Mitch Rapp 21
My version: Hardback
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
First published: 2023
ISBN: 978-1-3985-0084-6
Pages: 338
Bought
From the cover:
A simple favour.
A debt to be paid.
A threat no one saw coming.
Mitch Rapp owes powerful criminal Damian Losa a favour, and it’s being called in. With no choice other than to honour his agreement, Rapp heads to Syria to stop a new designer drug spreading into Losa’s territory. When he discovers the true culprit – someone with far bigger goals than just Syria – the scale of his mission grows.
But Rapp and his team are operating in a incredibly volatile country, where the US has few assets and allegiances ships almost daily. And just one false move would set off an international confrontation that could easily spin out of control and rewrite the world order…
The drugs guy. Is very, very successful. Has a comprehensive, sophisticated network covering Europe, the USA, and makes millions upon millions to billions, selling misery to people. He hasn’t got where he is today by not wanting to get his ‘hands bloody’ killing people, his rivals, anyone stood in his way. He has bought sophistication. He knows the price of everything, the value of nothing. Getting as close to him as Rapp is, should be the prelude to Rapp cuffing and stuffing him. But no. We are meant to believe that Rapp is honouring his marker being called in. That was more than a little hard to swallow. Very hard to just say ‘ok,’ and move on, I’ve go to say.
But then, the whole thing hinges on the premise that Rapp would honour a ‘debt,’ when a ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,’ sort of deal, that would have made a heck of a lot more sense to me.
Everyone, but everyone, is onboard and ok with this. From the head of the CIA down. Were I her, on hearing this nonsense, I’d have said ‘you do that and it’s thank you and goodnight from me, sunshine’
When you can’t bring yourself to go along with that pretty near damn unbelievable set-up, the story has no start. No reason to be. After the thoroughly excellent previous book, this one is consequently a pretty big disappointment.
I suppose it wasn’t a great surprise when, after reading Code Red, that it was announced that Kyle Mills was passing the torch of writing Mitch Rapp novels. Perhaps a little early, when you look at how similar franchises have run with authors who didn’t invent the character, but still, after finishing this, I can see why he perhaps felt he had little more to offer the Rapp world, apart from rehashing the same scenario(s).
Couldn't I Just Tell You 