Denied Access: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Don Bentley
“[A] callback to what makes Rapp such a special character, and a white-knuckle reminder of why this series remains the gold standard of the political thriller genre.” —The Real Book Spy

Don Bentley completes the trilogy begun with American Assassin by taking Mitch Rapp back to his fledgling assassin days, picking up where Kill Shot ended, on a mission to save the woman he loves amid a CIA showdown with the Russian intelligence services in a new thriller from the author of Vince Flynn’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

The Central Intelligence Agency is in crisis.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Congress is questioning the organization’s necessity. Interim CIA director Thomas Stansfield must fight for his agency’s survival while explaining why the previous candidate for his job was found murdered in a French hotel—surrounded by booze, cash, and dead men. Worst yet, a brilliantly run sting operation in Moscow has resulted in the arrest of America’s most prized Russian asset and the expulsion of his CIA handler.

With the CIA’s Moscow Station now paralyzed by the catastrophic intelligence failure, Stansfield seeks help from Mitch Rapp, a newly minted assassin in the secretive Orion program. But Rapp has problems of his own: when his Swiss girlfriend Greta’s grandfather receives a box containing the head of a former Cold War comrade along with a note promising that Greta’s head will be next, Rapp finds himself on the frontlines in a war between the American and Russian intelligence services. To protect the woman he loves and save the CIA from destruction, Rapp must be willing to risk everything.
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Denied Access: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Don Bentley
“[A] callback to what makes Rapp such a special character, and a white-knuckle reminder of why this series remains the gold standard of the political thriller genre.” —The Real Book Spy

Don Bentley completes the trilogy begun with American Assassin by taking Mitch Rapp back to his fledgling assassin days, picking up where Kill Shot ended, on a mission to save the woman he loves amid a CIA showdown with the Russian intelligence services in a new thriller from the author of Vince Flynn’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

The Central Intelligence Agency is in crisis.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Congress is questioning the organization’s necessity. Interim CIA director Thomas Stansfield must fight for his agency’s survival while explaining why the previous candidate for his job was found murdered in a French hotel—surrounded by booze, cash, and dead men. Worst yet, a brilliantly run sting operation in Moscow has resulted in the arrest of America’s most prized Russian asset and the expulsion of his CIA handler.

With the CIA’s Moscow Station now paralyzed by the catastrophic intelligence failure, Stansfield seeks help from Mitch Rapp, a newly minted assassin in the secretive Orion program. But Rapp has problems of his own: when his Swiss girlfriend Greta’s grandfather receives a box containing the head of a former Cold War comrade along with a note promising that Greta’s head will be next, Rapp finds himself on the frontlines in a war between the American and Russian intelligence services. To protect the woman he loves and save the CIA from destruction, Rapp must be willing to risk everything.
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Denied Access: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Don Bentley

Denied Access: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Don Bentley

Denied Access: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Don Bentley

Denied Access: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Don Bentley

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the future of the CIA is in jeopardy. The agency enlists Mitch Rapp, an assassin already entangled in an international conspiracy. To stop any further destruction and save the woman he loves, Mitch must return to his old ways in this heart-pounding conclusion to the American Assassin series.

“[A] callback to what makes Rapp such a special character, and a white-knuckle reminder of why this series remains the gold standard of the political thriller genre.” —The Real Book Spy

Don Bentley completes the trilogy begun with American Assassin by taking Mitch Rapp back to his fledgling assassin days, picking up where Kill Shot ended, on a mission to save the woman he loves amid a CIA showdown with the Russian intelligence services in a new thriller from the author of Vince Flynn’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

The Central Intelligence Agency is in crisis.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Congress is questioning the organization’s necessity. Interim CIA director Thomas Stansfield must fight for his agency’s survival while explaining why the previous candidate for his job was found murdered in a French hotel—surrounded by booze, cash, and dead men. Worst yet, a brilliantly run sting operation in Moscow has resulted in the arrest of America’s most prized Russian asset and the expulsion of his CIA handler.

With the CIA’s Moscow Station now paralyzed by the catastrophic intelligence failure, Stansfield seeks help from Mitch Rapp, a newly minted assassin in the secretive Orion program. But Rapp has problems of his own: when his Swiss girlfriend Greta’s grandfather receives a box containing the head of a former Cold War comrade along with a note promising that Greta’s head will be next, Rapp finds himself on the frontlines in a war between the American and Russian intelligence services. To protect the woman he loves and save the CIA from destruction, Rapp must be willing to risk everything.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781668045909
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication date: 09/30/2025
Series: Mitch Rapp Series , #24
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 432
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

About The Author
#1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn (1966–2013) created one of contemporary fiction’s most popular heroes: CIA counterterrorist agent Mitch Rapp, featured in thirteen of Flynn’s acclaimed political thrillers. All of his novels are New York Times bestsellers, including his stand-alone debut novel, Term Limits.  

Don Bentley is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books in several series including the Matt Drake novels, the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan Jr. series, and now the Vince Flynn Mitch Rapp series. Don is a former FBI Special Agent, SWAT team member, and Army Apache helicopter pilot. Learn more at DonBentleyBooks.com.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1


PRESENT DAY

BARCELONA, SPAIN

MITCH Rapp could feel the surveillance team.

Like an itch that he couldn’t quite reach or the buzzing of an unseen mosquito, he could sense their presence. If asked, he could point toward their watching eyes in the same manner in which a compass needle unerringly swung toward magnetic north. For most people, the notion that a person could intuitively detect an unseen observer was ridiculous.

He was not most people.

Over the course of the last hour, the team had grown bolder. As Rapp had followed his companion’s lead through the winding warren of Barcelona’s streets, the sensation had progressed from a buzzing at the edge of his consciousness to shapeless forms just outside his field of view. More than once he’d felt the compulsion to quickly turn his head in an effort to catch a glimpse of the unseen watchers.

Rapp had ignored that urge.

If the surveillance team realized that they’d been made, the members would have to make a decision—withdraw or escalate. Rapp knew the team represented a tactical problem that he would have to solve, but he intended to do so on his terms, not theirs. In addition to the standard mental checklist he addressed before choosing a time and place for possible kinetic action, this afternoon he had another factor to consider.

The blonde seated across the table from him.

“Something the matter, darling?”

Though she knew English, the woman asked the question in French in keeping with their agreement. Rapp spoke the language like a native, and the passport resting in his back pocket proclaimed him a resident of la République française.

This was a lie.

One of many.

“Everything’s fine,” Rapp said, studying his girlfriend.

Greta Ohlmeyer possessed the sort of magnetism that caused would-be suitors to make fools of themselves. The Nordic beauty was a statuesque five feet eight with bright blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a strong jaw that tapered to a little apple chin. The Swiss woman’s hair was almost always pulled back into a high ponytail, and though they’d been dating for a little over a year, Mitch was often at a loss for words in her presence. He’d lost count of the number of suitors who had gone to ridiculous lengths in the hopes of garnering a smile from her. Collisions between members of the male species and inanimate objects were almost a daily occurrence around Greta.

“You’re not behaving as if everything’s fine.”

“I need to use les toilettes,” Rapp said. “Could you please order me another glass of sangria?”

“Of course.”

The brief change in her countenance suggested that Greta was not buying what he was selling. A slight narrowing of her eyes, a pursed lower lip, and a single worry line that marred her otherwise smooth forehead. Someone who had not spent hours memorizing her every feature might not have noticed the minuscule differences in her expression.

Rapp noticed.

Reaching across the table, he squeezed Greta’s hand. Her soft fingers sent a jolt of electricity crackling up his arm. She smiled. It was tentative, but a smile nonetheless.

She knew the effect she had on him.

She also knew what he did for a living.

Rapp slid his gaze across his surroundings as he stood.

He and Greta were seated among a cluster of tables that served as the outdoor eating area for a café located on the southwestern corner of the Plaça dels Àngels. The open-air plaza was anchored to the northwest by the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and a municipal building to the southeast. To Rapp’s eye, the museum’s edgy lines and endless panes of glass seemed at odds with the municipal building’s stodgy faded stone façade, but the throngs of pedestrians who transited the plaza didn’t seem to mind. Mothers pushing baby strollers jostled with young professionals on their way to or from lunch, while tourists clustered in twos and threes armed with cameras and maps.

The shops and restaurants lining the courtyard made Plaça dels Àngels a natural gathering point for Catalans and tourists alike, but another, more distinct clique also made use of the slate walking area. A coterie of skateboarders incorporated the museum steps and tiered concrete entrance into their aerial performance. While predominately male, a handful of women also numbered among the dozen or so skaters.

A redhead wearing a tank top and loose cargo pants broke from the pack, riding her board straight at the concrete ledge adjacent to Rapp’s table. The velocity she generated in the run-up to the trick was impressive. Her twin braids streamed behind her, reminding him of a crimson battle ensign snapping in the wind. He guessed her to be about his age, but with her face scrunched up in concentration, she looked much younger. The ledge was only a few board lengths away, but the woman was determined to go faster still. Risking her balance, she shifted her trail leg off the board for a final, monstrous push. Then she stomped the tail of her board and went airborne.

The ollie was expertly done.

The redhead’s board cleared the ledge with room to spare. The same could not be said of her rear foot. The edge of her toe clipped the concrete lip, sending skateboard in one direction and woman another.

Over the course of the four years he’d spent on the Syracuse University lacrosse field, Rapp had developed the ability to mentally slow down a developing play and determine its probable outcome in real time. Imagining the skateboarder as an attacker hurtling down the field with the ball in her crosse’s pocket and a clear shot at goal made the rest easy. In the blink of an eye, Rapp analyzed the woman’s flight path and computed a likely point of interception. Sliding left, he interposed himself between the redhead and the unforgiving pedestrian walkway. A millisecond later, she slammed into his chest. Rather than attempting to arrest her momentum, Rapp went with the flow, cradling her unhelmeted head as they both tumbled to the ground.

The jarring collision between the unforgiving stone and his arms and shoulders foreshadowed bruises to come, but he was able to take the majority of the impact across his thick back muscles. Maybe not as clean as the countless falls he’d practiced in the jiujitsu dojo, but it got the job done. For a moment he was flat on his back and nose to nose with the startled woman.

He wondered what she saw in his coal-black eyes.

A startled tourist?

A Good Samaritan?

Or maybe something else.

Rapp unlocked his arms, and the skateboarder shot to her feet. He couldn’t understand the torrent of Spanish pouring from her lips, but judging by her embarrassed smile and flushed features, he could guess.

C’est bon,” Rapp said. “C’est bon.”

The woman loosed a final bit of Spanish before grabbing him in a surprisingly strong hug. Then she picked up her board and headed back to the circle of skaters. Rapp watched her go before turning to Greta.

He smiled.

She did not.

Chuckling, Rapp summited the steps and entered the museum.

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