First off, I need to admit that short of a rabid stalker, there is probably no bigger fan of Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series than I. That having been said… this one is, to me, a LOT different than what I had come to expect.

This time, we get to see some hardcore political wrangling that likely mirrors what is actually happening on the Hill as time passes and many lose their stomach for war. This time, the perspective is much less first-person Mitch, and much more modern-age fable. We get to see the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly lock horns over a problem that is very much real, but growing more unpopular by the day.

Don’t get me wrong — there is still plenty of action and you will still want to block out enough time to read in case, like me, you can’t put the book down until you are finished. But I came away from this one feeling more that I had been reminded of a very important lesson than I had read about Mitch’s latest exploits.

There is much less smart-alecking (some may be happy about that), and given the shift in perspective, much less from Irene and Scott. But there are other characters that Flynn does as good a job in developing. In all, there is a very important, and very timely message in this book. Though I wish I could have had more “classic” Mitch (and am disappointed that I have to wait another year for more), I think this was the right book at the right time.

If this would be your first VF book, I would strongly recommend you read earlier books first. If you are a rabid (or even a casual) fan, you should love this one. If you have been kind of turned off by some of the “over the top” antics in previous novels but like the overall character and concept, then give this on a try. It will be hard to be disappointed.

I give it five of five because it is timely, it is a page-turner, and it is freaking Mitch Rapp! It wasn’t quite what I thought I wanted, but it ended up being what I might have needed.