CONSENT TO KILL heralds the welcome return of Mitch Rapp, CIA
operative extraordinaire. Rapp is not afraid to color outside the
lines, and he usually uses a red crayon; he's one of those guys who
you're thankful to have on your side, watching the collective back
of the country --- unless of course you are given the thankless job
of attempting to rein him in. The problem is that Rapp is almost
always right, so reining him in is the wrong course of action to
take; better by far to let him do what he needs to do. Rapp is who
you go to when there is a need to work outside of the U.S.
Constitution in order to preserve it; the result is that he has a
tendency to acquire right-thinking friends, and wrong-thinking
enemies.


The nefarious plot that Rapp is forced to thwart in CONSENT TO KILL
is an extremely personal one. Saeed Ahmed Abdullah holds Rapp
personally responsible for the death of his son, a terrorist whose
plot against the United States was thwarted by Rapp. Abdullah now
wants revenge; to obtain it, he goes to his powerful friend Prince
Muhammad bin Rashid. Rashid lives in the shadow of his
half-brother, the crown prince, and Rashid despises him as a
weak-kneed tool of the west. Seeing a way to aid his friend while
undermining the prince's authority --- and increasing his own ---
Rashid sets a plan in motion to assassinate Rapp, an idea almost as
bold as it is unthinkable. It is also done at tremendous risk, as
Rapp has previously demonstrated a great and unquenchable capacity
for revenge. If the plot fails, all who are involved know that Rapp
will stop at nothing to exact total retribution.


Flynn is at his best here, as he describes the labyrinthian
plotting through which an assassination team is located and
retained. There are layers upon layers of duplicity, traveling up
and down the chain of command in a world where trust is an elusive
commodity. Flynn takes an interesting chance here as well, making
CONSENT TO KILL in part a character study of the instrument of the
assassination attempt. The result is a work that is equal parts
psychological thriller and action thriller with a conclusion that,
while controversial, is oddly and unexpectedly satisfying.


In CONSENT TO KILL Flynn combines a mesmerizing protagonist with a
superb plot and an addicting narrative to create the latest
installment of his ongoing treatise as to how the world far removed
from the perfumed princes and talking heads truly works. Highly
recommended.