Vince Flynn’s Order To Kill
13th Mitch Rapp
Kyle Mills
Oct 11th, 2016
Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Order To Kill by Kyle Mills is a vintage Vince Flynn book. It is a reminder of the early Rapp novels with Mitch going full circle between his personal and professional life. Readers who enjoyed the character and plot lines will think of Transfer Of Power and Consent To Kill. Kyle has done a top-notch job of blending the beloved characters of Irene Kennedy and Mitch Rapp with a high adventure, action packed plot.

This book brings back former Navy SEAL Scott Coleman who is working with Mitch trying to find Pakistani nukes so they do not fall into terrorist’s hands. As the story progresses it becomes abundantly clear that Russia’s President, Maxim Vladimirovich Krupin, is working with ISIS terrorists to destabilize the oil resources in the Middle East. The only way to find the culprits and stop these catastrophic consequences is for Mitch to pose as an American ISIS recruit in Iraq, while trying to find and eliminate his nemesis, Grisha Azarov.

Kyle Mills has come into his own. He expands the setting, introduces new characters, and yet is able to stay true to the characters and details created by Vince Flynn. Unlike last year where Mills was tasked with finishing a plot partially written by Vince, with this story he had full creative range and the final outcome is excellent. It is almost that he is one with the characters.

In this book Mitch harkens back to the person he was in the early Rapp books, no longer full or rage and living in a darkened world. Readers will now see Rapp as someone who realizes he is comfortable with his professional life and can possibly have a personal life as well. Kyle brings back Claudia, the woman who was married to Gould, the psychopath whose ambition was to kill the great Mitch Rapp. It is open ended if Claudia and Mitch will have some kind of relationship, but she is much more compatible than Anna, Mitch’s late wife. Having been in the business herself she can participate in the activities and understands what Mitch’s responsibilities must encompass.

Irene Kennedy continues to be an imperative player in the story in the role of the CIA Director, Mitch’s confidante, and the person who is able to connect the dots. She is important in being the focal point for understanding the issues presented in the book. Mitch depends on her to make the hard decisions.

There is a scene in Order To Kill where Mitch is confronted with eliminating someone. As in Consent To Kill he walks away from that desire. It is almost as if readers will close their eyes and think of the line Mitch says in the former novel, “Because I’m not a coward. Because…I don’t blow up houses and kill innocents and bystanders.”

Transfer Of Power propelled Mitch to the beloved character he is today. In that book there were a number of scenes with him rescuing Anna. In Kyle’s latest book he introduces the character Laleh. The scenes between Mitch and Laleh will once again show how Mitch is a true hero, getting angry when a woman is mistreated while attempting to rescue her. But these scenes are also heart breaking because it shows how ISIS captures women, makes them become sex-slaves, and the desperation faced by these women because there is no way out.

Although Vince concentrated on one area of the world, the Middle East, Mills skillfully has expanded the geo-political domain. Still incorporating terrorism within the plots he also shows how the US cannot be one dimensional in confronting its enemies that include Jihadists, Russia, North Korea, and China. Russia is seen as a one-man show, where Krupin (Putin) is more concerned about his own power and influence, using the Oligarchs as a crime syndicate organization. Kyle shows the desperation of Krupin, how Russia is the poster child for income inequality, and is ridden with drugs.

What Vince Flynn always wrote about were the Saudis not being the greatest of allies, using financial means to fund terrorism. In this book, Kyle continues that arc by showing how they are arrogant with a distaste for Americans. In fact, in the next book Kyle will focus on the Saudi connection with terrorism.

Fans of the legendary Vince Flynn were unsure if Kyle Mills could fill his shoes with the well-developed characters and plots. They loved and hated the month of October. Loved it because a new Mitch Rapp novel came out and hated it because they would have to wait another year for the next one. With Order To Kill, readers will get those same feelings. It appears the torch has been passed to Kyle Mills.

Elise Cooper