Vince Flynn was a former sales accountant and aviator. He began writing in order to cope with dyslexia. He, however, blossomed in his work, and his first book, Term Limits, was published in 1998. Term Limits provide the inspiration for the Mitch Rapp character, and Flynn unveiled him in his second book titled Transfer of Power. Flynn continued building up his hero in other subsequent books, and they became best sellers. On the whole, Vince Flynn wrote 13 Mitch Rapp books in his lifetime. Following his demise, another American author named Kyle Mills has taken over the Mitch Rapp books. As of October 2022, there are a total of 21 Mitch Rapp books.
How Many Books Has Mitch Rapp Written?
Mitch Rapp has not written any books, as he is not an author. He is rather a fictional character and the protagonist in a series of spy thriller novels written by Vince Flynn, the late American writer. Flynn wrote a total of 13 Mitch Rapp books in his lifetime. Since his demise, the books have been taken over by Kyle Mills, who has so far penned eight more. It, therefore, means that there is a total of 21 Mitch Rapp books. Below is a list of the books.
List of Vince Flynn Mitch Rapp Series in Order
1. Transfer of Power (1999)
Genre: political thriller Paperback volume: 549 Original publishing date: 1999 Publisher: Pocket Books ISBN: 0671023195 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp rescues the American president from terrorists who invade the White House.
The first Mitch Rapp book to be published is 1999’s Transfer of Power. In it, Mitch Rapp is already an active covert operative. He is tasked with dealing with a bunch of terrorists that have infiltrated the White House and taken the occupants hostage, with the president hiding in the bomb shelter. Rapp coordinates the Navy SEALs who rescue the hostages and kill the terrorists. He also travels down to South America, where he kills the ringleader of the terrorists.
2. The Third Option (2000)
Genre: political thriller Paperback volume: 358 Original publishing date: 2000 Publisher: Pocket Books ISBN: 0671047310 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp becomes a pawn in a plot hatched by powerful D.C. politicians
The Third Option finds Mitch Rapp in Germany on a mission to kill a notorious arms dealer. He succeeds in his work, but it turns out that the whole mission is a plan by a group of powerful Washington D.C. politicians to achieve their political gains. Attempts are made on Rapp as well as his girlfriend’s life as the whole sordid plot unfolds.
3. Separation of Power (2001)
Genre: political thriller Paperback volume: 368 Original publishing date: 2001 Publisher: Pocket Books ISBN: 0671047337 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp takes down the corrupt Republican senator behind the plot to kill him
Separation of power picks up from where The Third Option left off. The corrupt Republican senator named Henry Clark is behind the assassination attempt on Rapp as part of his grand plan to take over the presidency. Rapp joins hands with his superior, Irene Kennedy, to figure out the whole plot. He eventually kills Clark but makes it look like a heart attack.
4. Executive Power (2003)
Genre: political thriller Paperback volume: 384 Original publishing date: 2003 Publisher: Atria Books ISBN: 0743453956 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp neutralizes radical Islamic terrorist threat on American Navy SEALs in the Philippines
Executive Power is the fourth Mitch Rapp book and Vince Flynn’s fifth book. In it, Mitch Rapp is relegated to desk work after a presidential recognition blows his cover. He, however, spends just a little time in the office before he is recalled to the field to help tackle a mole as well as an ambush by radical Islamic terrorists on Navy SEALs in the Philippines.
5. Memorial Day (2004)
Genre: political thriller Paperback volume: 416 Original publishing date: 2004 Publisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN: 9780743453974 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp thwarts the plan of the Al Qaeda leader to detonate a bomb on U.S. soil during Memorial Day celebrations
Mitch Rapp continues his fieldwork on Memorial Day, and he proves excellent once again. He is tasked with neutralizing the threat by an Al Qaeda leader to bomb the U.S., and though it is a close call, he manages to kill the culprits as well as detonate the bomb with minimal human and environmental effect.
6. Consent to Kill (2005)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 675 Original publishing date: 2005 Publisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN: 9781416505013 Nominations/Awards: 2006 Barry Award Nominee for Best Thriller and 2006 ITW Thriller Award Nominee for Best Novel Series highlight: Mitch Rapp takes revenge after the murder of his pregnant wife, Annie.
Consent to Kill is a direct follow-up to Memorial Day. The father of a terrorist neutralized by Mitch Rapp takes out a $20 million hit on Rapp’s head. The assassins attack Rapp’s home, but he survives while his pregnant wife Annie dies. The elite operative embarks on a revenge mission that sees him take out all those involved in the killing. Even better, the American president gives him Carte Blanche to deal with his detractors as he wishes.
7. Act of Treason (2006)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 432 Original publishing date: 2006 Publisher: Atria Books ISBN: 0743270371 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp takes on powerful Americans who are after the life of the president
Act of Treason is the seventh book that Vince Flynn published on his Mitch Rapp character. It has Rapp battling a bunch of powerful Washington D.C. players who want to take out the president. Early inquiries pin it on foreign terrorists’ networks, but Mitch Rapp correctly deduces that the real enemies are closer to home.
8. Protect and Defend (2007)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 416 Original publishing date: 2007 Publisher: Atria Books ISBN: 9780743270410 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp deals with the fallout of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
Protect and Defend is action-packed suspense. The convoluted chain of events starts off when Israel destroys Iran’s nuclear program. This leads to a significant disaster and leaves the Iranians angling for revenge on not only Israel but the United States. Mitch Rapp is drafted in, and he hatches a brilliant plan to cause a revolution in Iran. His goal is, however, complicated when Iran enlists the help of the Hezbollah terrorist group.
9. Extreme Measures (2008)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 448 Original publishing date: 2008 Publisher: Atria Books ISBN: 0743270428 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp joins forces with a CIA agent named Mike Nash to battle Taliban fighters.
The CIA discovers that the Taliban are planning a terrorist attack on the United States and draft in Rapp to halt it. Rapp joins forces with his protégé and team member named Mike Nash, and they set off on their mission. Whilst working to avert the threat to the homeland, a straight-laced senator that is unhappy with their covert moves hatches a plan to bring them and the CIA down. Rapp and Nash refuse to be disheartened, and fulfill their patriotic duty.
10. Pursuit of Honor (2009)
Genre: Spy thriller and espionage Paperback volume: 431 Original publishing date: 2009 Publisher: Atria Books ISBN: 1416595163 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp and Mike Nash battle Islamic terrorists who bomb multiple American targets
Pursuit of Honor has Mitch Rapp once more partnering with Mike Nash to combat terrorists. A radical Islamic sect carries out a series of well-coordinated attacks on American soil, which leaves scores dead. The president sends Mitch Rapp to bring the perpetrators to book, and he and Mike Nash get to work. In the course of chasing down the culprits, Nash’s daughter is kidnapped by the terrorists. Mitch Rapp, however, brings her home safely while her captors pay the ultimate price.
11. American Assassin
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 435 Original publishing date: 2010 Publisher: Atria Books ISBN: 9781416595182 Series highlight: College student-athlete, Mitch Rapp, joins an elite black ops CIA program in the wake of his girlfriend’s death in a terrorist bombing. Nominations/Awards: Nominee for the best thriller at the 2011 Barry Awards
American Assassin is the tenth Mitch Rapp book to be published. It, however, ranks first chronologically as it gives Rapp’s background story. Mitch Rapp is a college student-athlete when the love of his life is killed in a plane bombing by terrorists. He is filled with rage and seeks to get revenge by all means. He gets the chance to do so when he is recruited into a CIA elite black ops program. Rapp gets more than the revenge bargained for and spends his days pursuing terrorists all over the world. American Assassin is the only Mitch Rapp book that has been made into a movie for now. The 2017 film featured the likes of Dylan O’Brien, Sanaa Lathan, and Michael Keaton and grossed $67 million at the box office.
12. Kill Shot (2012)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 385 Original publishing date: 2012 Publisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN: 1416595201 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp kills the Libyan oil minister in his quest to gain revenge for his murdered girlfriend
Kill Shot is the 11th Mitch Rapp book, but chronologically it is the second as it picks up from where American Assassin left off. Mitch Rapp is now a bona fide agent and is quietly eliminating everyone that was involved in the bombing that killed his girlfriend. His revenge mission eventually takes him to Paris, where he ends up killing the Libyan oil minister. His actions attract the attention of the French authorities and threaten to brew an international crisis for the U.S. Rapp finds himself cut off by the Americans and has to singlehandedly battle to save himself.
13. The Last Man (2012)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 448 Original publishing date: 2012 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 9781416595212 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp is tasked with finding a missing CIA operative in Afghanistan
With The Last Man, Vince Flynn refocuses on Mitch Rapp’s work for the CIA and leaves his background story behind. In the book, highly-placed CIA operative Joe Rickman, working in Afghanistan, goes missing, and Mitch Rapp is tasked with finding him. He zooms off on the mission but soon discovers that things are not as they seem. Even worse, he has to contend with other state and non-state actors, including the Russians, the Iranians, the Pakistanis, and the Taliban.
14. The Survivor (2015)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 400 Original publishing date: 2015 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 1442364459 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp works to stop American secrets from finding their way into the hands of the Pakistanis.
The Survivor is the 14th Mitch Rapp book. It is also the first Mitch Rapp book that was not penned by Vince Flynn but rather by another author named Kyle Mills following Flynn’s demise. It is no less intriguing, though. Mitch Rapp discovers that Joe Rickman (from Last Man Standing) has compromised himself and is now selling classified American data to the highest bidders, aka the Pakistanis. He kills Rickman, but that is not enough, as he still has to find the potentially devastating data that Rickman stowed away before it finds its way into the hands of the Pakistanis.
15. Order To Kill
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 448 Original publishing date: 2016 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 9781476783482 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp battles the Russians for Pakistani nukes.
This is the second Mitch Rapp book that Kyle Mills penned. It continues from where The Survivor left off and sees Mitch Rapp still in Pakistan. This time around, his mission is to stop Pakistani nukes from falling into the wrong hands. It, however, turns out to be a herculean task as the Russians are also interested in those same nukes for the purpose of achieving the grand agenda of causing turmoil in the Middle East.
16. Enemy of the State
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 388 Original publishing date: 2017 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 9781476783512 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp finds himself targeted by both the American and the Saudi government, determined to cover the truth about 9/11
Enemy of the State takes place in the wake of 9/11. The Americans and the Saudis reach a mutual agreement to cover the Saudi involvement in the deadly attacks in exchange for Saudi oil and control of potential terrorists in their land. This bargain holds for some years until the Americans discover that a top Saudi prince is back in bed with terrorists. They send Mitch Rapp after the Saudis, but the Saudis retaliate by threatening to spill the whole secret. This turns Rapp into an enemy of both sides, and he becomes the subject of a manhunt.
17. Red War
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 400 Original publishing date: 2018 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 9781501190599 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp is sent in to take out the Russian president to prevent war in Europe
Red War sees Mitch Rapp take a break from Middle Eastern issues to focus on a brewing problem in Europe. That problem is none other than the powerful Russian president named Maxim Krupin. Krupin discovers that he has a non-treatable tumor but is determined to hang on to power. One of the ways that he plans to do this is to create a distraction from his health issues by sparking a war in Europe. The Americans discover his plan and send in Rapp to take him out and bring an end to his plan.
18. Lethal Agent
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 400 Original publishing date: 2019 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 9781501190629 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp battles a plan by a Saudi terrorist to spread a deadly virus on American soil.
Lethal Agent sees the comeback of Mullah Sayid Halabi, a notorious terrorist that Mitch Rapp fought in Enemy of the State. This time around, Halabi plans to release a new but deadly respiratory virus into the U.S. using some Mexican drug cartels as the mule. To divert the attention of the CIA, Halabi kidnaps a French biologist to make the U.S. believe that he only plans to spread anthrax in their territory. Rapp catches onto him, though, and makes personal sacrifices to scuttle the heinous plan at the end of the day.
19. Total Power (2020)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 400 Original publishing date: 2020 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 9781501190650 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp is tasked with finding the man that has crashed America’s power grid and restoring power.
This particular Mitch Rapp book has been described as strikingly original, and the reasons are not farfetched. The plot sees an American consultant, John Alton, who has the ability to bring down the nation’s power grid and make it stay down for a year. Alton hawks his abilities to anybody that is interested in buying, and his offer is eventually picked up by ISIS. The CIA gets wind of the plan, and Mitch Rapp does all he can to stop Alton from implementing his plans, but this fails. The whole nation is thrown into catastrophic darkness, and Rapp has to work in impossible conditions to find Alton and restore power.
20. Enemy at the Gates (2021)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 384 Original publishing date: 2021 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books ISBN: 9781982164881 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp is tasked with finding a scientist working on a vaccine for the coronavirus
Enemy at the Gates is set amidst the backdrop of the Trump presidency and the coronavirus. Mitch Rapp is disillusioned with the growing extremism of the U.S. president, Anthony Cook, and relocates to South Africa with his family to live a normal life. This normalcy does not last for long as the world’s richest man seeks his help to find a missing scientist that was working on a vaccine for the coronavirus. Always one to help, Rapp is lured back into the game and has to fight a CIA mole and a terrorist villain with his own army.
21. Oath of Loyalty (2022)
Genre: thriller Paperback volume: 384 Original publishing date: 2022 Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Book ISBN: 9781982164911 Series highlight: Mitch Rapp is the target of an assassination plot hatched by the U.S. president himself
Released in 2022, Oath of Loyalty is the 22nd Mitch Rapp book and is some sort of crescendo on Rapp’s career. Rapp has spent his entire life defending the United States, but the radical president, Anthony Cook deems him a liability. Rapp is not a big fan of the president either, and both men come to a truce to leave each other alone. This truce holds for some time, but the president is still convinced that Rapp is too powerful to be left free. He, therefore, concocts an assassination plan with the help of his security adviser, and Rapp is left battling for his life and that of his loved ones.
List of Mitch Rapp Books in Chronological Order
Is Enemy of the State a Mitch Rapp Novel?
Enemy of the State is a Mitch Rapp novel. It is the 16th Mitch Rapp book and was released in 2017. its background is the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. and the Saudis reach a mutual agreement for the Americans to cover up the Saudi involvement in the deadly attacks. The Saudis, on their own part, agree to keep crude flowing and deal with any potential terrorists. This bargain holds for some years until the Americans discover that a top Saudi prince is working with ISIS. The Americans send Mitch Rapp after the Saudis, but the Saudis retaliate by threatening to spill the whole secret. This turns Rapp into an enemy of both sides, and he becomes the subject of a manhunt.
What is the Best Mitch Rapp Book?
When you aggregate ratings on sites such as Goodreads, the best Mitch Rapp book is American assassin. American Assassin was published in 2010 and is the 11th Mitch Rapp book to be published. It is, however, the first chronologically as it unveils the background story of the personal tragedy that led Rapp to pursue a career as a covert operative. The book sold numerous copies and made it to the New York Times hardcover fiction best sellers list. It was also interesting enough that it was made into a movie in 2016. That movie grossed $67 million at the box office.
