super)men like Rapp who are willing to take any step necessary, and give the last full measure of devotion for the cause, if needs be.

“So, if it comes down to it... you don’t think you’d have a problem taking another man's life?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Who the guy is, and more important, what he’s guilty of.”

Rapp’s ‘perfection’ is addressed in the novel, as Kennedy and Lewis (the CIA shrink) aren’t sure what to make of Rapp’s abilities and overall manner and psyche. But, in a world of flawed anti-heroes, there’s something comforting about having a proper, heroic and seemingly perfect protagonist; someone utterly patriotic and focussed. In previous novels, Rapp was older and his life was a procession of decisions of varying-shades-of-grey, the line between black and white, good and bad, ever-more blurred – although, his relationship with Anna (who he meets in his first outing, Transfer of Power) did mellow his character slightly, until her unfortunate and distressing demise in Consent to Kill (2005). In American Assassin, Rapp is still young, has just been recruited into the CIA, and is far more idealistic. He’s not yet the granite-hard, experienced killing machine the CIA shaped him into, but he is, perhaps, a little too ready for all of this. It’s a minor quibble, but I know some people will take more exception to this, so thought I’d mention it and place it in context.

Rapp doesn’t fit into the CIA culture of the time (something that stays with him over the course of the series): He’s unpredictable, freakishly quick-thinking and strategic, and not a little lucky. It’s quite fun to watch as the aged Hurley (instructor, grizzled veteran, and all-round bad-ass, oft-cussing field captain) and Irene Kennedy (straight-laced, proper and methodical) are frequently flummoxed or caught out by Rapp’s general manner and his inattention to authority and operational norms. It’s a clear commentary on the restricted, bureaucratic and operationally unimaginative impression some have of any governmental department – but particularly US governmental bureaucracies – that is far more interested in covering its collective asses than achieving or doing what is right for the country.

The “lion” in Beirut, the man everybody’s scared of, liable to show his displeasure from the barrel of a gun, Sayyed is very different when he meets with his Russian financial and material benefactors: he is meek, deferential and definitely the lesser partner, while still distrustful and paranoid about the Russians’ intentions and commitment to the cause. It’s an interesting dynamic, even if it’s a commonly-used thriller trope.

It is perhaps surprising how long it took Flynn to give us more details about Rapp’s girlfriend, Mary, whose death is the defining event that lead him to accept Kennedy’s recruitment overtures in the first place. For those familiar with the series, the basic facts are already known, but in American Assassin we get a fuller picture of Rapp’s upbringing and just a little insight into his evolution from All-American superstar-athlete to deadly, ruthlessly efficient CIA killer.

It’s been a while since I read anything in this genre – the last thriller I read was Dan Twining’s unfortunately less-than-satisfying The Geneva Deception. Reading American Assassin, though, I’m reminded of why I love the genre in the first place.

As with all of Flynn’s novels, there’s some commentary on the frustrating Washington, D.C., work environment – the need for secrecy, deniability, and endless bureaucratic manoeuvrings to get anything done is clearly frustrating. Flynn clearly retains his cynicism and disappointment of Beltway Politics and society. The setting, early 1990s (no date is ever specified) is well-drawn, and the differences between pre- and post-9/11 are stark, and Flynn’s portrayal of the pre-Global War on Terrorism era, with more rough-and-tumble, unpolished counterterrorism operations, is both interesting and ably realised.

Realistic, thoughtful, and gripping, American Assassin is a brilliant piece of thriller fiction, and a fine way to start the year. Flynn is a master of the genre, and still at the top of his game. Each of his Rapp novels is worthy of attention, and while they’re not as long as they used to be, they maintain a high standard. In fact, American Assassin could have afforded to be longer and I can’t imagine Flynn could have ruined the pace or flow, let alone lost reader attention.

New readers will be introduced to a series of already-available novels to enjoy and become addicted to, while established readers will learn a bit more about the past and evolution of a great, engaging character.

Very highly recommended.

For fans of: Alex Berenson, Brad Thor, Kyle Mills, Andrew Britton, Brett Battles, Tom Clancy, Chris Ryan, David Ignatius

“Extreme Measures”, by Vince Flynn (Simon & Schuster)

The latest political thriller from the master of the genre

In Extreme Measures, Flynn has brought us a new protagonist. Mike Nash, protégé of Mitch Rapp, and CIA operative. Opening with an interrogation at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, Rapp and Nash find themselves caught in the political circus of Washington D.C., as Senator Barbara Lonsdale, chairwoman of the Judicial Committee, sets her sight on Rapp, hoping to make an example of him. A typical liberal, Lonsdale is constantly, sanctimoniously spouting about how the US is a “nation of laws”, questioning who’s going to stick up for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Rapp decides to straighten her out, to educate her on the way the world really works.

Much of the novel is set in Washington D.C., and is not as action-packed as Flynn’s previous Rapp novels. This is not to say that the book is slow of boring, far from it. Like Richard North Patterson, Flynn can make even the most boring side of American politics (committee hearings) seem interesting and filled with suspense and drama. In Mike Nash we get a different temperament and approach to the world of clandestine operatives. Unlike Rapp, he has a family: the scenes when he’s at home are touching and, frequently, hilarious; particularly those involving his newborn son, Charlie. The differences between the two characters is stark, with Rapp appearing more blunt and brutal than he has before, when put next to Nash.

Extreme Measures is far more political novel than action thriller, as Flynn tackles the subject of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and the role of the CIA in the war on terror. In another twist of literature, the arguments outlined by Rapp and his colleagues are more eloquent and rational than anything you might hear on C-Span or read in the newspapers. The social commentary is spot on, too.

While the political machinations in D.C. unfold, Karim Nour-al-Din is plotting an attack on the US. A disenfranchised member of al-Qaeda, Karim has taken it upon himself to teach the Great Satan a lesson, unaided by al-Qaeda’s leadership. Unlike Rapp’s previous opponents, though, Karim has studied the US military, training up a group of fellow jihadists using techniques of the US special forces (specifically the Navy SEALs). Karim is an intriguing enemy, quietly unhinged, completely psychotic (he’s a little too light on the trigger when it comes to his own men), and as a result lethal. Through his meticulous planning, the novel slowly comes to a boil and ends on an explosive finish, setting the scene for the next in the series.

With Extreme Measures, Flynn has transcended all of his previous output. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the new exemplar of what a political thriller should be. While the genre is populated by some truly talented authors, Vince Flynn is truly the master – perhaps only able to count David Baldacci as a peer.

An absolutely essential read, Extreme Measures is simply superb: engaging, thrilling, intelligent, and impossible to put down.

For fans of: Richard North Patterson, Brad Thor, Alex Berenson, Kyle Mills, David Baldacci, Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsythe

Series chronology: Term Limits, Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power, Executive Power, Memorial Day, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, Protect & Defend

"Stone Cold", by David Baldacci (Pan Macmillan)

Spies, action and Cold War conspiracy = an exhilarating read

The genre of political thrillers is slowly becoming rather crowded with some truly superb writers. David Baldacci is without doubt among the most skilled writers in this genre, and with Stone Cold he's scored yet another home run.

Reuniting us with Oliver Stone/John Carr after the events of The Collectors, Stone Cold delves a little deeper into Stone's background, giving us more detail of what he got up to when employed by the CIA. This back-story is all linked in with events that are taking place in the present day: members of his former team are getting taken out one by one. Convinced the deaths are connected, Stone decides to investigate, putting his nose in places it doesn't belong.

The rest of the Camel Club (the aging, motley assortment of conspiracy theorists) are all present, of course, as are a whole host of other interesting and three-dimensional characters. Milton, the genius with a photographic-memory is still my favourite, though every character has their part to play in the story. A lot of time is also written from the perspective of Harry Finn, the main "enemy" of the novel, and Baldacci has created an extremely compelling character: by day a family man who works for Homeland Security, identifying holes that can be exploited by terrorists and helping officials seal them up. By night (and sometimes during the day, too) he has some bloody scores to settle. To be honest, though, it's his successes at his official job that are the most chilling - that official buildings and installations might really be that insecure...

Annabelle Conroy, the beautiful con-artist is another main player in this novel, having stolen $40 million from casino king and certifiable psychopath Jerry Bagger. The two story lines run parallel to each other, with the Camel Club trying to keep Annabelle out of Bagger's hands.

The book has a number of running themes throughout, including loyalty, trust, vengeance and justice. The novel's two plots are about histories catching up with the present; in this case Annabelle's and Stone's. The plotting is extremely tight, and you'll find yourself flying through it (even at 500+ pages, this was a surprisingly quick read). All the characters are fully developed, the plot is superb and Baldacci's writing just keeps getting better and better.

Filled with contemporary fears and themes, cloak-and-dagger politics, twists and suspense, all tied together through superlative writing, Stone Cold is a real page-turner, delivering the action, thrills and quality that we've come to expect from Baldacci. It will have you on the edge of your seat, and after finishing the last page, wanting much more. Thankfully, Divine Justice, the follow up, will be released later this year, so there's not too long to wait before we're reunited with the Camel Club.

Baldacci is still one of the best. If you don't already read his work, it's about time you go out and discover what you've been missing all this time.

For Fans Of: Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Frederick Forsythe, Kyle Mills, Andrew Britton, Robert Ludlum, Alex Berenson

"Protect & Defend", by Vince Flynn (Simon & Schuster)

Vince Flynn delivers yet another fast-paced thriller masterpiece, ever closer to stealing Tom Clancy's and Frederick Forsyth's crown

Exhibiting an excellent grasp of the current international climate, Flynn has brought Mitch Rapp into the middle of the most dangerous situation in the world - Iran on the war-path, if it had nuclear weapons, or at least an active program aiming for that capability. Released before the recent intelligence report stating this is not the case, Protect & Defend still provides some excellent commentary on the US-Middle East conflict (and rather even-handed, too).

Sometimes it feels like Flynn's characters say everything that US politicians really wish they could say - whether it's the President getting pissed off with Israel for creating the volatile situation specific to this novel (the destruction of Iran's main nuclear research facility). And here is another of Flynn's strengths - his dialogue is never cheesy, and very natural sounding. People say exactly what you imagine them to say, in the way you imagine them to say it. It sounds like an odd thing to praise someone for, as surely other authors do that, too, right? Sure, some do, but a growing number write the most grotesque dialogue (either too sickly-sweet, too butch, too seedy, or any number of other derogatory adjectives).

So, to the story: Simply amazing. While the initial build up is rather slow, once you hit the half-way mark the action ratchets up another notch and all hell seems to break loose on the pages. If ever there was a novel that deserved the words "Gripping" quoted on the front, Protect & Defend is it. The short chapters allow for the story's pace to keep going at a fair clip, but Flynn doesn't fall into a Patterson-esque addiction to them, and therefore the novel doesn't seem hurried.

The detail is impressive, but never devolves into Clancy-esque wonkish-ness (something Cussler does, too, when he's writing about nautical things). Nothing in the novel is surplus to requirements; this is a slimmed down novel, with no excess fat to distract you or draw you away from the fraught situation the characters find themselves in: How to diffuse a potentially explosive situation fanned by loud, ignorant, bigotted and obnoxious ideologues, without plunging an entire region into hell.

Dealing with the issue in a very even-handed manner, with equal sensitivity to both sides of the conflict. Not all the Iranians are bad guys - far from it, it's only a handful of the top tier officials who salivate at the thought of war with the US. Flynn even comes up with an interesting possible solution to the Iran-problem, though I'll leave you to read the book, to see if you agree.

By keeping his story and writing tight, there is never an instance when you feel comfortable putting the book down. You feel like you're right there in the thick of the action, either following Rapp as he annihilates an entire band of insurgents (but, surprisingly, in an incredibly reaslistic way), or at the start when he metes out some justice for events in the previous book (Act of Treason).

Since his debut, Term Limits, the latest Vince Flynn novel has been one of the highlights of my year, and I imagine will continue to be for many years to come.

Thriller writing at its best, Protect & Defend is highly recommended if you like your thrillers quick, intelligent and realistic. Enjoy.