American Assassin

American Assassin by Vince Flynn

As I mentioned in my last review of a Vince Flynn book, these tales by this author all focus around one character, and the stories, while somewhat enjoyable, are basically the same.  Mitch Rapp is a clandestine CIA operative who sniffs out bad guys at home and (mostly) abroad, and is dispatched to do away with these evil threats to decency and the American way of life.  

What makes this story slightly different (emphasize the word “slightly”) is this book goes back in time, and details how Rapp first became involved within this group of freedom fighters.  He’s recruited by CIA employee Irene Kennedy (in latter books, she becomes Director) and she sends him to “training” with other potential bad-asses in the unknown hills of Virginia.  This training won’t be easy.  It’s designed to “break” you, and only the strong survive.  The training is headed by Stan Hurley, a combat veteran who’s in his late fifties and has a “Tom Selleck” mustache.

Don’t let Hurley’s age fool you, he’s a tough, whiskey drinking, cigar chomping, sonofabitch who can easily take down any of these punks, regardless of the size of their biceps.  Hurley’s not happy that Irene Kennedy has recruited this “college puke” without his knowledge, and as soon as Mitch Rapp arrives, Hurley would love nothing better than to send this green kid home crying and screaming.  He’s determined to make an example out of this kid.

Well, if you know anything about Mitch Rapp, you know that nothing ever goes wrong for him.  So when the two have an immediate, impromptu spar, let’s just say that Rapp whoops his trainer in a bad way.  Hurley can handle the bruised body parts, but not so much the bruised ego, so a lot of testosterone banging and clanging go on for the first third of this book.

Well, Rapp gets a pass after all the bickering, and is sent overseas for his first mission.  The powers that be need to see if this kid has “what it takes” to be a killer.  So Rapp finds himself in the dusty, dirty terrorist laden streets of the Mideast.  His first task is to “scope out a target” that will eventually be eliminated by Rapp and company.  Well, Mitch being Mitch, he decides not to wait, and he immediately sneaks up and brutally slays the adversary before he supposed to do anything.  Not good.  Well, maybe it is good.  After all, doesn’t this mean the kid has “what it takes”?

Within Vince Flynn’s books, there’s always one of those subplots that shows up about some rich, hypocritical, Muslim, evil terrorist and the obligatory plot of how they’re about to bring America to its knees.  It seems they’ve captured some American agents, and they’re torturing them whilst the agents are hemorrhaging information.  A few of Stan Hurley’s team are called in to assist.  Hurley being one, Rapp being another.  Then Hurley gets captured and they try to torture him as well.  Hurley’s too tough to be tortured, though.  I mean, the man laughs when they pull his finger nails off one by one.

All this is kind of irrelevant, however.  What is important is that Hurley needs to be rescued, so Rapp fakes a capture of himself by the same terrorists, acts cowardly - crying, pleading, etc., whatever he can do to get closer to Hurley to perform a heroic rescue. If you’ve read any of these books by Vince Flynn, let’s just say that you already know the rest.

So Vince Flynn once again delivers.  Everything is predictable.  The naysayers will groan (yet they won’t even read the book, so the author is safe), and the fans will cheer that Mitch Rapp has once again made the red, white and blue a bit safer - even if this story takes place 15 years or so in the past.

(NOTE:While I was reading this book, Vince Flynn passed away, losing a two year battle with prostate cancer.  I know there are at least two more of his books that he completed before his premature death.  Very sad, as always, to hear such news.  Despite many of the shortcomings within his stories, I have to honestly say that I’ve enjoyed his works.  After all, I would have read them all had I not!)