15 Best Vince Flynn Books (2024) - That You Must Read!

Bio

Vincent Joseph Flynn was born on the 6^th of April, in the year of 1966, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America. Vincent Flynn was a prominent American novelist, most notably of political thriller books. He also worked as a story consultant for the television show called 24.

Family and Education

Vincent Joseph Flynn was born to father Terry and mother Kathleen Flynn. Vincent had a total of six other siblings, too. Flynn graduated from Saint Thomas Academy, in the year of 1984, and then the University of St. Thomas, thereby acquiring his Bachelor of Arts in Economics, in the year of 1989.

Best Vince Flynn Books

Life

Upon graduation, Vince began working as an account and sales marketing specialist for Kraft Foods. However, in 1991, Vince resigned from his position as he wanted to try his hand as an aviator for the US Marine Corps. Sadly, just a week before departing for Officer Candidate School, Vince was disqualified due to medical aspects.

Vince had a troubled life with dyslexia, but he incorporated writing and reading into his daily routine, which aided him immensely. Sadly, Vince Flynn passed away in 2013. Nevertheless, let’s see what our picks are for the best Vince Flynn books.

American Assassin

Mitch Rapp Series

American Assassin is the first book in the Vince Flynn series, one formally known as Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series. Not too rarely, one can hear the series referred to as Flynn’s American Assassin series, as well.

American Assassin was published in the year of 2010. Worth noting is that if we were following Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series in order of publication, American Assassin would be one of the five last books.

Dormant Talent

The eponymous lead character Mitch Rapp is quite a talented, gifted, and mighty individual. The Pan Am Lockerbie attack is something that Mitch Rapp has in the back of his mind day in and day out and he wants to get some payback for what happened then.

Knowing that he is quite naturally and physically gifted and has a great latency, Mitch is chosen by the CIA Operations Director Thomas Stansfield along with Irene Kennedy to join a group of other operatives.

Debuting Agent

When Mitch Rapp begins his six-month-long and extremely intensive training, he meets all the other people who are recruited for this job and who all have one single goal in mind – to thwart terrorists who want to attack America.

The assassin in hand has a body count stretching from Beirut to Istanbul, so it will require more than just one man to stop the fiend. Very much worthy of being called Vince Flynn’s best book as the action-packed writing, along with the storyline of Flynn’s earliest days makes the novel quite a treat to read.

Order in the Chaos

In our opinion, the order we are following is the best order to read Vince Flynn’s books, though the Vince Flynn’s books in order of publication isn’t bad either.

Kill Shot

Second Novel

Kill Shot is book two of Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp novels in order, a series of novels that we consider to be the best Vince Flynn series. Kill Shot was published in the year of 2012 and, as it stands, is one of our favorites from the author.

Unleashed

Kill Shot follows the mighty, deadly agent from American Assassin as he once more is given a task that he must follow completely. With only a single year passed since he was trained by the Central Intelligence Agency to become the warrior that he is, and then promptly let him loose upon all the enemies.

Mitch Rapp has done all that has been asked of him – namely, dismantled the puppet-masters behind the Pan Am Lockerbie attack. In one of Vince Flynn’s best books, Mitch Rapp makes his return.

Unfinished Storyline

However, Mitch Rapp’s mission is by no means finished as there are more than just a few things to work out, more than just a few evil-doers to eliminate, and more than just a few caskets to fill. As the mission in question sees Mitch Rapp arriving in Paris, France, he is soon ambushed as a hail of bullets follows, with only one departing from the silenced pistol of Mitch Rapp. Soon after, one short of ten bodies are found.

Disposable

One of the dead was indeed the oil minister of Libya, and all were discovered in one of the most exquisite hotels in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The men in Washington do not want to be involved in any kind of crisis of international proportions, and Stan Hurley, one of Mitch’s superiors, is beginning to think that Rapp is a liability. Soon enough, though, Mitch Rapp is without a leash, uncontrollable, and with a desire to find out what is happening. One of the best Vince Flynn books, without a doubt.

Transfer of Power

Beleaguered Country

Transfer of Power is the third book in Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series in chronological order. Transfer of Power is among the best-selling Vince Flynn books and one wouldn’t be mistaken to call it one of the most popular Vince Flynn books, either. Transfer of Power was published in the year of 1999.

On one busy Washington morning, just as several tourists were walking around, while government officials in the White House were going about their business, the mighty harmony of the White House is suddenly broken as gunfire and gun smoke begin letting off in an unyielding fashion upon the Executive Mansion. It quickly becomes clear who is carrying out the attack.

Seizing the Fortress

A terrorist group has come out of the woodworks and has taken over the Executive Mansion as a terrible bloodbath can be seen in their wake. Tens and dozens of passersby were killed in the ensuing chaos.

The president of the US was taken and locked in the underground bunker to be kept safe, but a hundred or so hostages were taken, nonetheless. It comes as no surprise why we consider this to be one of the top Flynn books.

The Man for the Job

As military officials and politicians attempt to come to an understanding about how to go about the situation and whether to negotiate with terrorists, it is just one person that gets sent into the chaos, in which he thrives.

Mitch Rapp, one of the greatest CIA operatives, sneaks into the White House only to discover that the President is not as secure as the others had hoped. It is a race against time to save the hostages and to keep the President secure, but if anyone can do it, it’s Mitch Rapp. A worthy contender for being the best Vince Flynn book.

The Third Option

Just Another Job

Book number three of the so-called Flynn’s American series in order, The Third Option is one hell of a story. The Third Option might be one of those Vince Flynn books that we consider to be the best-rated Flynn books, as well. The Third Option was published in the year of 2001.

Just as we know how Mitch Rapp operates, he is once more sent on an assignment to eliminate a certain threat. There is a total of four people that are aware of the task’s particulars, with Mitch being one of them. Knowing that Mitch Rapp always does his job in the most efficient, most effective, and swiftest fashion, one can suppose that killing yet another bad guy isn’t any big deal and one would be correct.

Wanting Out

As the mission is finished, Mitch Rapp comes to a decision that he wants to hang up his gloves and to go about his love in a more leisurely fashion, not perpetually away on jobs to kill that fiend.

Mitch Rapp is in love with a certain person in his life, they want to have the wedding at their own pace, but one thing that does not belong in Rapp’s life as they imagine it is certainly the killer job he has had for so long.

That’s Not How It Works

While in Germany, as he is preparing to finish his final job, Mitch Rapp is working with two partners, a husband and a wife, and the trio is trying to figure out the best mode of operation. As the time comes to carry out the deed, something goes awry, and many people end up dead.

A mansion is on fire, and Mitch is considered one of the fallen, but he is not, and he knows someone tried to set a trap for him. Out of all Flynn’s books ranked, The Third Option is perhaps the bloodiest.

Separation of Power

On the Edge

Book five of Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series in order is, of course, Separation of Power. Separation of Power was published in the year of 2001, featuring a count of pages numbering nearly five hundred in total.

Mitch Rapp, as we know him, is a man that likes to live life on the edge, and whether this stems from a need for adrenaline or just a happy series of coincidences, one cannot say. However, following what happened in the previous novel, Mitch Rapp is once more working on assignments. There’s no one quite like Mitch, no one that can be sent to an arbitrary county to kill an arbitrary target and doing so exceptionally efficiently.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

The current mission has to do with Saddam Hussein, since this novel was published at a time when the threat was quite menacing, and since the tyrant has just acquired three nuclear weapons.

It is essential and crucial that these weapons be neutralized as soon as possible, but this requires more than just an ordinary degree of cunning. The weapons are in an underground bunker under one of Baghdad’s largest hospitals.

Taking the Warheads

Dropping a bomb on this site would not only mean suicide on an international scale, but also the lives of so many civilians. The President has no other way out and has tasked Mitch Rapp and a group of elite soldiers to infiltrate, disarm, neutralize and bring them to the United States to serve as proof that Hussein’s reign is terrible.

Mitch’s enemies, however, are not only Hussein’s men but also the people on the soil of his own country. Of all the Vince Flynn book reviews this could be the best Vince Flynn novel.

Executive Power

Curse of Success

Flynn’s novels, at least as far as the Mitch Rapp series is concerned, would be very incomplete if Executive Power was missing. Executive Power was published in 2003. The great agent Mitch Rapp is a man for whom fatigue and exhaustion never seems to set in, as the man’s infinite fuel tank never runs out.

In the years following the events of the previous novel, Mitch Rapp was regarded by the public as a truly great man, a patriot, and a shining hope for his nation. However, that also blew the cover of the agent, as now there isn’t a terrorist on the face of the Earth that hasn’t heard of or seen Mitch Rapp.

No Longer a Field Agent

As Doctor Irene Kennedy, the director of CIA, and Mitch Rapp worked daily in the fight against terrorism, it became clear that Mitch Rapp should not be allowed on the battlefield as often as before. So the special advisor on counterterrorism, Mitch, now operates from the impregnable headquarters of the organization. But things can change in the face of adversity.

Back so Soon

A group of Navy Seal operatives was sent and dispatched to the Philippines to rescue an American family that had been abducted by a group of radical Islamists, but they were caught in an ambush. It was supposed that very few people knew about the mission, but somehow the news had got out.

Since Rapp has no other choice, he is let back onto the field in the hope that he can be of service and save the mission. If we were asked in what order the books from Vince Flynn should follow, we’d never budge on the chronological one.

Memorial Day

Patriot

When you read the order of the best Flynn’s Mitch Rapp books you inevitably come to the seventh book in the series, Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a novel that was published in 2004 and has more than five hundred and fifty pages.

The terrific and unmistakably beloved agent of Central Intelligence Agency, Mitch Rapp has always done whatever has been asked of him and whatever is necessary to protect the freedom of the American people and the freedom of the United States. Especially abroad, where he is fighting with the countless terrorists who come from seemingly nowhere.

Day of Tributes

At the present moment, the task and the assignment given to Mitch Rapp has to do with an extremely large terrorist attack on the United States of America and the plans to carry it out.

The CIA’s operatives have gotten word of such murmurings and ideas to destabilize the US and, what’s only worse, is that it is being prepared to take place during Memorial Day, a day when the WWII veterans are honored.

Seizing the Stronghold

As time is short, Mitch Rapp is sent to Afghanistan, where he will lead a commando attack on an Al Qaeda fortress located in a secluded village along the border.

The group must neutralize all the plans that seem to have Washington at the end of a nuclear strike. Faced with a threat while still trying to do so in the fastest possible way, Mitch Rapp has no resources to waste. One of the best books by Vince Flynn in one of the best Vince Flynn book series.

Consent to Kill

Doing His Job

Consent to Kill is, of course, the eighth book of Vince Flynn’s novels in order which we are currently reviewing. It is rightly considered, especially by us, to be one of the best Vince Flynn novels, and it is a real treat to read.

For years and years, the life of Mitch Rapp has been dedicated to nothing less than saving the lives of the millions of American people and he has done this day in and day out. There was nothing that could stop Mitch Rapp in his mission to go through and finish the tasks given to him, be it murder whichever villain or endure pain to stop catastrophe, all he has done has shown that he is a true patriot and that he is prepared to do everything to thwart terrorism.

A Hero or a Nuisance

Throughout his illustrious career as a top operator of CIA, the fight for peace, harmony, tranquility, freedom and the cessation of all attacks on his country has been seen by many people as a truly admirable and wonderful thing. Many people see Mitch Rapp as a hero, even though for every such person there are at least ten who consider him their arch enemy.

Threatening Forces

One should not be surprised to learn that there are many of Rapp’s enemies that stand and walk upon the soil of America. Even among his own people, there are many who want Mitch Rapp to be eliminated, and the time for such elimination seems to have come now.

A terrorist who was eliminated by Mitch Rapp has decided that he wants revenge, so Mitch Rapp is at the center of a conspiracy that brings both foreign and domestic enemies into play. One thing is certain, Mitch Rapp is not going to let his people be the targets and victims of such vile terrorists.

Act of Treason

All Was Calm

Act of Treason is the seventh book in the series that we are taking a look at, namely Vince Flynn’s series known as the Mitch Rapp series. It is a series that acts as a home to many of the best Flynn books of all time. Act of Treason was published in 2006.

Georgetown has rarely had such a beautiful fall day as today, as the Democratic presidential candidates, along with the Vice President of the United States of America, do their best to calm the issues of the voters and the many media outside the gates of a large mansion where a conference on national security is being held. The world’s most brilliant minds have come together to discuss the many threats, but then something goes wrong.

An Ambush

When the presidential candidate Josh Alexander and his motorcade are ambushed by a terrorist group, it soon becomes public knowledge that the nation is on the verge of being thrown into disarray by the events that are unfolding.

Only weeks later, Josh wins through a so-called sympathy vote, but the attackers are never found. Apparently, the attackers are agents of Al-Qaeda, although the US secret services had done their best to keep terrorists away.

Shadowy Figure

While other groups and organizations around the world are on the lookout for the jihadists who may be responsible for what happened, Irene Kennedy and Skip McMahon get important information that makes sense of what happened, and the finger is pointed at a particular man from Washington. This is where Mitch Rapp comes in. This is a book that is more than worth your time, and we cannot recommend it enough.

Protect and Defend

Can’t Wait Any Longer

Protect and Defend is the 10^th book of the chronological order of Vince Flynn novels we are following with the Mitch Rapp series. Protect and Defend is a pleasant and engaging novel, published in 2007 with a total of four hundred pages north.

Protect and Defend begins in Iran, a place where billions upon billions of dollars have been spent to create a nuclear warhead program. Lacking the will of the international community and international organizations to thwart its neighboring archenemy, Israel has embarked on one of the most imaginative, sophisticated, and deterrent espionage operations the world has ever seen.

Shifting the Blame

The attack that takes place leaves behind a tomb of radioactive material, along with an environmental disaster in one of Iran’s largest cities. Both the United States and Israel are being blamed for the attack, and the President of Iran swears that he will make both nations pay and pay in blood. At this point, it is quite logical that Mitch Rapp comes into the picture.

Destabilization

President Josh Alexander is convinced by Mitch Rapp to put his signature under an operation, a rather dangerous operation that would make Mitch Rapp do what he does best and put the Iranian tyrants to shame, which would only be another step towards the revolution that will surely happen any day in this country.

However, this time there is someone on the back of Mitch Rapp and if he isn’t careful, he might just end up killed. All in all, this is a sincerely wonderful and action-packed book that we love.

Extreme Measures

While He’s Away

Extreme Measures, the eleventh book of Vince Flynn’s books in order, is thrilling, tense, and with all the action that a Mitch Rapp fan could ever ask for. If we were taking a look at the books by Vince Flynn in order of publication, Extreme Measures would come out in the middle. Extreme Measures was published in 2008.

At the present moment, Mitch Rapp is doing a mission in Pakistan, so the Director of the CIA, namely Irene Kennedy, has no choice but to employ the protégé of Mitch Rapp, Mike Nash, for the assignment at hand. Nash, a man that has been in the service for more than fifteen years, starting in the Marine Corps, then continuing in the counterterrorism group that was run by the famous Mitch Rapp. All in all, Nash is no stranger to ultraviolence.

A Protégé

Having fought alongside his friends in the war against terrorism, all in an altogether surreptitious manner, without awards to testify for his time, Nash is a man that is prepared to go the extra mile to have his country and his people proud. He has lied to seemingly everyone he has ever known, even his spouse, children, but if he didn’t, he’d have put them in even more peril.

Taking the Task

Now, the patriot of today, Mike Nash, a veritable hero that adores and will do anything for his country, even when this same country is treacherous to itself. With the kind of writing that no one else can emulate, Flynn shows us the daily struggles of a war being waged day in and day out, all through the lens of a hero trying to juggle so many things in his life. Rightfully on the list of the best Vince Flynn books.

Pursuit of Honor

Explosions

Pursuit of Honor is the twelfth book among Vince Flynn’s novels that we have been reviewing up until now. Pursuit of Honor is a fantastic novel, rich with the action and the style that Flynn and his novels are known for. Pursuit of Honor was published in the year of 2009.

Six days following a set of terrible explosions that left their horrible mark upon Washington, D. C., when nearly two-hundred people were killed, including several public officials and employees working for the CIA, the action has gain traction and is beginning. This deplorable action of unbridled violence has led to the most extreme of measures being called for so far as Mitch Rapp and Mike Nash are concerned.

Something He Has Never Had to Do

With the horrible event’s shock and curtain of fear having slowly dissipated, several officials in Washington are trying to decide whether to send out Mike Nash and Mitch Rapp, two men that are prepared to do anything for their country, especially in a time like this. Haplessly, Mitch Rapp is forced to try and convey the need for great measures as far as national security is concerned with politicians that aren’t easily swayed.

Finding the Perps

While this is going on, three Al Qaeda terrorists that attacked are still on the loose, stalking the soil of America. Not on the record, Mitch Rapp has been tasked with locating, finding, and dispatching the three fiends that perpetrated such a demonic act. When his partner Nash begins showing signs of distress, it is up to Mitch Rapp to keep his friend’s will intact while still trying to carry out the mission they have.

The Last Man

The Missing Man

The Last Man is one of Vince Flynn’s best novels outright. The Last Man is also book number thirteen of the Mitch Rapp series that we adore so much. The Last Man is one of the recent Vince Flynn novels published in the year of 2012.

The four corpses, which belonged to four guards, did not do Mitch Rapp much good either, but seeing that the man they were supposed to keep in the barrier was nowhere to be found amazed him. Joe Rickman was not just a running firework of the mill foot soldier.

A Key Figure

For nearly a decade, Rickman had been carrying out and leading the operations of the CIA in Afghanistan. The occupation, especially in Afghanistan, required him to work with some of the most fiendish figures in all of the world, but he did it still.

Hundreds of millions of dollars passed through the palms of Joe Rickman over the course of his black ops lifestyle, and not a single person showed interest in knowing wherefrom and whereto the money was going.

Inside Man

When he arrives in Afghanistan, Rapp supposes that Rickman has been abducted by some group, but being ever the observant and perceptive type, Rapp understands that something far larger is at play here.

Mitch receives an order to locate Rickman as soon as he can and to use all his resources, but when Pakistanis, Russians, Iranians, and Taliban forces are his enemies, can Rapp make it out alive? Deservedly, one of the best Vince Flynn books.

The Survivor

No Means of Getting it Back

The Survivor is a book that Flynn was never able to finish in his lifetime, as he sadly passed away, but the author Kyle Mills was the one who took Flynn’s base and finished it appropriately. This is one of those books known as Flynn Kyle Mills books. The Survivor was published in the year of 2015.

A ton of data has just been stolen from the CIA and the only person that allegedly knew of the location of the stolen things is, by all accounts, a dead man. Following where the last novel ended, Mitch Rapp has no choice but to try and recover the top-secret information that has fallen into the wrong hands.

Where We Left Off

Joe Rickman, the ex-CIA operative that was hailed as one of their best, has stolen a truly large amount of data that can implicate many key figures in the world, many key operations that happened all around the world, and he is offering this information to the Pakistani forces. As it happened, though, with Rickman dead, there is seemingly no way to get the information back in their possession.

A Little Hope

The stolen data was placed in a location that only Joe Rickman knew of and with him dead, there’s little hope of getting peace of mind. As the Pakistani forces and the American forces struggle to find where exactly Rickman might have stored such items, it is up to Mitch Rapp to try and figure out the particulars of Rickman’s life to finish the assignment he has. Time is of the essence.

Going Forward

A little moment should be given to, with great sadness, say that there won’t be any Vince Flynn’s upcoming books, as Kyle Mills took up the writing of the series following Flynn’s death. Still, the Mitch Rapp series goes on and Kyle Mills is doing a terrific job.

Term Limits

Execution

Term Limits is a standalone and brilliant novel by Flynn. Term Limits was published in the year of 1997 and has a remarkable page count of more than six hundred in total. Term Limits is, in our opinion, one of the best Vince Flynn books.

A single night is what it took for three of the most important, mightiest, and most influential politicians of all of Washington to be killed with a precision that rivals that of a neurosurgeon’s. The bloodbath that took place was nothing short of devastating both to the political outlook of the nation, but also to all parties that are concerned. It becomes clear that a message was sent by means of these executions.

A Threat to All

The message, so far as everyone is concerned, speaks to the whole of the governing bodies of America, namely to step outside of the bounds of partisan politicizing and bring the power of the nation back to the people. There isn’t anyone in the whole of the country that they cannot reach, not even the President of the United States.

Shadowy Group

With the forces of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency coming together to track down and dispose of the villainous group, it is revealed that the assassins in question are surely commandos, but they can’t say for certain who they are and when their carnage will reprise.

Michael O’Rourke, ex-Marine and congressman, is the only person that might know the truth about the events unfolding. His past is the key to understanding the schemes that are being carried out. We cannot recommend this book just enough.

Any Other Recommendations?

The Mitch Rapp series has five or so other books, all of which were written by Kyle Mills, and we enjoyed them so much that we recommend them to our readers.

Robert Hazley

Robert is a science fiction and fantasy geek. (He is also the best looking Ereads writer!) Besides reading and writing, he enjoys sports, cosplay, and good food (don't we all?). Currently works as an accountant (would you believe that?)