Vince Flynn died last June of prostate cancer aged just 47. He was an American author who wrote political novels. One of seven children, Flynn was a graduate of St Thomas Academy and the St Thomas University of Minnesota despite being dyslexic. He forced himself to write to help overcome his disability and worked in bars while he wrote his first book ‘Term Limits’. He was married to Lysa and they had three children.
Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series show the main character as an under-cover CIA counter-terrorism agent. The primary focus of the character is thwarting Muslim terrorist attacks on the United States and he is presented as an aggressive operative who is willing to take measures that are more extreme than might be considered commonly acceptable. His constant frustration with procedures and red tape are a major theme throughout the entire series.
Term Limits – 1998
Flynn initially self published this novel which revolves round three of Washington’s most powerful politicians being executed. The assassins deliver an ultimatum to the American government: set aside partisan politics and restore power to the people. Michael O’Rourke, a former U.S. Marine and now a congressman finds out who they are and why they do it.
The Third Option – 2000
This is the second book to star Mitch Rapp who is sent on a highly sensitive mission in northern Germany to assassinate Count Heinrich Hagenmiller V, a powerful arms dealer that has been selling weapons to Saddam Hussein and other enemies of the United States. Rapp successfully slays Hagenmiller, only to be betrayed by his mission companions “Jane and Tom Hoffman”, who attempt to kill Rapp. Jane (the one that shot him) quickly stages the scene to implicate Rapp and then flees the location with Tom. A shocked Rapp eventually awakes. As a result of his fall, a gash in his head has left a small pool of his blood on the floor. Not wanting to leave the forensic evidence behind, he sets the room on fire and quickly escapes.
Pursuit of Honor – 2009
The book opens days after Muslim extremists have blown up a power lunch restaurant filled with members of Congress and staffers. After that, a second squad attacks the National Counter Terrorist Center killing dozens more until Mitch Rapp and his partner Mike Nash send the bad guys off to paradise. With nearly 200 dead, the nation is in no mood to negotiate with the Islamic extremists. The President has given Rapp a green light to be the judge, jury and executioner. The sharp edge of the CIA’s sword has been let loose with few strings attached. The story takes place over the following week.
‘The Last Man’, written in 2012, was the last of the Mitch Rapp novels that Vince Flynn managed to complete before his death. In February 2008, Flynn had agreed on film and book projects with CBS Corporation units CBS Films and Simon & Schuster/Atria Books. Lorenzo di Bonaventura was negotiating to produce Mitch Rapp films and in August 2010, he signed a two-book deal for a new series that he would have co-written with Brian Haig, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel.