The Last Man is Vince Flynn's 13th Mitch Rapp novel, which builds a plot around the current situation in Afghanistan. The story begins with the kidnapping of a man named Joe Rickman who was in charge of covert CIA operations in Afghanistan. The four guards whose job it was to make sure that Rickman stayed safe are all found shot to death. Of course, the main suspects are members of the Taliban, but Mitch suspects that there is more to this disappearance than meets the eye. The method by which Rickman was taken doesn't correspond with what is known about Taliban operations. The men responsible didn't open fire indiscriminately; instead, each guard is found neatly shot in the chest which indicates that the people responsible were professionals.
At the same time, the FBI also get involved in this investigation, which ought to be a good thing but, for some reason, they're intent on placing the blame for the disappearance on Rapp himself. Additionally, Irene Kennedy, the head of the CIA, also shows up in Afghanistan with the intention of finding out who is obstructing CIA operations. Sydney Hayek is another character who works on Mitch's team and Flynn indicates that she might stay on in the series and become a romantic interest.
The tone of the book is unforgiving, rather like Mitch Rapp himself, who is uninterested in getting to know his enemies, except in cases where this helps defeat them. In Rapp's line of work, this kind of ruthlessness is probably what helps him to survive. So he continues to act first and ask questions later. Flynn encapsulates the current political situation but still maintains a degree of complexity so that the plot is not merely us vs. them but concedes the possibility that there are bad guys on both sides.
Download The Last Man now and follow hardboiled CIA agent Mitch Rapp who must keep his wits around him if he wants to survive this mission unscathed.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Vince Flynn went to the St. Thomas Academy and then to the University of St. Thomas where he studied economics. At first, he worked with Kraft foods as an account and sales marketing specialist, but he left Kraft to try and become a marine aviator. However, he was disqualified from the program due to medical reasons and had to return to the nine-to-five grind, this time as a real estate agent. However, he soon decided to leave this job and pursue writing full-time. Although he received several rejections for his first manuscript, Term Limits, he decided to self-publish and, by going from bookstore to bookstore, managed to make his book a bestseller in the twin cities. Soon, it was snapped up by Pocket Books and making its way to the New York Times bestseller list, like all his subsequent novels.
“An international
thriller about a well-known war-torn region; a lucky thirteen.”
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Barnes & Noble, editorial review