The Third Option [Mass Market Paperback]

Vince Flynn (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 28, 2001

When diplomacy has failed and military intervention is deemed inappropriate, our leaders sometimes take THE THIRD OPTION.

CIA counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp falls prey to government forces with an agenda of their own after Dr. Irene Kennedy is named the successor to dying CIA Director Thomas Stansfield -- a choice that enrages many inside the world's most powerful intelligence agency. Her detractors will resort to extreme measures to prevent her from taking the reins -- which makes Rapp an expendable asset. But Mitch Rapp is no one's pawn, and he will stop at nothing to find out who has set him up.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Rancorous political infighting surrounds the selection of a successor to the dying head of the CIA just as Mitch Rapp, the agency's top operative, embarks on a dangerous mission to take out a well-known German industrialist believed to be supplying Middle East terrorists with highly sensitive equipment critical to constructing a nuclear bomb. When Rapp's ultimately successful mission is compromised from within, ailing CIA director Thomas Stansfield puts his imprimatur on the efforts of his chosen successor, Irene Kennedy, director of the agency's Counterterrorism Center, to identify the powerful interests both inside and outside the agency that wanted Rapp to fail.

The motive soon becomes clear; there are people who'll stop at nothing to remove Kennedy from the helm of the agency after Stansfield dies. One thing they didn't count on was Rapp's survival, and now he's a lethal weapon whose sights are fixed directly on the most powerful among them. This is a strong, swift thriller, a bit predictable (the senator in the black hat has dogs named Caesar and Brutus) but nonetheless involving. Author Vince Flynn sustains the dramatic tension from the opening paragraph to the last; in Mitch Rapp, he's got the makings of a promising series hero. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

A CIA counterterrorist gets caught in the middle of a deadly Beltway power play in Flynn's (Balance of Power) latest political thriller. Long on one-dimensional characters, action scenes and espionage details, it falls short on comprehensible plotting. Battle-scarred protagonist Mitch Rapp returns to take on a sensitive new assignment in Europe, only to have things go awry when his two CIA colleagues turn on him following the assassination of a wealthy German count who has been selling arms to Saddam Hussein. Rapp survives their double-dealing, but he is forced to go underground to decipher the labyrinthine chain of political connections and to learn who was trying to have him killed. Back in Washington, a similar game of spy-versus-spy is being conducted by the elderly, dying director of the CIA and his chosen successor. Rapp eventually surfaces to help his bosses, but things get personal for the ace counterterrorist when Rapp's bride-to-be is kidnapped as part of the ongoing political maneuvers. Flynn sweats the small stuff to bring his conspiracy to life, but he also introduces enough secondary characters to populate two novels, and he frequently stalls the narrative momentum by providing an overwhelming level of detail regarding various high-tech gadgets and espionage operations. The biggest disappointment, though, comes at the end, when the book is exposed as a shameless setup for a sequel. Flynn is a popular writer, but his third thriller won't do much to enhance his critical reputation or his sales. 9-city author tour. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671047329
• ISBN-13: 978-0671047320
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (292 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,213 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's 10th hardcover, Extreme Measures, was published in October 2008. It was also a #1 New York Times bestseller. His most recent novel, Kill Shot, was published in Fenbruary 2012.

The Mitch Rapp story begins with American Assassin, followed by Kill Shot Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power, Executive Power, Memorial Day, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, Protect and Defend, Extreme Measures and Pursuit of Honor.

Influences: Ernest Hemingway, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Gore Vidal, and John Irving. Flynn lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and three children.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#62 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#10 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#12 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#16 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#17 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#10 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#12 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#16 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#17 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 88 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Reading...but... December 15, 2000

By The Erwin Family

Format:Hardcover

This is my third Flynn Book in as many weeks and it lacks the intensity of the first two. I sensed Flynn pushed the manuscript through a little to fast and was not able to offer the quality equal to his first two books. My advice would be to wait for the paperback. Warning: If you insist on reading The Third Option, I would strongly suggest that you read Term Limits and Transfer of Power first. Reading both beforehand will offer greater insight into those who Mitch Rapp trusts and why and frankly they're both great books. Otherwise some of the pieces will not fit.

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A SUSPENSEFUL, ACTION-PACKED NOVEL! December 24, 2000

By Christopher Rogers

Format:Hardcover

THE THIRD OPTION by Vince Flynn is the type of thriller that fans of the espionage/political intrigue genre are always on the lookout for. The novel deals with Mitch Rapp who is a member of the CIA's highly secret Orion Team. He's their top assassin. When the first option of diplomacy and the second option of military force fail, the United States turns to its third option of covert action as a way of dealing with terrorist's attacks. It is our last option of fighting back, and it usually involves assassination. Mitch Rapp is on the verge of resigning from the CIA. He has met the woman of his dreams and wants to live a normal life. He decides, however, to take one last assignment. His job will be to go into Germany as part of a team and assassinate a German industrialist who has been selling materials for building a nuclear device to one of our country's leading enemies. What Rapp isn't aware of is that he's to be killed after he completes his mission. When the German police find his body next to that of the industrialist, the CIA will be publicly blamed, thus ending the career of Irene Kennedy, head of the department that runs the Orion Team and who is slated to take over as Director of the CIA. Rapp isn't an easy man to eliminate. The people assigned to take him out fail in their attempt. Returning to the United States by covert means, Rapp is determined to track down the individuals who tried to kill him and to extract the names of those in the U.S. Government who authorized the hit. Rapp doesn't care how high up the list of names goes; if he has his way, he will kill every last one of the people involved in this conspiracy. THE THIRD OPTION has the ring of authenticity about it that strongly reminded me of the earlier novels of Tom Clancy. Its author has a real working knowledge of the Central Intelligence Agency and is able to take the reader deep behind the scenes of intelligence gathering and covert assassination, not to mention the dynamics that come into play as the Agency struggles to survive the manipulations of Congress and the President of the United States. Though the plot of this novel is complex in nature, there is certainly enough action to keep us diehard fans of the "spy" genre glued to our seats as we try to desperately guess the ending. I will say this about the final outcome; as in real life, the bad guys don't always get what's coming to them. I have to also say that I really enjoyed the character of Mitch Rapp. Here is a man with a strict code of honor who isn't afraid to kill in order to protect himself or his loved ones. This is certainly the type of guy you want as a friend and not as an enemy. I hope the author will continue to write future novels with Mitch Rapp in them. He's got a great character here. Anyway, if you want to enter the New Year with some fun reading, pick up a copy of THE THIRD OPTION, then check out the first two novels by Vince Flynn, TERM LIMITS & TRANSFER OF POWER.

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good, fast read. Lots of fun. June 25, 2001

By Gunfighter

Format:Hardcover

Mr Flynn's third outing was a good one. I enjoyed this book a great deal, particularly because he was a bit less preachy in this one than he was in his first.

The main character, Mitch Rapp, is rather enigmatic, but then looking at what he does for a living, that would be appropriate. The characters were good, the scenery was described well, and this time Mr Flynn didn't make everyone that was a non-conservative, a cross between the devil and a child molester.

Mr Flynn does a good job with the local geography as well. Many authors tend to make things up as they go along when describing Washington, DC (Clancy comes to mind here), but Flynn gets it all down just right. From George Washington University Hospital (where my daughter was born) and campus, to the State Department and Naval Bureau of Medicine on 23rd street that I drive past every morning and afternoon

This isn't high art, and it isn't literature, but if you are looking for a fast paced novel about political intrigue, assassins, and tradecraft this is your book.

As a personal aside, I think Mitch Rapp should ditch that Beretta he uses and get something a bit more practical for his line of work.