Memorial Day (Mass Market Paperback)

by Vince Flynn (Author) "The forty-four-foot Italian-made Riva Rivarama power yacht thundered its way through the calm morning water at twenty-five knots..." (more)
Key Phrases: search response team, counterterrorism center, demolition munitions, White House, General Harley, Mount Weather (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The latest entry in Flynn's popular Mitch Rapp series (after 2003's Executive Power) offers a gripping look at what could transpire if a terrorist group were to sneak a nuclear weapon into the U.S. Rapp, the relentless, marble-hearted CIA assassin and terrorist hunter, would never let that happen, of course, and Flynn's description of the process of bringing a nuke ashore and the lengths to which the government's counterterrorism force will go to prevent harm to U.S. citizens add up to another page-flipping extravaganza. Rapp, back in the field after a long stint on desk duty for insubordination, unearths the bomb plot during a daring commando raid on an al-Qaeda stronghold in Afghanistan. A U.S. strike force manages to intercept and disarm the nuke moments after it arrives by freighter in Charleston, S.C. Everyone, including series stalwart President Robert Hayes, congratulates themselves on a job well done, but Rapp isn't convinced; he believes al-Qaeda leader Mustafa al-Yamani has smuggled a second nuke into the country and plans to detonate it in Washington, D.C., during Memorial Day celebrations. Rapp, a ruthless terrorist pursuer by temperament and training, turns it up several notches this time around, following al-Yamani's scent with feverish abandon. Flynn trots out his usual assortment of characters to keep the action tense—wishy-washy cabinet members, political climbers, invective-spewing terrorists and a selected assortment of ice queens who use sex as a weapon. Yet his skillful use of converging plots, particularly the panic created by having a nuke on the loose, is enough to keep Flynn's growing fan base more than willing to overlook the formulaic components.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"The king of high-concept political intrigue."

-- Dan Brown

"You'll be hooked....Move over, Jack Ryan!"

-- Portland Oregonian

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star; Mass Paperback Edition edition (July 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743453980
• ISBN-13: 978-0743453981
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,413 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memorable and Terrifying - Flynn Scores Again, May 18, 2004

By	John R. Linnell (New Gloucester, ME United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Memorial Day (Hardcover)

Vince Flynn's books are essentially primers on what is needed to combat and defeat terrorisim and the "bad guys." It will not be everyone's cup of tea, because it is painfully honest in it's assessment of where our problems lie and unfortunately they often lie with some of us. If you genuflect to the altar of political correctness, this will be a tough read.

Mitch Rapp returns. Flynn introduces him bluntly to those who have not read his prior novels as he prepares to interrogate five al Qaeda operatives who have been captured in a raid on a secret stronghold: "Calling Rapp a counterterrorism operative was essentially a polite way of ducking the truth. When everything was stripped away, the reality was that that he was an assassin. He has killed, and killed often, for his country, and in his mind 9/11 was proof that he hadn't killed enough."

His interrogation produces the picture of a terrorist attack on the United States that involves a nuclear weapon. The picture is clear enough to cause alarm, but fuzzy enough to make the entire plan a puzzle.

Slowly the puzzle seems to be solved and just when it looks like the threat is past, well, it isn't.

This is vintage Flynn. It is an absolute page turner. It will make you think. It may cause some angst. It should. This is a realistic picture of where we are and what we are doing, both the good and the bad. That's where the angst comes in.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very impressed with Vince Flynn., October 31, 2004

By	Brad Cooper "Author of Guilty by Association" (Beckley, WV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Memorial Day (Hardcover)

Although I had heard of Vince Flynn's series of novels featuring Mitch Rapp, MEMORIAL DAY is the first one I decided to take for a test run. What I found what an action-packed thriller set at a blistering pace and a main character that may not stay inside the box that the government would like for him to, but you like him anyway. You have to...he does things the way you'd like to see them done and he gets results.

MEMORIAL DAY is also a prime example of the way that the CIA/Spy/International Thriller genre is headed in a post-9/11 world. In the 80s, the villians tended to be Russian. Now, the targets have become Al-Qaeda and those countries that harbor and support them. Not to worry...there are still plenty of Russian villians running loose in popular fiction. MEMORIAL DAY's premise begins with Mitch Rapp foiling an attempt to smuggle a nuclear weapon onto American soil, and right around one of the biggest tourist holidays on the calendar. This plot element alone makes the entire storyline plausible. This is something that every American citizen fears whenever there is a large event planned. New Year's Eve in Times Square...the Super Bowl...the World Series...name it. I won't go into any more detail on the plot...you'll just have to read it.

I was very impressed with the writing as well. Sharp, concise, and to the point but not over the top vocabulary. Everything is organized well and easy to follow for any reader.

All in all, I was very impressed with this very enjoyable read and look forward to checking out the rest of the Mitch Rapp series...not to mention the next installment.

58 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong action thriller, May 5, 2004

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Memorial Day (Hardcover)

Intel learns that countries harboring terrorists are transferring their stock and bonds into gold while at a top-secret installation a Pakistani terrorist is being interrogated by CIA black ops agent Mitch Rapp. Intel finds out that Al Qaeda is preparing to strike at the United States, making the World Trade Towers destruction seem like a child destroying a toy. Mitch and a group of commandos raid a small Pakistani mountain town where they find proof that Al Qaeda is getting ready to attack America.

Going through the documents and the computer disks, Mitch and other operatives believe that the terrorist group is trying to smuggle a nuclear bomb into the United States. Through diligent effort and good investigative work, they are able to locate the bomb which was being shipped into the country by boat. Further Intel lead Mitch to believe that a second bomb has already been smuggled into the country and it is set to go off at the White House festivities on Memorial Day if Mitch can't locate it in time.

Vince Flynn is one of the best writers of action thrillers on the world scene today. His protagonist is a true patriot, willing to get his hands dirty if it means saving innocent lives. He can't stand or deal with the politics that get in the way of catching terrorists and believes the legal rights belonging to ordinary people should be suspended for active terrorists. Readers won't know until the last paragraph if the hero finds the nuclear bomb and is able to prevent it from going off. MEMORIAL DAY is more frightening than a horror tale because the premise of the story is all too plausible.

Harriet Klausner