It is with a very heavy heart that I write this –As I have to wait till another Mitch Rapp book is written.
I am a big fan of The Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn for multiple reasons. I discovered Vince Flynn accidentally as I was browsing 
through some books, looking for a new author as is my wont, whenever I have time. The first book was ‘Kill Shot “after which I bought every Vince Flynn book and went on a reading binge till I completed the series up to “The Survivor”. It gives me a lot of pleasure to read about a character that can do /does what is required without being squeamish or sentimental, as a typical hard warrior of old. The entire Mitch Rapp series is about a CIA agent who is involved in many terrorist incidents and he requires being ruthless and able to operate beyond the rules. This is a continuing series in a list of wonderful adventures. It hits the right note as this world needs someone like this to solve myriad problems. The closest people who I can think of are, the Israelis who are ruthless in their hunt for any terrorists threatening their national security.
He is a no-nonsense hero who can bend the rules at his discretion but still be valuable to the organization he works for, The CIA. He is a fearless hero who baulks at nothing to eliminate terrorists. In today’s world, countries are bound by treaties, rules and regulations but terrorists are not and that gives them a distinct advantage to strike anywhere they target. It takes a special kind of man who can work for an organization but still be ruthless to do what no one else wants/can do easily. Sometimes the sheer ferocity with which he fights is awe-inspiring.
This story is set as usual in Washington and in multiple countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Costa Rica. The Russian President devices a fiendish plot to blow up the biggest oil-field in Saudi Arabia as that would -1) Raise the international price of oil and 2) Help him raise crude prices in Russia thereby growing the economy which is badly hit .He has an arch-assassin Grisha, who he has handpicked from the Russian special forces and hones his already considerable athletic and killing skills to abnormal heights.
One of the pressing problems in the world is the nuclear armaments with Pakistan and with such close links to terrorists; it is a matter of time before one falls into their hands. The CIA director Irene sends Mitch Rapp to Pakistan to monitor the position and safety of these bombs. He gets called top South Africa to protect a wife of a former assassin with whom he tangled. He extracts them to safety in USA after fighting with some Russian mobsters. He understands that, since he was getting close to the real happenings, he was diverted from Pakistan. After settling her safely, he returns to Pakistan.
The plot follows many interesting turn of events. The Russian assassin Grisha lures Rapp into a trap. In the firefight, Rapp’s good friend Coleman gets seriously injured but Rapp manages to escape. In the process, they snag some material of one of the six nukes, enough to make a dirty bomb. The ISIS are involved with the Russians in an elaborate plan to steal enough material to make a full-scale bomb.
The story then moves through deeper areas of Pakistan involving a White American who has joined the ISIS.As he is similar in appearance and size to Rapp, he is killed and Rapp takes his place in infiltrating the ISIS.
The scene finally shifts to Saudi Arabia where some of the biggest oil-fields are situated. The Russians with the ISIS have planned to blow up six of the oil-fields with some of the stolen nuclear materials. Rapp sees many obnoxious actions of the ISIS and wonders how such people ever inspire others to join them. In a series of violent twists and turns, Rapp manages to save five out of the six materials stolen. Though one bomb going off, does some damage, it’s a small price to pay in preventing the ISIS from having any bombs. The price of crude increases only marginally. The Russian President manages to survive.
Rapp returns to the States, back to his own house which is being rebuilt after a disastrous fire (Explained in a previous story) and his friend Coleman survives after some difficult medical procedures.
Mitch Rapp is the type of person we actually need in this world to solve a lot of complex problems, which cannot be solved adhering to the rule of law. He is brutal when required as viewed in multiple episodes, where taking a life is like swatting a fly. At the same time his tender side is also seen, when he deals with his feelings for the wife of an assassin who tried to kill him. His intimate knowledge of Pakistan and their foolishness in fostering terror as a state policy is fraught with danger, is depicted with absolute clarity. Vince Flynn’s description of Pakistan and of the army generals almost make me wish that, the Indian government takes him on as an advisor.
This is another must-read from Vince Flynn continuing on, his tradition of absorbing novels. I have seen many authors become stale after a few books but Flynn is still going strong. Vince Flynn’s language is a simple no-nonsense style and his dramatization of characters is wonderful.
I would strongly recommend this book to any fan of action novels and wish it could be made into a blockbuster movie.