Protect and Defend

While Protect and Defend certainly allowed Mitch Rapp to "do his thing", it was not one of the stronger stories in the series, perhaps because it had far less going on than previous entries. In essence, Protect and Defend takes place over a very short period of time as Rapp seeks to defuse a

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possible war. The action was, as always, exciting, but Flynn did not break any new ground in this book. Don't get me wrong, though: Mitch Rapp is still one of my favorite characters. It will be interesting to see where Flynn takes Rapp in the next story, especially given some of the events of this book.

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I am about halfway done. This is a political thriller in the style of Tom Clancy. The action and plot are enjoyable there is enough going on to keep my interest without getting too involved for me to read a few chapters at a time on the bus. My major complaint is that I disagree with the politics.

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I know that it is a work of fiction but when characters make assertions like (to paraphrase) "The US occupation of Iraq signals the end of religious fundamentalism as the disenchanted youth who comprise the future jihadists are lured away by conspicuous consumption," I find myself being removed from the moment and it has turned me off of what is otherwise a good book.

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Mitch Rapp, CIA operative, is back in Vince Flynn's Protect and Defend. When an Israeli spy blows up an Iranian nuclear facility, the Iranian government not only blames Israel but also the US. Tensions escalate and one faction of the Iranian government - along with a leader in Hezbollah - conspire

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to implicate the US in several actions against Iran, including the destruction of an Iranian warship and the kidnapping of the Director of the CIA, Irene Kennedy. As per usual, Mitch Rapp is a one-man army, working to bring down terrorism with a little help from his friends.

Thankfully, Protect and Defend is far better than the last Vince Flynn book I read (Act of Treason). Flynn returns to the international scene, where I think he does best, and keeps the level of action and suspense up throughout the book. I certainly have no illusions about the "literariness" of Flynn's books - they are meant as escapist literature and have little to do with the truth. But when well done, they're a good way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon. And there were a few "extras" with this book, too. One is that even though the new President - Josh Alexander - and his advisors are *gasp* Democrats, Flynn actually portrays them as having some cohones. In the past, Democrats in Flynn's world have been portrayed as spineless wimps. Second, the Iranians were not portrayed as uniformly evil and/or close-minded. Perhaps Flynn is starting to see that there's a bit of gray in the world, which can only make his stores better, I think. This is the best Mitch Rapp book I've read yet.

If you enjoy political thrillers with a kick-ass hero, but don't expect a lot of philosophizing, then this book is for you.

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The novel is a political thriller and successfully captures the tension between bureaucrats in DC and the operatives on the ground.
The protagonist and his skilled CIA team use many technological resources to thwart the goals of the religious nazis of the Muslim states.

In Protect and Defend, the action begins in the heart of Iran, where billions of dollars are being spent on the development of a nuclear program. No longer willing to wait for the international community to stop its neighboring enemy, Israel launches one of the most creative and daring espionage

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operations ever conceived. The attack leaves a radioactive tomb and environmental disaster in the middle of Iran s second largest city. An outraged Iranian government publicly blames both Israel and the United States for the attack and demands retribution. Privately, Iran s bombastic president wants much more. He wants America and Israel to pay for their aggression with blood.

Enter Mitch Rapp, America s top counterterrorism operative. Used to employing deception, Rapp sees an opportunity where others see only Iranian reprisals that could leave thousands of Americans dead. Rapp convinces President Josh Alexander to sign off on a risky operation that will further embarrass the Iranian government and push their country to the brink of revolution. As part of the plan, CIA director Irene Kennedy is dispatched to the region for a clandestine meeting with Azad Ashani, her Iranian counterpart.

But Rapp isn t the only one hatching plans. Iranian President Amatullah, has recruited Hezbollah master terrorist Imad Mukhtar to do his dirty work. For decades Mukhtar has acted as a surrogate for Iran, blazing a trail of death and destruction across the Middle East and beyond. When Kennedy s meeting with Ashani goes disastrously wrong, Rapp and Mukhtar are set on a collision course that threatens to engulf the entire region in war. With the clock ticking, Rapp is given twenty-four hours, no questions asked, to do whatever it takes to stop Mukhtar, and avert an unthinkable catastrophe.

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Those, like me, who have not read Act of Treason, the book that immediately precedes Protect and Defend will find themselves at a bit of a disadvantage as they begin this one. That is because Protect and Defend begins with alternating chapters that tie up a major loose end from Act of Treason while

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beginning the setup for Mitch Rapp’s next mission. The two books were written in 2006 and 2007 and Flynn assumed, I think, that his Mitch Rapp series would be read in the order in which it was written. That was more likely in 2007 than it is now that the series is at least ten books long and some of the earlier ones are getting tougher to find. That minor quibble aside, Flynn soon moves on to the new plotline and the new adventure takes center stage on its own.

Rapp’s quest involves an issue that is yet to be resolved in the real world: what to do about Iran’s determination to join the nuclear bomb club? When, as a complete surprise to the United States, disaster strikes Iran’s nuclear program, Mitch Rapp sees an opportunity to destabilize that country’s government. Rapp rightly suspects that the Israeli’s are involved but, since there is no evidence to tie the implosion of the facility to either Israel or the U.S., he arranges for a dissident group of Iranians to claim the credit.

All goes to plan until CIA director Irene Kennedy travels with Rapp to Iraq to explore the possibility of new relations with the Iranian government. After a successful meeting with an Iranian official during which he agrees to approach the moderates in his government about Kennedy’s offer, things rapidly fall apart. Director Kennedy’s motorcade is ambushed and she is kidnapped. Suddenly hundred of lives are at stake unless Rapp can rescue Kennedy from the torturers who hold her. Kennedy, it seems, has a photographic memory and, if she is forced to reveal the names of all the international operatives working for her, the U.S. intelligence program will be set back by decades.

The early pace of Protect and Defend, during which the previous book is put to bed and the new plot is outlined, is rather slow but Flynn’s pacing perfectly matches his plotline. As things get more and more out of hand, and the tension level associated with Kennedy’s kidnapping cranks ever upward, the pace of the writing picks up speed as well, and Protect and Defend becomes the real page-turner Vince Flynn fans have come to expect from him.

Rated at: 4.0

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good characters, action, political thriller.

Typical Flynn. Good, but light read.

A thriller dealing with Iran and their terrorist regime

This review is for the Audible edition of Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn. The thought of Iran currently trying to be a nuclear power is quite edge of the seat type of plot. Israel taking action to stop Iran even in secret could cause a mid-East crisis which could after a long cold war with

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Russia cause America to start a war which easily could become WWIII. Then you let Irene get kidnapped and Mitch start thinking the bastards would start to torture her and the crap is going to hit the fan. Especially when the president literally pulls off Mitch's gloves and restraints and the only outcome that matters is Irene home safe, sound, and unharmed. I listened to the Irene kidnap scene and aftermath 2 or 3 times but so much happened and I knew it was going to be a key part of the story so I wanted to understand it. Even though it's in the beginning I thought it was such a pivotal story plot that I was glad I listened to it several times. Other scenes when Mitch has to rant to get some pencil pushing politician to understand the importance of action, and especially no holds barred violent action is always entertaining. Once the story started this book was a book I listened to in almost one setting except re-listening of the key part of Irene being taken and the battle that ensues. I have found many of Vince Flynn books to be ones in which I really wanted to sit listen until I couldn't continue or real life makes me put it down. If you enjoy military action adventure novels you'll enjoy the Mitch Rapp series. Even though these stories are fiction and you can see through the fiction to storylines and some of the reactions and outcomes really can be thought provoking. I really enjoy stories and books in which not only entertain but if it can cause some thinking and contemplations then even bette

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Apparently I lean toward the tainted hero protagonist. The guy, or gal let me not slight the fairer sex, that understands what justice and morality are and where they differ and what can be done about it. But then we have an abundance of them in every culture from Yojimbo in Japan to Robin Hood in

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England to Ned Kelly in Australia and to our latest on the scene; Jack Reacher

In this case Mitch Rapp has no patience with the diplomatic approach when the Iranians start to blame America again for their problems. The latter part of the novel involves the Head of the CIA and machinations in the Supreme Council of Iran. While the rest of the world dithers Mitch Rapp steps up and does what has to be done despite namby-pamby rules regulations and armchair quarterbacks who have never been in the field..

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Rapp is after the Iranians when they think the us is behind the bombing of their nuclear program. When in fact it was Isreal's Mossad. Iran's PresidentAmatullah sends Mukhtar to kidnapp and torchure Director of the CIA Irene Kennedy, Rapp fights the clock to stop the Terrorist hired by Iran to save

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Kennedy and get the bed guys!

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great read. quick, non-taxing, engaging.

This was the first Vince Flynn book I read.When his death was reported last month the news commentator remarked that his books were unsettling to the DOS and the Administration;that they couldn't figure out how he knew what he did about clandestine events.It was a real page turner,a little too

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macho in spots but a great "what if" premise.

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Vince Flynn does it again, or, rather, his creation, Mitch Rapp does. Flynn always manages to create credible terrorists, whose twisted sense of revenge, heroism and martyrdom, leads them into ever more complicated attempts to damage the US or the Great Satan that they term that country. As usual

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there are politicians and others, some of them members of the military, who wish to curtail Rapp's activities. In this novel they even bring him before a Judicial Inquiry, but this only serves to allow the terrorists to be at least partially successful, before Rapp, and his assistant, Mike Nash, get down to sorting things out. A real page turner that leaves the way open for another instalment.

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A decent enough Mitch Rapp outing, but quite a bit light on the plot side of things. Essentially, the Iranians are getting chippy and kidnap Rapp's boss, which sets the stage for the majority of the story. There is some Israeli involvement early on in the form of the destruction of an Iranian

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nuclear facility, but that potentially very interesting side of the equation is summarily dropped early on in the novel. That, combined with the rather hasty conclusion, makes me wonder if there wasn't a bit of a deadline problem with this one.

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Mitch Rapp kills a lot of bad guys. Flynn always manages to create credible terrorists, whose twisted sense of revenge, heroism and martyrdom, leads them into ever more complicated attempts to damage the US. Multiple characters in multiple settings living out multiple plot lines, all deftly brought

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together at the end. Near the end, the Iranian mullah shoots the rogue President--Justice?

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Mitch Rapp fights the Iranians and their stooges, Hezbollah, after the Israelis destroy Iran's nuclear facility, and Iran decides to retaliate against 'Big Satan' first.

Irene Kennedy, working behind the scenes tries to broker a deal beneficial to Iran and the US with her Iranian counterpart before

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Iran does something to provoke the U.S. into destroying Persia. Things escalate when a Hezbollah terrorist kidnaps the CIA Director and the U.S. President declares the kidnapping as an 'act of war' giving a short time to release Kennedy before attacking. Rapp has to track down the enemy and save his mentor from torture and death. Some in the intelligence game feel Rapp has gone way off the reservation with his brutal techniques, however, the President has given him carte blanche, so Rapp is truly unleashed to do what he does best - track down and terminate the terrorists....

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Captivating story of international intrigue.

The premise of this novel is that Iran is building a nuclear weapons facility, something that reflects our current reality, and Israel bombs the facility, creating major damage. Iran demands retribution on the United States and Israel. CIA director Irene Kennedy goes in a diplomatic mission to

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Iran, and she is kidnapped. In order to stop Iran from enacting revenge, the United States sends counter-terrorist agent Mitch Rapp, one of the most compelling CIA type character I have come across in my fiction readings, to diffuse the situation, get back Kennedy, and cripple the Iranians.

I always enjoy reading Mitch Rapp novels because of his no-nonsense, take no prisoners, willing to do anything attitude about getting the job done. I’m not sure if real life people like Mitch Rapp exist, but we could certainly use people like this. He’s the furthest thing from a diplomat and has little tact. When CIA director Kennedy is kidnapped, tortured, and raped by the Iranians, then the gloves really come off of Mitch. This novel has a good pace, loads of tension, and a compelling storyline. Definitely a must read.

Carl Alves – author of The Invocation

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I started to put this book down right after picking it up. I don't like stories set in contemporary middle east. But, I was 'reading' the audio version on the treadmill and didn't have another book loaded in and ready to go so I gave it 30 minutes. And then I was hooked.

I should have known. I've

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loved every single word that Vince Flynn has ever read.

There's no good way to tease the plot without giving it away so I'll just say, Mitch Rides Again and it is good.

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Not my favorite. An Iranian nuclear facility is destroyed in the beginning. Than there is a big middle section where nothing really happens. A lot of planning and discussing. Than Kennedy is kidnapped and the action starts again.

Revenge novel and thriller rolled into one.
Great series.

Fairly slow in the first half of the book.....I began to think this was the weakest Flynn I've read. The second half of the book was fantastic, as Rapp furiously works behind enemy lines to rescue CIA director Kennedy. Overall, a great book, better than his last novel.