Kill Shot (Mitch Rapp, #2) (2024)

About a week ago I finished “American Assassin” – the first (prequel) book in the “Mitch Rapp” thriller series by Vince Flynn. It is being made into a movie that will be released this September (2017). I enjoyed it so much that I immediately bought the second prequel novel “Kill Shot” on my Amazon Kindle. I am so glad that I did because the second book was even better than the first one.

In this second book Flynn has evolved as a writer, creating a tighter set of plots that build throughout the story and then crescendo together in a brutal and satisfying climax. There is a sense of Ludlum’s “Jason Bourne” and a touch of Lee Child’s “Reacher” in Mitch Rapp, an American assassin who finds himself on the run after being set-up during a mission in Paris. The strong pacing and interesting characters kept things moving along and demanded my full attention. It was worth every minute of my time it to see the story evolve in different and surprising ways. The members of Rapp’s team also developed more depth and background, which added to the tension. Even with a few preachy moments, I was compelled and driven to discover what happened next, which included a couple of late nights of reading.

I love reading suspense and thriller authors like Lee Child and David Baldacci, and am now adding Vince Flynn to my list. I cannot wait to start the next one in the series. If you haven’t, I highly recommend giving Flynn’s “Mitch Rapp” a try too. "American Assassin" and "Kill Shot" are two excellent books to starts with.

It's very difficult to write a good prequel (cf. the Phantom Menace) and especially a good espionage thriller prequel (cf. Tom Clancy's Red Rabbit), so it's impressive that Vince Flynn has written two in a row. The author has to create suspense and jeopardy when you already know that certain key characters have to survive the book to show up in the stories covered in the earlier books.

In the previous book in the series, Flynn gave us the origins of the world's greatest terrorist hunter, Mitch Rapp. In the older books, Rapp has reached the midpoint of his career and perhaps even its twilight, which I'm sure presented problems for Flynn because who wants to hear the exploits of a ready-for-retirement spy? So we go back to the beginning. We have the same Rapp, with his preternatural skills and talents, his overriding sense of justice, and his unwavering commitment to do what he thinks is necessary to accomplish his ends. But this younger Rapp is more raw, with fewer scars--both physical and psychological. He's more emotional, sometimes less sure of himself, prone to rookie errors the older Rapp would never make, including the relationship with a particular young woman. (Although it has some excellent foreshadowing for a situation we already have seen.)

We also have a complex plot full of intrigue and twists and turns that ultimately end with, well, we know how such books end, don't we? It's how we get there--and who makes it there with us--that's important. Kill Shot does not disappoint.

Mitch Rapp is tasked to take out a Libyan tied to terrorism in a Paris hotel. He quickly realizes as the bullets fly he has been set up. Wounded, he searches for the traitor in his camp. A thrill-a-minute ride that keeps the pages flying.

Book 2 in the Mitch Rapp series.

This is a fast paced thriller of the first order; Vince Flynn knows how to get the adrenalin pumping.

Mitch Rapp has been give the job of neutralising some of the world’s most lethal terrorists and has, to date, done an amazing job. But his latest commission is about to go very, very wrong. In the process of liquidating his target, Mitch is almost killed. There is only one explanation, he has been set up. Until he can figure out who did what and why Mitch can trust no one.
To make matters worse his bosses back in Langley think he has gone rogue and make the decision to have him terminated.

This is one hell of a ride.
If you are looking for action followed by more action then this ones for you.
4 Star recommendation.

This is the second book in the Mitch Rapp series, and he is as good at what he does as Jack Reacher.
In this book it appears that Rapp has been set up by someone in or close to his own team and he is far from happy. In Paris and with a bullet wound he has to quickly figure out his next steps, is he on his own or can he trust his handler.
Never a dull moment but high on the violence scale, I am looking forward to book 3.

Mitch Rapp is by far my favorite literary crush. Not exactly profound, I know, but I love him. This was another great effort by the always wonderful Vince Flynn. His writing always sucks you in so that you are part of the action. This was one of my favorites yet, and evoked a bit of the old school thriller writers like Ludlum. From the beginning, the hunter becomes the hunted.

In this sequel to American Assassin,Flynn connects the dots in the Mitch Rapp story and brings us through his first year on the job. The book really takes off with Rapp's first mishap. From there, it is a page turning thriller to the end. Can't wait for the next one!

Also, please let me help cast Mitch Rapp. I will suffer from an extreme case of depression if this casting isn't perfect!

Vince Flynn has a very incredible detailed way to take you into the action that really open your excitement from the beginning to the end. If you enjoy political drama with lots of action and characters that feel so real you can't stop reading Kill Shot is a riveting read along with Vince's other books. His main character Mitch Rapp is an american hero who understands what it takes to fight terrorism and dam the politicians. His boss (Director of the CIA) is the most commanding female character I've ever read. I guarantee that once you read one of his books you'll want to read them all.
I couldn't put it down. Never a dull moment with Mitch Rapp. I like the twists and turns that kept me glued to the story. I would recommend this book for first time readers.

Mitch Rapp is back! It’s just one more kill, a Libyan oil minister with a dark past, but now Rapp has gone from hunter to hunted. Who can he trust? Lone gunman are often just that - alone. Multiple international interests, action, violence, sex, betrayal - this felt like the best of old Clancy (maybe better).

This was stay-up-too-late-and-completely-fuck-up-my-day good. I woke up in a frenzy to get the next book. Oh yes, it’s time to Rapp.

…for Rapp life had become something far more complicated. There were times when even he wasn’t sure who he was. He had five separate identities that he used on a regular basis and several more that were tucked away in a safe deposit box in Switzerland. His existence had become a lie within a lie.

For almost a year CIA asset Mitch Rapp had been quietly tracking down and assassinating the terrorists responsible for the downing of PanAm flight 103, en route from Frankfurt to Detroit via London and New York, over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, 21 December 1988. His latest target is the Libyan oil Minster, Tarek al-Magariha, at his hotel room in Paris, but despite the advance team, 5 armed men were waiting to take him out, the oil minister a mere decoy. After an intense gun fight, a wounded Rapp makes his escape, and tries to find out who betrayed him.

The immediate suspects are his handler, Irene Kennedy, Thomas Stanfield – the aging head of section and Stan Hurley, a fading assassin bearing a personal grudge. But behind it is a more sinister reason – treason - and the involvement of the French foreign security service, DGSE.

It’s taken me a while to catch up with Mitch Rapp, the late Vince Flynn’s master assassin, and this book is the second prequel after American Assassin. Rapp is a likeable MC in a “thinking” thriller – the violence compressed into 2-3 scenes while the reader is led through the deceptions, back-stabbing, petty jealousies and power shifts in the US and overseas.

This owes more to Ludlum than say, Baldacci and Lee Child, with Flynn set to join my favourite authors in the genre. Highly recommended.

In 2013, I was a smoker. Hated smoke inside the house, so I would smoke on my porch and read. I was mostly reading David Baldacci then, and I was looking for a new writer because I was almost done with his books. My neighbor recommended Vince Flynn, and I read all of his books in a summer. Mitch Rapp was one of my favorite characters.

I was so saddened to learn when he died. I have no idea who has been keeping up his series after he passed away. Not sure I'd want to continue them. Kind of like Steig Larsson's series, I suspect it will fall short of the author's original vision.

Because I read all these books in 2013, I'll be copying/pasting this review into all of the 13 Mitch Rapp books I read.

I started reading the Mitch Rapp series when the movie adaptation of American Assassin came out (way back in 2017!), chronologically this is the second instalment and serves as prequel to the series which follows on from the events of the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing in that book in which I read many years ago.

Whilst it's telling that I've not felt the need to pick this book up from the pile, I still found it an enjoyable tense read as Rapp doesn't know who to trust.

Pretty action packed with some witty dialogue in this tale of espionage.
With this being the 12th written, some of the side characters may have had more significance for long term readers as they didn't feel as fleshed out.

An insight action packed young Rapp adventure.

This is the second book in the chronology of Mitch Rapp, although it was published well after the third book. I worried about being disappointed, but found the plot was every bit as good as the first - even twistier. A good cast of believable characters & motives that wound up wonderfully!

Matt Helm & Quarry are getting a run for their money. On to the third, Transfer of Power.

I'm not sure if I can even be objective anymore when reading Vince Flynn. I love his writing, I love Mitch Rapp, I love everything about his books. I was very happy to have Thomas Stansfield back in the game in this one!

This was a winner right from the start. Had me hooked right away and it never let up. It's number two in the series chronogically but was written after all the others. I'd recommend reading them in chronogical order to avoid any spoilers and to better understand character motivation. One of the very best Vince Flynn books and that's a high honor indeed.

Mitch Rapp is one of my favorite characters in fiction and he's never let me down.

Another excellent thriller from Vince Flynn in the early Mitch Rapp days. 10 of 10 stars

What happens when a character ages faster than his author? Think Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan,” Michael Connelly’s “Harry Bosch,” or here Vince Flynn’s “Mitch Rapp.” A corollary to this question could be what happens when a new author takes over a character: like “Jason Bourne,” who has recently been disfigured to the eternal posthumous embarrassment of the great Robert Ludlum.

Ryan was promoted to President and the series limped along with his son unconvincingly taking over the derring-do. Bosch was brought out of retirement and his final years to “DROP” are being set at super slo-mo. Bourne, the most literate and brooding of spies has been stripped of all of his humanity. Flynn’s approach with Mitch Rapp has been unique and creatively successful. He basically called a do-over.

Flynn has tried various other artifices before happening on this winning formula: from putting Mitch behind a desk at CIA headquarters to creating a younger Rapp replacement. All with less than stellar results. In his last two outings – “American Assassin” and “Kill Shot” – Flynn has just gone back to the beginning and started telling the Mitch Rapp story again. We benefit from seeing Rapp come of age in the Bush environment of preemptive American superiority and then seeing him come of age in the chastened light of maturity of our present war weary world-view. A pleasant side-benefit is that elements of Rapp’s back story can now take additional prominence and we faithful readers can chuckle with the full flowering of story elements we had previously sketched for ourselves.

This reboot has forced Flynn to be more nuanced and circumspect. The result is that the former cardboard cut-out is now – not quite, but potentially – a rival to Daniel Silva’s great international espionage creation: Gabriel Allon.

We should all be allowed our do-overs in life, if we bring this much originality and wisdom to our efforts.

When I was a wee teenage boy in the early 80's (yes I know, I'm old, so what, wanna fight?) I frequented my local public library, called a free library at the time, I don't know why, I never have been to a library where I had to pay. There was always numerous chromed wire racks (the kind that spin around) filled with what I guess were called "Men's Adventure" books. I picked up a copy of a series called "The Executioner" by Don Pendleton. My library didn't have #1 (War Against the Mafia)so I had to start with #2 (Death Squad) which had a cover showing a couple of guns, a body, a guy getting shot and a bikini clad woman. What more could a guy want. I devoured it and the next 20 or so in the series, closely followed by numerous "Destroyer" novels and several other series that I can't remember. The books were always goofy, fast paced, entertaining and just as pulpy as hell.

While I read Kill Shot I thought often of Mack Bolan (The "executioner" of the above referenced series). Mitch Rapp is essentially an updated version of Mack Bolan. Super awesome protagonist who is so awesome you cannot gaze directly at him without going insane. Lots of various redshirt bad guys getting shot, usually in the head. supporting characters arguing about who thinks Mitch Rapp is awesomer. Bad guys who hate Rapp...because he is so much awesomer than them.

That being said, I read all the old Mack Bolan books (Though I liked The Destroyer better) and I loved them. This book was entertaining, fast and fun. It was certainly worth reading if you don't mind a "Gary Stu" type character. I will read another one...but only from my local (free) library.

Mitch Rapp has his troubles. In the last few books Mr. Flynn has dropped back and given us Mitch's history, his beginnings in the CIA.

In the last outing we met some of the players that are here in this book. We also saw the genesis so to speak of the events here. This book while holding the mantel of action proudly around it's shoulders and being true to said mantel also manages to be somewhat of a "who done it". While it tells the story in the "The reader sees behind the curtain" mode it still sets up a nice somewhat suspenseful story while still fitting in enough "slam bang" to satisfy.

On the whole I like the Mitch Rapp books and will more than likely stay with the series (if I'm able). They are satisfying page turners with coherent and thought out plots that hold together. Mr. Flynn has done his home work and over the length of these books we've gotten to know several of the characters (including Mitch of course) well.

I'm going all the way to 5 stars on this one. I considered dropping it to 4 but in the end decided I liked it well enough to give it all 5.

Enjoy.

3.5 stars. I love how competent Mitch Rapp is. I was kind of frustrated by how easily everyone believed the worst of him, especially since things just seemed so clear, but I was probably supposed to be frustrated by that :) Fun series for sure.

Mitch is such a great character. Love this series.

review to follow.

This was my second book in the Mitch Rapp series and certainly not my last. It's Flynn's second prequel, and the sequel to American Assassin. I find the Rapp series very addictive and entertaining, like a good action/spy film! This time Rapp is on a routine assignment in Paris, France, but he is ambushed by several gunmen, and the whole mission is compromised. Rapp is on the run from the enemy and also his own agency, who has a mole and no one knows about it but Rapp.

Mitch Rapp is certainly a man you don't want to get on your bad side, he's right up there with 007 and Jason Bourne. Recommended to anyone who likes a good spy thriller, now I'm onto book #3, Transfer of Power!

Започнах втората част на историята за Мич Рап със сериозен скептицизъм, тъй като много често "много"логиите отслабват с всеки следващ том.
Рап е в Париж "по работа" и за първи път нещата се объркват невероятно сериозно.
За голяма моя радост "Списъкът на обречените" е в път�� по-домислена, многопластова и динамична.
Освен шпионската линия има много силен полицейски елемент, както и препратки към времето на противопоставянето между силите в света известно като "студената война".
Нямам търпение да прочета и трета част.

A good one, back to the basics for Mitch. 3 Stars

I'm dying. DNF @ 64%.

I admit it's been a minute since I read American Assassin, but jeez louise, this is a sophomore effort if ever there was one. What a boring, whiny, stupid MC. After graduating with top honors from the spy academy, he's been on a one-man-mission to destroy everybody even mildly involved in the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am 103. It's been a year and he's close to wrapping things up. On his last effort, he was sent to take out some guy in his hotel room, and the guy's bodyguards somehow knew to check for him. After nothing but easy kills to this point, Mitch is shot in the shoulder and seriously rattled by his close call.

Who would've sold Mitch out? Will this affect the two-week vacation he planned with his long-distance girlfriend?

I swear this book was just yada yada yada - the CIA handlers/decisionmakers talking amongst themselves; Rapp telling Greta she needs to leave right before telling her he wants her to stay... *yawn* Woefully little action. I just can't take it anymore, nor do I care.

A lot of series suffer from sophomoritis, so I'm going to try the next book - maybe things will get back on track. Skipping forward to Transfer of Power.

Audiobook that I listened to while cleaning my mom's house out so she could move.

Loved it. This is my third Mitch Rapp book and he's replaced Dirk Pitt as my #1 action hero.

Reminiscent of Jason Bourne with some Jack Reacher attitude thrown in for good measure, this was a pretty enjoyable book.

Lest you misunderstand, this is not quite on the same level as either of those vaunted series. However, if you are willing to squint just a bit and put credulity to the side (as we all do with these types of stories), the CIA operative, Mitch Rapp, featured here is a good blend of the characteristics called for in this type of novel.

My first encounter with this author was favorable and this 3.5 star effort gets rounded up for being entertaining enough to keep me interested and entertained despite the somewhat excessive length (436 pages).

Much better than the previous book. I couldn't stop listening. I had to see the bad guys get their due.

I am so ready for the next book.

After meeting Stan Hurley in later books and witnessing his rapport with Rapp, I was surprised that Flynn set up Hurley as such a mean antagonist in Rapp's past. Knowing how everything would have to work out, this part of the story didn't hold my interest as much as Rapp building his reputation for assassinating individuals who were previously considered untouchable. In fact, I would have preferred that Flynn stuck to these missions and given them more time, as opposed to dealing with the rivalry between Hurley and Rapp.

With this book, I closed my streak of reading Flynn's Rapp books. I put it down knowing that the next book, "Last Man," which picks up with Rapp's present exploits, was due in paperback in August, while the sequel, "The Survivor" was scheduled for a hardcover release in December of 2013. I expected to read Rapp books with the same regularity that I do Child's Reacher books...

Then, in July of this year, I found out that Vince Flynn had passed away in June from prostate cancer. I had learned about his diagnosis on his site sometime in early April. In the most current message that I read, Flynn said that he was feeling good and looking forward to a recovery.

It is so sad that Flynn died, first because he leaves behind a family, and second because he also leaves an incomplete body of work. Flynn decided to pursue a writing career and did so with a rare tenacity. After receiving a round of rejections, he self-published his first book and sold it from the truck of his own car. His book ended up on a bestseller list, a publisher noticed, and Flynn got pulled into mainstream publishing. From there, Flynn regularly published a book a year, and each book was a best-seller. Without question, Flynn would have continued writing Rapp books; he was also scheduled to co-write another thriller series.

I am glad that I picked up Flynn's Rapp series, and I enjoyed binging books 1-12 in a five-week stretch. Flynn knew how to write a fun thriller built around a strong, controversial take on the necessity of the violent means available to our government in the pursuit of national security and defense. Flynn's books were an entertaining detour from my usual reading habits, and I applaud his accomplishments as an individual who wanted to give voice to his stories and share them with others.

Inertia coming off of American Assassin (the first book in the Mitch Rapp series) drew me straight into Kill Shot. And I'm glad it did!

My second introduction to Flynn's writing style and the genre at large did not disappoint. This book is full of vivid and visceral violence (and excellent gun fight scenes, by the way), a global backdrop, especially Paris, witty and characters I found easy to get into, a shifting POV that I didn't think I'd enjoy as much as I did, and interwoven plot threads that culminate in some high stakes political espionage that will not let you down.

For some reason, the final scene had my mind playing Moby's "Extreme Ways" as the plot wrapped up...

Profiter de la livre!