The Third Option (Mitch Rapp Series #2)

Exciting thriller

THE THIRD OPTION is the dark, dangerous world of covert operations where governments use agents to kill their enemies without sanctioning their activities. Mitch Rapp, a member of the Orion Team, has abided by the rules of the game for a decade. Now that he is in love, Mitch wants to resign after years as a patriotic universal soldier.

His last assignment calls for him to assassinate a German industrialist helping Hussein rebuild the Iraqi nuclear arsenal. After completing the mission, one of his peers tries to eliminate Mitch, but fails to kill the operative. Alone and hunted, Mitch manages to return to the States to attempt to uncover the identity of the individual paying the assassination bills. When his enemy grabs his beloved girlfriend, Mitch vows to kill everyone who might be involved even if it means raiding the Halls of Congress and the White House.

Vince Flynn, author of TERM LIMITS and TRANSFER OF POWER, writes another powerful political espionage thriller that keeps reader's interest from the first page to the last line. There are numerous interesting subplots augmenting the story line, but the heart of THE THIRD OPTION remains the protagonist. Mitch wants to come into the heat of love and out from the cold, but struggles to bury his previous life without it interring him. From almost the onset, readers know who the villains are, but that does not slow down this thrill a page novel.

Harriet Klausner

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Good Read, But Terrible Transcription

I've read all of the Vince Flynn books in the past but I bought American Assassin as an eBook, so now I am going through them all again in the order they were written. Flynn's prose improves as he progresses through the series and The Third Option is an enjoyable read. The only problem I had with this book was, as at least a couple others have mentioned, the terrible job done converting the original book's text to eBook. There are many typos, hundreds of missing spaces between words and dozens of weirdly placed hyphens. Good reading, but pretty distracting with all of the errors. I'd give the original book 4 Stars, but this version only 3.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Third Option a Mediocre Third Effort

As a thriller afficiando, a new friend suggested that I try Vince Flynn. I decided to start at the beginning and read his first two novels quickly as he is an easy read. I enjoyed both immensely, but Third Option failed to reach the bar Flynn set with TERM LIMITS and TRANSFER OF POWER. One of the problems an author faces when using the same characters in an endless series of thrillers is how to re-introduce them to the reader who already knows their history, yet make them able to stand alone for those who are new to the author. Flynn's solution to this problem in THE THIRD OPTION made for long and often boring references to numerous characters' histories and very slow going by experienced Rapp, O'Rourke, Coleman, Stansfield, & Kennedy fans. These history lessons were obviously aimed at the new reader, who Flynn tries to force feed the facts of two prior novels by going off into tangets as each of the characters arrive. Adding the president, a girlfriend and a wife to the others, this is way too much exposition for any story. If Flynn repeats this method of introduction in the future I will not get through another one of his books. Lee Child is an expert in the manner in which he re-introduces Jack Reacher to newcomers, but one character is obviously easier to accomplish that with than eight. But my criticism does not stop there. Having Mitch Rapp as a hero works well-but here he is the hero, but he did not translate well to being the target and main subject of the story. Flynn obviously knows this because this entire book is really exposition for his next novel, The SEPARATION OF POWER, which means that THE THIRD OPTION really has no ending. One critic called Flynn "shameless" for misleading his readers on with a book that ends with a sequel. I agree. But I will read the sequel anyway

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very good..

Suspenseful...keeps you hanging, enjoying

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Getting better and better!

This is the fifth Mitch Rapp book I've read and I really enjoyed it. The story is fast paced and has a satisfying conclusion. There are elements of the plot that remained unresolved, but it feels like this may be taken care of in a later book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommend

Vince Flynn has developed an American Assassin worthy of American readers. Intelligently written and action packed, the Mitch Rapp series makes you want for more. Akin to Clancy's Jack Ryan Series or Ludlums Jason Bourne, these books a page burners. "Don't bother me till I finish this book, honey...."
Devilishly quick wit and well thought out schemes and worthy research of the areas enacted in the plot. These stories make you want the 'next' book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good, starts slow but ends pretty intense

It took a while to get into it.. Not as action packed right out of the gate as the first one but by the end I wanted the next one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

reading this is not an option...

I haven't read a book in 3 years until I picked up Vince Flynn's Term Limits...I read it in 2 days...then I picked up the next in his bibliography and read it in a matter of days...then came The Third Option...it took me a little longer to read this one because of my work schedule, but I'm glad I didn't burn through it...it has going on in different offices and town than the other two did...so i had the opportunity to take in more detail, which paid off...it is a great book by a great author...If you are considering this one for your first Vince Flynn book, I would advise against it for the sole reason that some of the characters are returning from previous books he's written and you would get a better feel for them after reading his previous publications...so if this is a first VF book for you, I recommend picking up Term Limits for sure...Term Limits and The Third Option are tied for me as my favs of Flynn so far in the series...please read Vince Flynn, he's the most entertaining writer I've read...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good Book - bad ending

This book makes two top tens: 1st top 10: top 10 books i've read - easily one of the better books i've read, I couldnt put the book down. 2nd top 10: top 10 worst endings - while reading the book, I couldn't wait to buy another Vince Flynn book. After the ending, I doubt i'll ever buy another one of his boooks. The story doesn't end in the ending,so you'll have to wait until the next book comes out to find out the completion of this story. I feel so used (sob)

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

i'm so addicted to these books!!!

Holy cow! Mitch Rapp is pure awesome! whatever the question Mitch is the answer. I'm now 10 books deep into this character. i don't have a favorite because each one is as incredible as the last.

Excellent read!! Keeps your interest

New to Mitch Rapp series. Great central character! Favorably compares to Jason Bourne!!

Highly Recommend

Very fast and thrilling. I could not put it down. Cant wait to read the next one.

Vince Flynn has you on the edge of your seat and keeps you there

Wow - what a read. The main characters in the Rapp series are all so strong - Flynn does a great job of making his characters real. You really get pulled into the story. I can hear the characters talking and see the action - and boy is this book filled with action - I loved it from the beginning to the end.

love it!

I am loving this series so much I've started with #1 and moving through the series. Just finishing # 4, can't wait to get to # 12! Great fast paced engaging reading. Enjoy!

highly recommended

I love all of Vince Flynn's books. The plots and the characters are thrilling and makes you not want to stop reading them. This one was
a great read if you enjoy novels about Washington D.C. and the corruption, the back-stabbing some politicans and the military & GOVERNMENT agencies. I recommend this book for those who like good guys winning against bad guys.

EXCELLENT!

Drew me in right away. I never read Vince Flynn, but now I am buying the series! Can't wait to read them all.

Third option review

Action packed thriller novel touching on important current issues.

Highly recommend

Lots of action, intrigue, and our hero Rapp gets him man but not without a shocking suprise.

Like all other Mitch Rapp books, it's totally addicting

In my dreams I'm the American hero, Mitch Rapp, and chasing enemy insurgents worldwide (smile...). You could call me an addict of all Vince Flynn books... They're never boring and helped me get over a long downtime while being ill.

Excellent Read

Vince Flynn does it again! Mitch Rapp is one of my favorites and this story is another winner in my opinion.