Domenico's Reviews > Kill Shot

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.