This book was well written and keep my interest. As does all of Vince Flynn's book. Definitely a good buy.

Vince Flynn keeps the thrills coming. Another in a series of great adventures taken from tomorrow's headlines.

In this installment of the Mitch Rapp series the CIA operative is nearly assassinated in Germany while completing a mission. Rapp has to go underground to see who wants him dead and why.

"The Third Option" has the same elements readers have come to expect from this series: violent action, descriptions of weaponry and special forces operations, and Mitch Rapp cutting through all the political nonsense to get things done.

Though "The Third Option" does end with some unresolved issues it is another fun ride for readers of action novels.

Flynn has hit his stride in this book. He carefully is starting to transition characters, which only adds to the complexity of the plot[s].

I just love this Mitch Rapp series. He's definitely our over the top guy. I hope there are people somewhat like him in real life. Prime characters: Mitch Rapp counter terrorist operative; Dr. Irene Kennedy Director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center;CIA Director Thomas Stansfield the ultimate master spy;President Robert X. Hayes;Senator Hank Clark Chairman of The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence;Congressman Albert Rudin Chairman of The House Select Committee on Intelligence. Peter Cameron a man for sale with 24 years of experience in The Agency's Office of Security. Secretary of State Charles Midleton an elitist snob who thought he should be running things. Clark has designs on the Presidency.Rudin has a deep hatred of the CIA. Plenty of spellbinding excitement as the plots unwind while Rapp thwarts the ambitions of Clark,Rudin & Midleton to take over the CIA.

Third Option and Seperation of Power could really be one book. If this was Clancy it would have been. Growing trend seems to be in a certain size book for this genre so I have an idea that's why it was split. Combined, these books offer a great story and compelling plot with plenty of action to go around. I really like the Mitch Rapp character. Do yourself a favor if your considering reading this book and pickup Seperation of Power at the same time. I was lucky and had ordered the whole Mitch Rapp series after reading "Consent to Kill". I'm out of order a bit as this was a latter book, but I've since started at the beginning and like I said enjoyed this book, but at the end I was like "Hugh"! The ending was incomplete until you read Seperation of Power.

I have grown to love Vince Flynn. I have listened to the CD's for all of his books during long drives between Northern and Southern California. I'm never bored and wish there were more stories available. At least he still does his own writing.

Vince Flynn has taken the baton from Tom Clancy and is now one of the premier political thriller writers of today. In the Third Option, his third novel, Flynn explores the underworld of politics, where the "third option" of quietly snuffing out your enemies is often taken. Series hero Mitch Rapp is in Germany preparing to assassinate a German providing weapons to Saddam Hussein (pre-9/11). Rapp is successful, but then two members of the team turn on Rapp. Rapp survives and is left wondering what went wrong and why?

The rest of the action takes place in the USA, with secretive teams working against each other killing and betraying each other. Rapp returns to the US and tries to find out who betrayed him and to also make sure girlfriend Anna Reilly is safe. Once Rapp rules out Irene Kennedy, his boss at CIA, he goes after the true bad guys.

You can tell Flynn has done his research. The Third Option is entertaining and a fun read for political thriller fans. One complaint I have is Flynn's writing style. He writes in third person omnicient, which means from paragraph to paragraph, the points of view of the characters change and we know what all characters are thinking, including the bad guys. (You'll know who betrayed Rapp early in the novel.) Flynn has written several political thrillers and I plan on reading them all eventually. While I enjoyed The Third Option, the characters weren't that strong. Still, the book was heavy on action and political maneuverings and is a must read for fans of the genre.

This was the first Vince Flynn novel I read. I then had to go back and read the first books in order because I was hooked. I've read all of his books and now reserve new releases on Amazon because I eagerly await the next book. This is from a guy that always waited for the paperback version.

He does a good job to entertain us, and you learn more about Mitch, but Its not as spell-binding as Memorial Day. That book had me on the edge of my seat!

Unfortunately I have read subsequent works by the author and therefore I am comparing this book with what followed. This book is part of the learning process by the author and his editors. At this stage of his carer the book is too complex with too many rabit trails hard to follow. It gives, however, a glimpse of how the author's mind operates. It is untamed young stallion attempting to cover as much territory as he can instead of sticking to a well designed and planned route through the complex and confusing world of terrorists and their mostly hapless adversaries. Who needs "24" with Mack around?

I borrowed my first Vince Flynn book from the "library" at work. I was hooked. Vince Flynn writes about the same subjects as Clancy. I have liked Clancy from the start but he is often too nitpicky about the minutia of his subject matter, often to the detriment to the story. Whereas Flynn gives just enough detail to lend credibility to his writing.

Nobody doubts Clancy is an insider in the community and Flynn leaves no doubt he is one too.

His stories are fast paced and a VERY good read. I recommend ANY book by him. Clancy writes about the Russian cold war, Flynn writes about the war on terror. His main character, Mitch Rapp, is undeniably a complete Bad***, I loved the Jack Ryan character, but time to retire Jack, Mitch is in town.

I borrowed my first Vince Flynn book from the "library" at work. I was hooked. Vince Flynn writes about the same subjects as Clancy. I have liked Clancy from the start but he is often too nitpicky about the minutia of his subject matter, often to the detriment to the story. Whereas Flynn gives just enough detail to lend credibility to his writing.

Nobody doubts Clancy is an insider in the community and Flynn leaves no doubt he is one too.

His stories are fast paced and a VERY good read. I recommend ANY book by him. Clancy writes about the Russian cold war, Flynn writes about the war on terror. His main character, Mitch Rapp, is undeniably a complete Bad***, I loved the Jack Ryan character, but time to retire Jack, Mitch is in town.

This is it folks, this is like Act I of a MUCH bigger and deeper story. As far as action, and "balls to the wall" scenes are concerned, they're not here. This book is about setting the back drop. There are a LOT of new characters introduced in this book from "Transfer of Power." You still have your big hitters, President Hayes, the secret service, SEALs, Stansfield, Kennedy, and so forth.

However, many new, and darker characters are introduced, which lead to a very diverse story.

We open up in Germany with an assassination, which goes completely wrong. We spend most of the book "knowing" who compromised the mission, but the bigger question is "how" it was done. We know the "why." We read from page to page as Mitch and the CIA are chasing someone only known as "The Professor." Who does he work for? We have a deadly beautiful assassin, mercanies, and more. We are given great back story on the new characters, and we are thrust into the next book "Separation of Power" which will conclude this story.

Folks, read it! This is like the eye of the storm. Tensions are building, are your friends really your friends? Everyone has there own political agenda. Mitch Rapp and the CIA are at a standstill as to how and who compromised the mission.

Great political espionage thriller!

Why the 4 stars? If 4.5 were an option, that is what I'd give it. This story is rock solid, but lacks that additional "punch" found in "Separation of Power." Promise, you won't be disappointed!

Some editions (in fact, most of them) do not tell you that this is actually the third in a series of books about the character Mitch Rapp. I was not aware that this was a series until they made numerous references to previous activities. Flynn tries to catch the reader up, but it mostly ends up as a blur to the uninitiated reader.

That being said, this was a decent thriller. Undoubtedly, I would have enjoyed it more if I had known all of the backrground, but it still got the job done. I kept turning the pages and the ending , while frustrating to some, seemed to be more appropriate than if Flynn had wrapped everything up in a nice package.

I give this one a grade of B-

I could not put this book down. VF keeps the story moving quickly and paints great mental pictures. If you like Clancy you will love Flynn.

At the beginning when the book tells us about Saddam Hussein I thought that this'll be as many books written about him. When the book turns out to be an internal affair is when you get thrilled. The book has some pages that said nothing about the main plot but you'll get hooked till the end. This is my first book by VF and I'm looking forward to read more of him.

About the end... no comments.

Simply put, this was an outstanding book. If you are a guy then Vince Flynn's books are for you. Lots of action with just a touch of romance. You become very attached to the characters, epsically Rapp and Rieley. In the Mitch Rapp series it is hard to put one book above any other and the third option stays true to all of that, very well written. I am by no means the fastest reader around and being a soldier myself mt time can be at a primeium but I finished this book in two days, impossible to put down.

This book is the second in the Mitch Rapp series. Simply outstanding. I can't wait to finish the series, but I want to pace myself. You cannot go wrong with this book. Mystery, Action, and Intrigue. I highly recommend this series.

I have learned so much by reading Vince Flynn's books and this one is no exception. It was soooo hard to put down when I had to. The storyline is compelling. It is scary to think that Washington may actually operate in the ways described here, but I believe it does. I can't wait to get the next book in the mail from Amazon.

This is the first Vince Flynn novel that I have read. I am a big fan of the international spy or assassin novels and I had heard a lot about his books and decided to jump right in.

First off, let me just say that I like the main character, Mitch Rapp, a lot. He is a complex character and he is the kind of character that you like quite a bit even though you would not want to watch what he does or probably even know what he does. He is brutal, efficient and interesting to read about.

Now with that said, the book bogged itself down throughout. There was so much that Flynn wanted to put on the pages...and too bad, a lot of it was not necessary and could have been put aside. A lot of the discussions between the senators and the government could have been left out and still get the point across. It took much away from the focal point of the story, Mitch Rapp and his bosses, The President, Dr. Kennedy and CIA Director Thomas Stanfield

As others have said, the basic storyline is that Rapp is in Germany to assassinate a public figure that is 'secretly' helping the Iraqi leader...he is double crossed and left for dead. Rapp gets out and has to figure out who set him up (was it Kennedy, the President, Stansfield or some other group). This part, I liked...but the story slowed down when we were given page after page of the politicians behind the scenes and that hurt the story.

If you like action, this book delivers some, but probably not as much as hoped for. This is a political story with some action/espionage thrown in. The ending is decent, frustrating, interesting all mixed together...it definately leaves possibilities open for more trouble and rather interesting storylines. I liked the book and it was solid...but I look more forward to reading other Flynn books and seeing Rapp in more action.

Mitch Rapp is back -- the most effective agent on the CIA is sent to Germany to assasinate a person who's helping Saddam Hussein despite repeated warnings. What Mitch does not know is that he's also a target; somehow Mitch escapes and decides to track down his killers. Things are complicated since he cannot trust anybody now, not even his own agency which could have set him up!

However the bad part about this book is that it does not sustain the tension that is setup in the opening few chapters. It also shamelessly sets up the next book in the series "Separation of Power".

Also, viewers need not be worried that they'll miss something; since "Separation of Power" is a stand alone book that could have done without this book!

I love Vince Flynn & Mitch Rapp, but I seriously think this could have remained a silent chapter in the adventures of Mitch Rapp...

I am going to punish Flynn a little for this one (yeah right). The Third Option and Separation of Power are really one novel broken down into two bits. After reading both, I realized that Flynn may have written one novel, knew it was too large for his crowd (Flynn stick below 500 pages), and he had to write some extra filler for two books worth of info. The new characters that are introduced are worth the read. Bringing in the Mossad and Ben Friedman was an intriguing catch point that kept Separation of Power going. That being said, I will talk more in my review of Separation of Power as The Third Option seems to just be the kicking off point for the story that develops there.

Is not found in this book.

Clunky and derivitive, way,way too long for its boring self, with a huge amount of space devoted to inanity like this: Irene Kennedy was "thin, maybe too thin; it wasn't intentional she just wasn't a big eater." Then we are told in great detail what she and her son have for breakfast! How many times she pats him on the head! Where he goes to day care!!!! To whom, exactly, is this the stuff of thrills?

This kind of fill in the blank writing just begs the question: Where are the editors???

Bah! Also humbug!

I have now read all but one of Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series. Five in all, I think. I did not read them in the order they were written. Much to Flynn's credit, they don't have to be read in order. Each volume stands alone.

Mitch Rapp is an assassin, a part of the Orion Team, a clandestine effort known only to a few in the U.S. government. The President,a very few people at the CIA who povide covert assistance and a very few members of Congress. The purpose of the Orion Team is to bring the war on terror to the terrorists with surgical, fatal strikes. Mitch Rapp is the chosen instrument and he is very good at his job. But Mitch wants out. He has met and fallen in love with Anna Reilly, a television reporter.

This will be Rapp's last job, he thinks. The assasination of a German Count who has done business with Saddam once too often. The CIA has provided two helpers for the task. One of them tries to murder Rapp seconds after he has dispatched the German.

(...)

The plot, as it is with all Flynn novels, is convoluted with double-crosses as common as snow in the mountains. When Flynn writes a political thriller, it is indeed political. He is hard on appeasers and obviously sees many politicians as self-serving and even traitorous.

Flynn's Mitch Rapp and all the other characters are richly drawn. They are all believable: good guys and bad guys alike. The suspense is tight on every page. And the body count grows with every page.

Flynn is, in my opinion, the absolute master of the political thriller. "The Third Option" is, again in my opinion, a masterpiece of the genre.

Jerry

After reading Flynn's first two books, Term Limits and Transfer Of Power, I was looking forward to another tale of non-stop action and thrills. Much to my surprise, however, The Third Option,was a big disappointment. The plot was too dragged out and the action was neither very exciting nor frequent enough. Further, the biggest letdown in this book pertained to it's conclusion -- or lack thereof. The Third Option ends leaving the reader "hanging." Flynn is an author that I felt I could count on for edge-of-your-seat suspense and a very satisfying reading experience. Unfortunately, Flynn let me down big-time in his third effort featuring Mitch Rapp. I'm hoping that this book was just a fluke and that the others in the series will live up to the high expectations I have when I pick up a Vince Flynn book.

Wasn't what I expected. I read his first two therefore I didn't expect what this one gave. A little heavy on the political side. I enjoy action and espionage with some legal so maybe I just read the wrong book. His others were great and I hope Memorial Day will be as good. I will read it next with hope.

Despite previous warnings, a German Count continues to secretly aid Saddam Hussein. Diplomacy has failed to cease this activity and sending the military into a foreign country is not a consideration. There is only one way to put an end to this exchange. The President exercises the third option and sends counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp to be sure the Count doesn't do this, or anything else, ever again. While on this highly-secretive mission, Rapp is double-crossed by the team who is suppose to be working with him. Unsure of who set him up, Rapp can trust no one and must find who betrayed him and why.

Using his well-honed survival skills, he eludes capture and returns to the US to put the pieces back together. He clears gravely-ill CIA Director Thomas Stansfield and his presumptive successor Dr. Irene Kennedy of any wrong-doing in the Germany fiasco and forges a plan to work back up the conspirator's chain to find the duplicitous soul. In an attempt to eliminate any link between himself and the events in the German chateau, Senator Hank Clark is erasing anyone who was involved. Rapp must find one of the henchmen alive before the trail goes cold.

I found this book to be remarkably different from the first Rapp book, Transfer of Power. Third Option replaces some of the action with a greater degree of suspense, intrigue, and emotion. Rapp's girlfriend, Anna Rielly, plays a greater role in the emotional storyline and is the root cause of inner-conflict for Rapp. His codename is Ironman for his ability to be a one-man killing machine, but their burgeoning relationship puts him in a dilemma which he must resolve. He is determined to leave the business and follow his heart but he knows he will not be able to make a clean break until he hunts down the person that sought to destroy him. I applaud Flynn's decision to add a level of intrigue to this book. I enjoyed the intertwined, suspenseful storylines while keeping the majority of the action-packed sequences. It was a noticeable improvement and shows his growth as an author.

One warning to potential readers!! The book ends with some unresolved issues. It closed enough issues to allow this book to stand on its own but definitely compels a reader to get the next book. If you must have closure or do not want to read two books to complete the plotline, I advise against this book. It would be a shame as this is very good fiction and another hit in the Mitch Rapp series.

I recommend this book.

I got this book after reading "transfer of power" by the same author. What a disappointment. Skip this one, there are much better examples of the genre out there.

Not having read any of these before, this entry feels just like beginning a movie an hour into it. Passable action but does not really stand alone.

ok I accidently read this after Executive Decision so I already knew the ending but I think this books sequal was much better. Flynn is a great author though and if you have read this book by him only you owe it to yourself to read the others they are much better. I would recomend this book but you can skip it and just read Executive Decission

I've read all five of Mr. Flynn's books, and would rate this one as fourth on the list, but it's still a great read - Flynn is a great suspense / action writer. Even the fifth on my list of his five, which happens to be his most recent novel, is a really good read.

Much of what I would say about this book and the Mitch Rapp character has been covered by other reviewers, but I must add this: do NOT read "Separation of Power" before this one. "Separation of Power" is somewhat better than this book, but is clearly "part two." This is "part one" of a "to be continued" - it stands up well om its own, but if you read "Separation of Power" before this one, you'll kick yourself for weeks.

If you want to know whether this book and "Separation of Power" are worth your while, just pick up Flynn's second novel, "Transfer of Power." You'll likely be hooked very quickly. After "Transfer of Power," don't forget the required order - read this book and then "Separation of Power."

The "Third Option" refers to the options of fighting terrorism. The first: diplomacy. The second: war. The third option: targeted assasinations.

In this novel, Mitch Rapp is part of an operation to assassinate a wealthy German who has been providing aid to Saddam Hussein. During the assassination, his two co-assassins turn on him, and leave him for dead at the scene (of course, he survives).

The rest of the book is Rapp's search to find out who was behind double-crossing him, and why.

This is the third book of Flynn's I have read. The others I don't think it's necessarily an issue if you read them "out of order," but in this case, I think you need to have read the others to really understand what's going on here. The order is thus: Term Limits, Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power.

As in his other books, the only complaints I really have about this book is the totally unnecessary vulgar language, and also the way he seems to end the book too abruptly. I won't spoil the story for other readers, but at the end of the book there is still a BIG loose end yet to be tied up. Maybe it'll happen in the next in the "series. . ."

This book was hard for me to put down. Lots of action, and accurate (as far as I know!) in its details.

Pretty good book. Uncovers the true bureaucracy going on in Washington. The author is a pretty good fantasizer. Nice work.
A couple of negatives about this book that made me decide to rate it not more than 2 starts:

* Very dragged out. He could've written it in half or two thirds the size
* To many characters. Very confusing. And some names are similar.
* Some stuff in the book is just not possible. Completely fiction.
* Very silly ending. It's like the whole book makes no sense when you get to the end.

I recommend books from Andy Mcnab. An excellent writer on secret intelligence and on the field.

To repeat what others have said, buy this book! If you're a James Bond fan, this is the real world senario with real people version of those special effects films. You can feel the tension, the animosity and the duplicity oozing from the characters. The participants in mayhem have substance and merit and not one of them seem superfluous.

I have to agree with the other reviewers, this is just a sad attempt to get me ready for the next book in the series.

While I like certain books in series (the Dan Mahoney books come to mind), I need them to be "Stand-Alone" books. In other words, with just a little background in the book, you can read it without reading anything else in the series. And you don't feel compelled to buy the next book just to find out what happens. This is a cheat, and I resent it. In fact, I have made an effort to not buy any more Flynn books since this one.

I have read most of Flynn's work and I see a distinct improvement in his abilities. His plots are becoming slowly less convoluted with less superflous dialogue. Term Limits was an example of endless and unncessary chatter between characters, but this book has been tightened up considerably. Flynn always has imaginative plot concepts and ties the threads together fairly well, although we always know well ahead of time that the too good to be true, baddest-ass hero ever, Mitch Rapp, will just plain kill anybody who gets in his way or bumps into his cart at the grocery store by accident. Not much surprise to anticipate there. Flynn also seems to have a thing about the presidential cabinet members and congress, one or more of them is always conspiring to oust the powers that be and form their own cabal, but again, one man, one lone superhero is all that stands between us and the evil doers who would destroy our way of life, apple pie, Big Macs and the American Way. While plodding through the by the numbers plot, I was myself anticipating a satisfying happy ending, sort of a "so there!" to the fictional bad guys. Imagine my disappointment to see an otherwise decent story suddenly degenerate into a self-serving and obvious non-ending which shamelessly panders to a sequel. In my opinion, that is unfair to readers who have spent money to read a novel with the expectation that it will follow the time-honored tradition of having a beginning, a middle and an end. In our psycho-babble-obsessed society, one of the few concepts that is actually valid is "closure." We didn't get it this time and the blatant manner in which the readers were prodded to buy the next sequel may well backfire.

-Barker Reviews

i couldn't put down flynn's first two books. they were great! i could put down this book. plus, there was no ending!!!!!!!!!! there is no excuse for this. there is absolutely no conclusion. i just have to pick up the next installment and start where the third option stopped.

Let me start by saying that I have read the both previous books by this author. I found them outstanding,they were a perfect fix while waiting for Clancy to put out a new offering. In fact I thought that this author was molding his own style and it was pretty darn good! However this one missed the mark. It started out slow and the pace just did not pick up. Yes the characters that I loved in the other boosk were here. I really did not like the idea of bringing the characters from two seperate story lines into one novel. I kept expecting action to break out but it never happened. I made it to page 266 before calling it quits. It has been sitting in my desk drawer for months. I hope the next novel picks up where the first two left off.

Old movie serials left you hanging for the next installment. Most TV shows are complete to themselves, including "The West Wing." Here, the author wants us to read the next installment, so he left us with "Unfinished Business." He wants us to buy the next book, rather than being satisfied with a complete story. Granted that many suspense writer leave a "hook," but this author didn't finish the book. Perhaps his next book will be the Fourth Option. If you read Robert W. Parker, each book is complete. Overall, Parker is much better than Flynn.

Picking up where Transfer of Power left off, Vince Flynn has another winner on his hands. Mitch Rapp, Thomas Stansfield and Dr. Irene Kennedy are back in an edge-of-your-seat political thriller. Having just read Transfer of Power, many of the characters in the Third Option were well known, with a storyline that flowed from the previous novel. The only downside to reading them back to back was that some of the material was repetitive. That said, the Third Option is another fast paced page turner. The reader follows Mitch Rapp from an early attack on his life as he seeks to track down the conspirators. If you liked Transfer of Power, you should also like The Third Option. It will be difficult to put down.

1) You don't necessarily have to read the first two books to be able to enjoy this one but it helps increase the connection the reader has to the characters.
2) I felt the build up of suspense was better handled than in book two, Transfer of Power, which made me enjoy this book more.
3) My only slight disappointment is that there is one part of the plot that doesn't get completely resolved but purposly sets up what is probably to take place in the next book. His other two books had complete resolution on all items as far as I remember.
4) Overall, Flynn is a very good and very easy read and he makes writing a good novel seem so easy.

Not quite as compelling as _Transfer of Power_, _Third Option_ is nonetheless an excellent depiction of two worlds: the backstage power politics of Washington's Beltway and the brutal, subterranean realm of modern espionage. Counter-terrorism specialist Mitchell Rapp, an unacknowledged member of a CIA-sponsored black-ops team, is caught in the middle.

Rapp is sent to assassinate a German industrialist who has repeatedly gotten into bed with the wrong ally: Saddam Hussein. After multiple warnings, the wealthy German businessman has continued to provide Iraq with infrastructure capable of building weapons of mass destruction. The "hit" takes place, but Rapp is shot by fellow team members in a savage double-cross.

The reasons behind the double-cross are complex and described extraordinarily well by Flynn. His characters include the dying director of the CIA Thomas Stansfield; the counter-terror specialist Irene Kennedy; the President of the U.S.; a leading Senator; a former CIA employee turned mercenary... all are fleshed out well and each becomes an interesting personality.

I had some minor bones to pick with the story-telling: Donatella (the beautiful Italian-Israeli assassin) steps off a plane in New York City and then almost immediately reaches into her purse to retrieve a firearm... Rapp expresses a desire to "get out" of his "Orion Team" role but none of his professional dreams or desires are really described.

Nonetheless, these are minor quibbles. Flynn has crafted a thriller that is well worth reading - perhaps a tad less compelling than _Transfer_, but I would still rate it nine out of ten. Its realistic depiction of both the political landscape and free-for-all world of modern espionage make it truly interesting.

I was thrilled to see another Vince Flynn book. I was not dissapointed.

The continuation of the characters in previous novels is something I particularly enjoy. However, even though the characters from previous novels are used, this book can stand alone.

I read the previous reviews and many of them already explain the plot, so what more can I say. The plot is well written and very exciting. Although the end left room for another novel, it didn't leave you hanging.

I gave this a four only because I think that it is not 'as good' as his previous novels. However, just because it's not as good as his other novels does not mean it's not good. I enjoyed this book.

Enjoy!

I thoroughly enjoyed Vince's first two books and enthusiastically purchased The Third Option. True to his first two novels, I could not put the book down until I was done reading it. I found the story very compelling. One problem however,...the book does not end. After spending the time (late nights and early mornings) feverishly reading the book, I arrived at the end and the story continued. I was very disappointed. I will try Vince again on his fourth book, but if the fourth one doesn't end, I'm out. There are too many other books competing for my time.

Oh, how we yearn these days to believe that our CIA has such people working for it as Mitch Rapp, a member of the Orion Team who has become a legend within The Agency. Code named Ironman, it looks as though Rapp has ended his service to our country, when after taking out a German industrialist who was aiding Sadaam Hussein to build weapons of mass destruction, his partner in the hit, turns her gun on Rapp and fires two bullets into his chest at point blank range.

Through the miracle of Kevlar, Rapp survives (although few others do) and spends the rest of the book trying to figure out who wanted him dead and why.

Deftly written, Flynn makes his characters very believeable and the scenarios they encounter more than plausable. His use of dialogue, something I admire in any gifted writer, is excellent and you are drawn through the pages at a pace which does damage to your sleep time, but which leaves you looking forward to the knowledge that there is a sequel to this book, Separation of Power, waiting in your "books to be read pile." I discovered the author Jan Karon, after she had written five of her books in the Mitford series and had the luxury of reading them seriatum. I am equally fortunate with Mr. Flynn and only hope that his imagination and his energy level remain high, so that he can keep drawing us through his world of danger, espionage and intrigue.

After the events of Sept. 11, I wanted a quick, thrilling "take-your-mind-off" things kind of book. So I picked up Flynn's book and found myself interested - decent little plot, some serpentine twists and turns, some interesting characters (the guy CAN write), some technical espionage/terrorist stuff...took me back to my old Ludlum-reading days. Then, as the book started to have fewer and fewer pages remaining, I discovered the plot was not going to end - that is, the "bad guys" were not going to get theirs! That would have to wait, apparently, for another book/sequel? Well, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice...I think not. It killed time, but was unsatisfactory otherwise.

Every one of Flynn's books have been as good as Clancy's best, and this is no exception. I manage to find thrillers as good as this only once every 2 or 3 years and I'm sorry to see them end.

This is a fast and fun read; it isn't great literature, but then again, it's not trying to be.

The main flaw is - without giving away too much - there is no complete resolution. It obviously is designed to make you read the next in the series. Unless it is clearly indicated (for example, "Volume 1 in the XYZ Trilogy,") I find such an ending to be manipulative and a cheat. It seems like the ploy of an author who feels his next book would never be bought on its own merits so he needs to resort to trickery and is willing to force his loyal reader to commit for months or years to a book he really only wanted to give a few days to.

Flynn's good enough that he doesn't need to do such things. To me, it is an indication of fellow suspense writer's James Patterson's diminishing abilities that he can't stop doing similar tricks. But that's a different rant....

Third Option turned out to be an outstanding read. Mitch Rapp
has turned out to be the perfect hero in the Flynn novels.Irene Kennedy,President Hayes, and Rapp's lady love add to the excellent story line. Rapp,while conducting an assasination for
the C.I.A. in Germany is double crossed and nearly killed. What develops from this incident is a giant conspiracy. A C.I.A.
contract man is involved as well as a U.S. Senator. Several
attempts are made on Rapp's life by these forces. Rapp managesto survive. This story leaves room for a sequel for this action
packed story line. Read this book. You will be very pleased. Vince Flynn gives you a good break from Tom Clancy and other
imitators.