Customer Reviews

Kill Shot (Mitch Rapp)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(41)
2 star:		(35)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

Kill Shot is the sequel to American Assassin, which itself was a prequel to the long running series featuring Mitch Rapp. This book contines the story of Rapp's development as an asset for the CIA. He has spent his first year "running solo" - infiltrating the world's terror cells and killing with purpose. The spree has not gone unnoticed and elements of the terrorist networks want the killing to stop.

The turning point is an attempt on a Libyan diplomat in Paris. The kill goes all wrong and Rapp must fight his way out - leaving behind carnage and a mess that needs accountability - from someone. Rapp is unwilling to trust his fellow spies at the CIA and his longtime nemesis, Stan Hurley, uses this to target Rapp as a problem that needs to be eliminated.

Flynn deftly tells his story, even though longtime readers can discern some of the outcome just by having read "future" installments. I did not know how he was going to weave a taut thriller with so much of the story having been already written - but he manages superbly. Flynn layers the past artfully, giving us pieces of the history that will make Rapp lethal.

The stand alone story within this prequel is full of duplicity and the reader must decide what is justified and how often does the official story deviate from the truth? But it is clear why Rapp forges his own moral code and trusts so few.

Want to have a fun conversation? Walk up to someone reading this book and ask them if this is the 12th or 2nd book in the series. Whatever answer they choose, you give the opposite. Prepare to duck and run. I have been a fan of Vince Flynn ever since his books stumbled into my life about three years ago. Even if he was to write a book about growing horse toenails in Fishhook, Alaska, I would still read it. Thank the lord Jesus, however, this book is nothing like that!

Vince brings back the young Mitch Rapp in a book that ought to come with a prescription for Niacin. Why? You'll need something to counter the adrenaline. If you've had the pleasure of reading about Mitch, you know that he is a "man's man" and has absolutely NO tolerance for BS and bad guys. And that is when he was... "Mature". Can you imagine this killing machine in his younger years? Can you imagine a weapon with the body of Greek sculpture, a mind as sharp as Tesla, and the natural killing instinct of a Megalodon? You can if you know Mitch Rapp.

Mitch has completed his training and has been let loose on the unsuspecting world. He is a tsunami of pure destruction. Precise destruction. The only thing he leaves in his wake is the bodies of dead terrorists. A-MEN! Unfortunately, with this type of success, from a rookie no doubt, there starts to fester some resentment and jealously. And not only with our enemies. Hurley and Victor have their personal reasons for not liking Mitch, but will it interfere with the #1 objective... to keep America safe?

This mission finds Mitch in Paris and he has graciously exploded the head of some well deserving terrorist filth when the tables are turned. Our boy has been set up... and set up good. The ensuing firefight leaves more blood on the floor than an exploding vampire. Unfortunately Mitch gets wounded. And a wounded Mitch Rapp is a pissed Mitch Rapp. And a pissed Mitch Rapp is a deadly Mitch Rapp (see above Megalodon reference). Thus ensues a cat and mouse maze that Flynn's fan has come to expect as one of the BEST in the game.

Scientist dream about going back in time and witnessing the "big bang". Witnessing the unimaginable explosion that started it all. That's the perfect analogy to explain what it's like reading about the young Mitch. Powerful. Destructive. Unrelenting. Violent. Violent. Violent. Just the way it ought to be.

I was a little hesitant to purchase this due to the less than stellar reviews but Flynn's previous entry in the series, "American Assassin" also received mixed reviews and was very enjoyable so I took the plunge. Unfortunately, not only is most of this book mediocre, I felt cheated on the price. Don't be fooled by the length of the book - the story ends at 72% in. The rest of the 28% is excerpts from every other Vince Flynn book. The end result is a book I was able to finish in a few hours. I definitely expected more bang for my buck and feel cheated by the publisher and author.

As a previous reviewer stated, the plot was less than riveting and some parts of the plot just seem contrived and predictable because the author was at a loss how to move the story forward. The ending was rushed and abruptly dropped the entire story leaving me with a "that's it?" feeling. It feels like the Mitch Rapp series has met it's end and I will probably not be buying the next book unless it has stellar reviews.

He's baaack! In KILL SHOT we see the return of Mitch Rapp in a role that he is comfortable in, that of the arm of justice and honor for the country he loves. Taking a painful incident from our country's history and exacting revenge for the loss of innocent life, Rapp is on his way to carry out a mission that the world would applaud...if they knew it was going on. Its covert status is what has made it such a success, but when it is discovered, that is when Rapp sees that he might be on his own if he is going to survive.

For me this book really strikes a chord because it reminds all of us what freedom is not free, and decisions are sometimes made for the good of a people that might have consequences we might not be able to foresee and be prepared for. In the case of Mitch Rapp we are able to get a look at the man behind the sense of duty. Flynn shows us that he is not as concerned about himself as he is about those he puts in harm's way, like Greta. One of the best two lines in the book that sums up the life that Mitch Rapp has chosen is this: "Greta wanted to ask him why he needed to bring a gun if there was no risk, but she knew it was a stupid question. His whole life was a risk, and she'd been trying to ignore that fact for as long as she'd known him."

Is there anyone who can take readers through events that are so eerily real and frighteningly thrilling as literary mastermind Vince Flynn. Just as you begin to think there is no way he can top the last book he returns with something so delicious that it makes the reader want to slow down and savor each and every page.

The author was obviously digging pretty hard, to put this story together, which did not add to the luster of his previous Mitch Rapp books, and we certainly didn't need another prequeal.

This was a 3 time put down/pick up book for me, which just droned along on a meandering path, and unfortunately there is no desire to discuss it further. If you are expecting the usual high tension, action packed Rapp thriller...I'm sorry to say that Kill Shot misses the mark.

I know Mr. Flynn is ill, and as such I could not bring myslf to rate him 2 stars, especially after all the reading enjoyment he has provided in the past.

This book was about what I expected. While it may not be as good as some of Flynn's earlier efforts, it still has that "can't put it down" quality to it, as evidenced by the fact that I read it and finished it in a few hours.

This book does a good job of fleshing out a few characters introduced in American Assassin like Stan Hurley and "Victor" which I enjoyed. Again, not one of the best Rapp novels but it certainly wasn't a dudd, either.

Dear Vince,

I've been a fan since the first book. This one's not too bad, though I thought there was a little too much navel gazing. I'm terribly angry with your publisher, however. How on earth you can charge what you do for 2/3 of a book is beyond me. Oh, I'll be reading your work in the future...I'll just be getting it from Half-Price Books. I have patience by the boatload, but not for a cheap trick like this.

This is the book I was looking for when I read the latest James Bond book (and was disappointed). Vince Flynn has captured perfectly the ramped up modern movie spy better than I have seen anywhere else (think the Craig's Bond or the Bourne movies). You have a super tough and intelligent action hero fighting the world's evils one bad guy at a time.

The make reference several times in the book that the hero, Mitch Rapp, is a very linear guy. In that he doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about the past. He has a task to achieve and he pursues it relentlessly. Crap happens and he just adapts and continues on. This book was a movie with words, it was fun. The pacing of the story just sped along without any speed bumps to slow the action down. And Flynn avoided the trap of making the hero infallible, but he did use the action hero cliché and give him a bullet to his shoulder (the only place an action hero can get shot and still keep going).

The only downside is the solving of all problems with a well placed bullet. The concept that America is awesome and the bad guys are just wrong can be a little hard to swallow for some - but you guys shouldn't read this book. This is a thrill ride to be enjoyed and not a political handbook to solve the world's problem. So you negative nabobs can just lighten up and get a life. You missed the point of this book.

Thanks to T Stevens for this review.

I agree the pace may be considered slower and less riveting than previous Mitch Rapp novels...I still really enjoyed reading it!
Kill Shot helps explain the reasons of WHY Mitch is man that we all know to love TODAY.

If you don't want to spend time learning why Mitch trusts so few and keeps work to himself...then read another Vince Flynn book...there are 11 of them.

Vince does an excellent job using realism and suspense to help create the inner workings of Mitch Rapp. I can't wait to see Vince go wrath of khan on the next book!

On a side note: It's sad people are complaining about the price of book for kindle...if you have a problem with it...then just buy the hard cover. Nook is charging the same price.

"Kill Shot" takes us back to the first year Mitch Rapp is loosed upon the terrorist's aligned against the US. After several successful missions one goes awry. Mitch then must analyze his fieldcraft skills to see if they are lacking, but more concerning is the issue of trust in a field in which so much is based upon deceit and betrayal. Whom can he trust? Was he betrayed by the very people who put him in the arena? Was it just one, or all? Then what must he do about the ever growing threat to his life and those around him? This, as all Flynn tales, is fast paced and keeps one's interest at a high level to get to see if Mitch can unmask the traitorous actors on his team. All the while contending with the ever present threat from Islamist terrorists and their enablers. An interesting side story woven into the narrative is that of a smart, capable French female detective who works to solve the puzzle when Rapp's mission goes badly. (Could be an interesting character to be exploited in future tales of intrigue in the shadowy world of international terrorism.) Good solid Mitch Rapp book which fills in some voids in how he developed the relationships with those who will be with him in many years of fighting international terrorism. Strongly recommend "Kill Shot".