The Third Option

by Vince Flynn

Paperback, 2001

Publication

Pocket Star (2001), 432 pages

Description

Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of American Assassin comes a pulse-pounding thriller that "is an old school spy story...updated with heavy helpings of international intrigue and domestic politicking and betrayal" (Library Journal) and puts CIA agent Mitch Rapp in the crosshairs of an enemy even he did not anticipate. When diplomacy fails and military intervention is inappropriate, our leaders sometimes take a third option and Mitch Rapp has been assigned just such an "unofficial" task�??targeting a German industrialist who is supplying a notorious terror sponsor. But when the mission is dangerously compromised, Rapp realizes he's been deemed an expendable asset in a power struggle on home turf: the battle over who will become the successor of the dying CIA director. But no one counted on Mitch Rapp's return...or how far he'll go to find out who set him up. An explosive thriller that is ripped from the headlines, The Third Option proves that "in the world of black-ops thrillers, Mitch Rapp remains the gold standard" (Booklist, starred review of Red War… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member dbree007

Mitch Rapp, secret cia operative, black ops. Another guy who operates above or below the law.

14 more

LibraryThing member dspoon

Rancorous political infighting surrounds the selection of a successor to the dying head of the CIA just as Mitch Rapp, the agency's top operative, embarks on a dangerous mission to take out a well-known German industrialist believed to be supplying Middle East terrorists with highly sensitive

equipment critical to constructing a nuclear bomb. When Rapp's ultimately successful mission is compromised from within, ailing CIA director Thomas Stansfield puts his imprimatur on the efforts of his chosen successor, Irene Kennedy, director of the agency's Counterterrorism Center, to identify the powerful interests both inside and outside the agency that wanted Rapp to fail.

The motive soon becomes clear; there are people who'll stop at nothing to remove Kennedy from the helm of the agency after Stansfield dies. One thing they didn't count on was Rapp's survival, and now he's a lethal weapon whose sights are fixed directly on the most powerful among them. This is a strong, swift thriller, a bit predictable (the senator in the black hat has dogs named Caesar and Brutus) but nonetheless involving. Author Vince Flynn sustains the dramatic tension from the opening paragraph to the last; in Mitch Rapp, he's got the makings of a promising series hero.

Show Less

LibraryThing member SamSattler

"The Third Option," published in 2000, is the third book in Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series and, while the book still holds up well as a political thriller, today's readers will almost certainly think about how much has happened in the decade following its publication. Mitch is in Germany on what

he plans as his last counterterrorism mission: taking out a wealthy German industrialist before the man can supply Saddam Hussein's scientists with the material needed for Iraq to produce nuclear weapons to benefit those waging war on the West.

One more kill, and Vince plans to walk away from his old life and into the arms of the woman he plans to spend the rest of his life with - but, in Vince's business, things have a way of getting complicated. Vince Rapp is not used to failure but this time, despite his best efforts, the mission goes badly and he finds himself on the run in Europe, wondering who set-him up and why they did it. All he knows is that someone is going to pay the ultimate price for what they did to him - even if the order came from inside the Agency.

When he finally surfaces to confront his bosses in Washington D.C. about their knowledge of what happened in Germany, Rapp becomes convinced that CIA Director Stansfield and Irene Kennedy, Director of the Counterterrorism Center, are as much in the dark as he is. Director Stansfield, Rapp learns, is dying of cancer and Stansfield strongly believes that Irene Kennedy is the only choice to succeed him. However, some powerful government people disagree with Stansfield and they considered Rapp and his mission to be expendable if the ensuing embarrassment would keep Kennedy from the nomination.

"The Third Option" is a first rate thriller throughout but I was disappointed in its open-ended finish. It is obvious that the fourth book of the Mitch Rapp series picks up exactly where this third book ends - and that might have been more acceptable back in 2000 when there were only three books in the series. But now there are ten of them, and the earlier books can be difficult to find in libraries and bookstores, so it might be a while before I find out how book three's chief villain is finally brought to justice. Bummer.

Rated at: 4.0

Show Less

LibraryThing member GailL

Lots of suspense & numerous characters, fast moving, interesting right to the end.

LibraryThing member lanes_3

A good summer read. Fast paced, spy action.

LibraryThing member mattbuis

the worst mitch rapp book yet.

LibraryThing member ReaderOfAll

Good Action but political drama grew dull and one-dimensional

LibraryThing member nursewidener

Would you listen to The Third Option again? I would listen any of the Mitch Rapp stories again. Not only is the plot filled twists and turns and political along with military intrigue, Mitch is out killing all the bad guys. Mitch is helped out by a new set of characters who add an extra layer of

kick ass to the story. This story and real any of the Mitch Rapp sagas is recommended to readers who like the military/political thriller genre of books. What did you like best about this story? The no nonsense way Flynn writes his stories. He has created a hero who is American's answer to terrorist even if the people or politicians don't he out there taken care of the bad guys. The interactions between Kennedy and Rapp are some the most interesting conversations between a boss and worker, but Rapp will assassinate the people in his way and sleep like a baby in the morning. If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be? Framed, Pissed, and out for blood, just another day on the job for Mitch Rapp.

Show Less

LibraryThing member edwardsgt

I read this in the wrong order to the book which follows but it hardly mattered. Fast paced action all the way.

LibraryThing member Alan1946

Another fast paced and lively action novel. Mitch is revealed as being more complex as the series goes on. He would love to get out of the murderous business that he is in, but there is always something preventing him from doing so, much to this reader's pleasure.

LibraryThing member buffalogr

Bad ass assassin Mitch Rapp at it again--this time he almost gets killed by our own government. He pulls off a hit in Germany and is betrayed in the process. It's a pretty quick read and lots gets glossed over, but that's OK--just like the creamy filling in the Oreo cookie. The girl friend and the

quasi daughter don't play much of a role, nor does his sidekick, except in his mind. Plenty of bad guys abound. It's a plot with global impact -- our hero is successful and let's go on to the next book in the series.

Show Less

LibraryThing member coachtim30

"The Third Option" is a really solid addition to the Mitch Rapp series. In this book, Rapp is set up in Germany during a planned assassination of a corrupt German businessman. Who's behind the trap? Is it his top supporter in the CIA, Irene Kennedy, or some other person or group? Author Vince Flynn

slowly reveals more about each of his main characters, in this, the 4th book in the series as Rapp returns to the country to track down those that tried to kill him. The book is a real page-turner that's hard to put down.

Show Less

LibraryThing member JRCornell

CIA counterterrorism expert Mitch Rapp is sent on a mission to stop a German industrialist selling sensitive materials to a terrorist sponsor, unaware that he is being set up by forces in Washington who will do anything to see him fail. SOFT

LibraryThing member susandennis

This is the third book by Flynn and he, again, brings back his fabulous ensemble of characters. CIA assassin, Mitch Rap, is once again on assignment for Counterterrorism Lead, Irene Kennedy. But, this time, things do not go so well. The team hired to assist him, tries (and, they think, succeeds) to

kill him. Flynn's books are all wonderful. If you haven't read any, start with the first, Term Limits. You won't be disappointed.

Show Less

LibraryThing member ssperson

THAT'S HOW HE ENDED THE BOOK?!?!?!?!

Very uncharacteristic ending for a Mitch Rapp book. They're usually wrapped up more cleanly.

Fewer