Consent to Kill [Audio CD]

Vince Flynn (Author), George Guidall (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: RecordedBooks (2003)
• ISBN-10: 1419349600
• ISBN-13: 978-1419349607
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (222 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,229,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The fifth of seven children, Vince Flynn was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1966. He graduated from the St. Thomas Academy in 1984, and the University of St. Thomas with a degree in economics in 1988. After college he went to work for Kraft General Foods where he was an account and sales marketing specialist. In 1990 he left Kraft to accept an aviation candidate slot with the United States Marine Corps. One week before leaving for Officers Candidate School, he was medically disqualified from the Marine Aviation Program, due to several concussions and convulsive seizures he suffered growing up. While trying to obtain a medical waiver for his condition, he started thinking about writing a book. This was a very unusual choice for Flynn since he had been diagnosed with dyslexia in grade school and had struggled with reading and writing all his life.
Having been stymied by the Marine Corps, Flynn returned to the nine-to-five grind and took a job with United Properties, a commercial real estate company in the Twin Cities. During his spare time he worked on an idea he had for a book. After two years with United Properties he decided to take a big gamble. He quit his job, moved to Colorado, and began working full time on what would eventually become Term Limits . Like many struggling artists before him, he bartended at night and wrote during the day. Five years and more than sixty rejection letters later he took the unusual step of self-publishing his first novel. The book went to number one in the Twin Cities, and within a week had a new agent and two-book deal with Pocket Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint.
Term Limits hit the New York Times bestseller list in paperback and started a trend for all of Flynn's novels. Since then, his books have become perennial bestsellers in both paperback and hardcover, and he has become known for his research and prescient warnings about the rise of Islamic Radical Fundamentalism and terrorism. Read by current and former presidents, foreign heads of state, and intelligence professionals around the world, Flynn's novels are taken so seriously one high-ranking CIA official told his people, "I want you to read Flynn's books and start thinking about how we can more effectively wage this war on terror."
October 2007 marked another milestone in Flynn's career when his ninth political thriller, Protect and Defend, became a #1 New York Times bestseller. A few months later, CBS Films optioned the rights for Flynn's Mitch Rapp character with the intention of creating a character-based, action-thriller movie franchise. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who previously launched the Harry Potter and Matrix films as head of production at Warner Bros., and Nick Wechsler (We Own the Night, Reservation Road) will produce the films.
Flynn lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and three children.
Works by Flynn include Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power , Executive Power , Memorial Day, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, and Extreme Measures.
Influences: Ernest Hemingway, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Gore Vidal, and John Irving
Transfer of Power The Third Option Separation of Power Executive Power Influences:Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Gore Vidal and John Irving

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consent to BE killed, November 25, 2005

By 

Michael D. Trimble (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Consent to Kill: A Thriller (Hardcover)

Arab terrorists, international assassins, and politically appointed nitwits, Vince Flynn's newest thriller delivers everything you have come to expect from the Mitch Rapp series. There is lots of action, impressive no nonsense black ops professionals, and edge of your seat suspense-filled plotting. As you might expect, Consent to Kill begins with Rapp doing what he does best, tracking down and killing a dangerous Islamic cleric with direct ties to suicide bombers. This little sidebar to the main story is meant to demonstrate Rapp's technical skill and sense of justice. In that respect it forcefully succeeds. Unfortunately Rapp has now reached that stage in his career where his reputation is legendary and his enemies are both numerous and extremely powerful and resourceful.

Until now Mitch has never had to face an opponent of equal talent, but that's what happens when a fundamentalist Arab billionaire places a twenty million dollar bounty on Rapp. Predictably he lives to fight again but only after losing everything that is precious to him. Now everyone who was involved in this attempted assassination is on the run as Rapp tries to piece together exactly who to blame. Rapp is the proverbial loose cannon that not only has the terrorists ducking for cover, but also has the chicken-hawk politicians trying to put him on ice as well.

Vince Flynn has another exciting eye-for-an-eye thriller that is sure to be enjoyed his many fans. My complaints are few, but I will list them here; the book could have been maybe 50 pages shorter without as much needless explanation; there are some loose ends that should have been tied up since most readers will be left wondering; and some of those 50 pages that could have been cut should have been devoted to better character development. But these are minor criticisms and on the whole the book is thoroughly enjoyable and matches Flynn's earlier fiction.

If you enjoy this book, then you might also enjoy the similarly themed/styled books of Daniel Silva and Brad Thor.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atypical Characters in This One, May 31, 2007

By 

Gizmo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Consent to Kill: A Thriller (Mitch Rapp Novels) (Paperback)

I've only read 2 Vince Flynn books, but they've been enough to pique my curiousity and now I will go back and read the earlier Mitch Rapp novels to catch up on this assassin's history. I like Flynn's writing for the sometimes atypical bents he puts into the characters. Mitch Rapp is an assassin, straight-up, and almost never conflicted about his job. He is NOT a Jack Ryan (as some have likened) and we rarely get any moral pause in the action in these books. If you're squeamish, be forewarned that Flynn does detail the kills. I was shocked a time or two in the first book - Flynn took me a little past my comfort zone - but now know what to expect. I would liken it to a roller coaster you've never ridden before. A twist or turn will be too much - but then you get to the end and yell, "Wow - that was great! Let's go again!" The last few chapters of Consent to Kill are fantastic. Flynn does not take Rapp where I thought Rapp would surely go. Supporting characters are also terrific and you're left hoping to have them reappear in future Rapp stories or even to get stories of their own. Love Rapp's loyal friends. Wouldn't surprise me if Flynn has one or two turn out to be not so loyal in future books, but hey, let's just enjoy the "good guys" while we can. They kick butt (and never kiss any either!). I highly recommend this read!

66 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consent to Kill, October 21, 2005

By 

rsasdr (chicago) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Consent to Kill: A Thriller (Hardcover)

It's been over a year since Flynn's previous book, but it was worth the wait as this is certainly one of the author's best books. Unlike the previous ones, the story here is more character driven with less of a focus on action. Mitch Rapp is at his most human and realistic in the series, as are the other characters. A powerful Saudi hires two assassins to kill Mitch Rapp following the death of his son during the events in the previous book. The assassination attempt fails, but at great personal cost to Rapp, and Mitch hunts down everyone involved in the conspiracy, including a Saudi prince, former Stasi officer, and French assassins, and wages his own, private and very ruthless war against terrorism for the first time. There's lots of good stuff here, and the last quarter of the book especially is easily some of Flynn's best writing.