If You Like Vince Flynn/Mitch Rapp, You’ll Love…
We are all very sad at the passing of Vince Flynn. (News: Vince Flynn Passes Away)
I was a huge Vince Flynn fan. I still remember reading Transfer of Power, the first Mitch Rapp book. I liked it so much, that despite there being a huge thunderstorm outside, I ran up to the local bookstore getting soaked just so I could buy the 2nd book in the series.
There’s no doubt that Vince Flynn redefined the spy thriller genre.
And honestly – I’m sad for purely selfish reasons as well. I want more Mitch Rapp! If anything that’s a credit to how good a writer Vince Flynn was – I’m legitimately saddened by his death, because the Mitch Rapp series was so good I wanted it to go on forever.
With the potential end of that series(although I wouldn’t be surprised to see ghost writers take on the job), I thought I would create a list of other characters in the spy thriller genre that I enjoy and read on a regular basis.
If you are a fan of the Mitch Rapp series of books, I recommend you check out the following:
“Spider” Shepherd: A book series I discovered recently. Shepherd is a former SAS trooper who now works for an undercover squad. The books usually have two main story arcs at once – one with Shepherd undercover, and one with an overlying terrorist plot. Much like Flynn there is also a long-term storyline that covers multiple books.
Nick Stone: Also a former member of the SAS, Stone works for British Intelligence and partakes in the same sort of deniable ops that Rapp does. His first book, Remote Control, remains my favourite book of all time.
Nick Heller: Only two books to his name at his time – he’s a private investigator who can take anyone down much like Rapp. Personally I’d recommend reading all the Joseph Finder novels – they are some of the best standalone novels of all time.
Jack Reacher: I’m sure you know who he is.
Bob Lee Swagger: The best sniper in the world, and a vietnam vet. Personally I’d only recommend reading the original trilogy of Point of Impact, Black Light and Time to Hunt. They get noticeable worse after that, much like the Star Wars movies.
Scot Harvath: An ex-navy seal turned secret service agent. Personally I wasn’t the biggest fan of these books but they are still solid and have a huge fanbase.
Who else would you recommend to people who like the Vince Flynn and Mitch Rapp books? Your comments are welcome below and I’ll update this post.
Hello. Have you read any Tim Tigner? His books are so good, you can get exhausted! “Pushing Brillance” (start there) was was so good, even the villian was fun. Check out pg. 299 in his “Falling Stars”…this writer is very clever, and that first paragraph on pg. 299 gives you proof.
I’ve read all but 2 of his books.
I’ve meant to read him but never got around to it I’ll try and bump him up the list 🙂
Jack Carr The Terminal List is a teriffic arc.
I’ve read most of the authors recommended and enjoyed them all to one degree or another. One that I didn’t see mentioned is Andrew Britton who wrote only 6 before he passed away in 2008 at 27. I found him on par with the best of the rest. I enjoyed Clive Cussler for a while but he is so formulaic and his main characters so absurdly perfect that I can’t stand to read any more. W.E.B. Griffin has also become boring. Another more historical and primarily set in middle ages is Bernard Cornwell. I also look forward to every new release of Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole but he’s a detective although not a wimp by any means. Nor are Robert Parker’s Spenser and Jesse Stone characters.
Thanks for the suggestion of the Jesse Stone Series. I have watched the Tom Selleck movies so I will try the books to see if I enjoy them.
Ben Coes, Brad Thor, Stephen Coonts, Tom Clancy, Marc Cameron, Mark Greaney, W.E.B. Griffin, Jeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews, Don Bentley Jr., Alex Berenson, Cap Daniels, Rip Rawlings, Steve Berry, Brad Taylor, Jack Carr, John Gilstrap, Mike Lawson, Gregg Hurwitz, Stephen Hunter, Jack Higgins, Rick Jones, Daniel Judson, Don Keith, George Wallace, Paul Heatley, J. Robert Kennedy, Steven Konkoly, Robert Ludlum, Oliver North, Eric van Lustbader, David Ricciardi, James Rollins, Ross Sidor, Jack Slater, Daniel Silva, Anthony J. Tata, and J.B. Turner all top my lists
Vince was best of the best. I have also enjoyed books by David Morrell(Brotherhood of the Rose, Fifth Profession and many others).Thanks to your comments and suggestions, l was recently thrilled by Brad Taylor, Mark Greaney, Ben Coes and Lee Child.
Have you read the Victor the Assassin series by Tom Wood? On Book 5 right now absolutely loving it!
I appreciate all these recommendations! My favorites, besides Mitch Rapp:
Ted Bell – Alex Hawke Series
Jack DuBrul – Philip Mercer Series
Clive Cussler – the Oregon Files
I’m not sure which to start with from all of these suggestions, and wondered if you’d help me narrow it down…
I’ve never gotten over [spoiler – a certain characters death], so I want to read something that doesn’t have any surprise sad endings like that!
Also I love the books with a little bit of a love interest along with the great main plots.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
In case you love political thrillers…Frederick Forsythe is the best of the lot.. Also Ken Follett
Novels…must try all of jeffrey Archer..
Romantic suspense thrillers…. sandra Brown, Linda howard, Nora Roberts..
Legal Thrillers… John Grisham, Robert Baily, Steve Cavanaugh
for any further suggestion please reply my mail..and let us share views.
I happened on Vince Flynn by luck as was preparing to work a golf outing for a social club I belong to and was scheduled too be the spotter on a hole in one car give-away. I dropped by a local half priced book store couple days earlier and found “Memorial Day” for $2.00 so purchased it and read almost entire book the day of the outing. Didn’t know anything about the author until a guy in one four-some saw me reading it and told me Flynn has passed a few years earlier. From that point on I couldn’t get my hands on the rest of his series quick enough. Didn’t care where I purchased nor what the price was. Have since finished all his Rapp books and all since written by Kyle Mills. Now just waiting for the release of the next Rapp book in September 2020. At first wasn’t sure Mills would be able to write close enough to Flynn style to satisfy my interest, but so far have not been disappointed. Its not just Mitch Rapp who has been developed so well throughout the entire series, its all the supporting characters as well. Read today that Kyle Mills signed an extension to write 3 more Rapp novel (one each for 2021, 2022, and 2023). They will be nice additions to my hardback collection. Can’t wait.
Hey thanks for sharing all that – really enjoyed reading it. I was similar with Rapp – I still remember the first book I read and then literally running downtown beating a thunderstorm to get to the library just to get the 2nd in the series. Only to discover the library was closed and the thunderstorm had caught up to me and I had to walk to a bookstore and get soaked. Worth it though for that book 🙂
Which I just realize I wrote about above ha.
Then I went on a journey to all the thrift stores etc with my list of Rapp books until I had them all. That was when Vince was still alive.
I’ve read the series multiple times and love it. Kyle does an awesome job as well. I liked his last book where he was able to cover the political arena well as I have felt he has shyed away from that. Was cool seeing he was able to handle that aspect of it well.
Matthew Reilly books !!
The Will Robie series by David Baldacci.
Loved the wil Robbie series. Plus the Camel Club
Whiskey and Roses, and Vanquish by Bradley Wright. Great books very close to Mitch Rapp which centers around a character named Xander King. Bradley is currently working on the 3rd book in the series and I can’t wait to read it
David Baldacci has a number of excellent series that are worth reading. The thrill and suspense he creates is phenomenal. I would recommend the following Baldacci series: King & Maxwell (6 books), Will Robie (4), John Puller (3), A.Shaw (2), Camel Club (5), Amos Decker (2). My personal favorite is the King & Maxwell series, but I was thoroughly impressed with Camel Club.
Second ‘The Camel Club’
I wish he’d write more of them
David Baldacci’s Will Robie and Jessica Reel stories every time. Fantastic narration by Ron McLarty (RIP), Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy.
Try Ben Coes, his Dewey Andreas series of 5 so far were good from the start and he is getting to be a progressively better. Best read in order, Dewey deals with terrorists somewhat like Mitch Rapp.
No books can beat Vince Flynn’s. If he could write from up there! Then no one can be compared Lee Child. Daniel Silva is good as well with Gabriel Allon. Some of Andy McNab’s books are good. I also liked Samuel Carver series by Tom Cain.
Finally Vince Flynn on top and almost equally Lee Child.
I’m so glad you prepared this for the World to see. And I recommend Barry Eisler’s John Rain.
I have read all the Reachers, Rapps, Dewey, Scott Havarath, Orphan x and Grey Man. Barry Eislers writing, narration and attetnion to detail is among the best !!!
My vote is for Ben Coes (Dewey Andreas Series). Read them all – Flynn, Thor, Silva, Childs and enjoyed them all. Andreas is very much like Rapp.
Sorry – I screwed up the 1st post. Just wanted THANK everyone for their recommendations. I personally think that Brad Taylor (A really good and relatively new author) is every bit as good a Vince Flynn was and have read all the books by both of them. Brad Thor’s, Scott Harvath, novels are so filled with repetitive information they quick bore anyone looking for suspense and his hero is such a clutz it’s amazing he got past the first iteration of the series. I read 2 of those books and vowed I never try another.
I have in the past also enjoyed the John Sandford, Prey series and have read most of his Virgil Flowers series because I’m getting hard up for things to read. Another reason that I’m thanking the posters here for their input. After reading all the Vince Flynn and all of the Brad Taylor books and all of the Lee Child books, a person tends to get really picky about the quality of the authors they seek. So thanks again for the authors you’ve so kindly recommended…
Yes, Brad Thor Writing, Gives Me a Headache…
David Baldacci and Vince Flynn.
I Liked WEB Griffin Assassin Inc Or Whatever, Was A Pretty Good Book.
Jamie
Jerry
Old but Sean Dillon has his way , his books good . An ex IRA operative.
Check out Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa. It’s getting a lot of praise and has been compared to Vince Flynn and Ludlum.
Agree the Ben Coes and Brad Taylor are both great. Try the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva as well.
John Wells Series by Alex Berenson alot like the mitch rapp series not as good but i find theyre fairly similar.
Thanks i’ll keep these in mind. I can’t believe how much I enjoy reading the Mitch Rapp series. Never was much of a fan of reading ’till I stumbled across Kill Shot in an airport. I then proceeded to buy the rest of the novels. Now I’ve almost completed the series reading about a book a week during lunch breaks at work. It’s such a shame that Vince Flynn has passed, may he rest in peace.
The Scot Harvath are the absolute worst! They should be titled “Goofy Girl Adventures with Scot”.
i love it nothing goofy about it. lots of action. very good books
A.shaw by David Baldacci is a great series if you like Mitch rapp
Try Ben Coes (Dewey Andreas character). I’ve read all the Vince Flynn books as well as Lee Child, Daniel Silva and Alex Berenson (he’s also really good). Ben Coes is a VERY close second to Vince Flynn – you won’t be disappointed!!!!
On my 4th Ben Coes (Dewey Andreas) in a week. Action, suspense, politics.
Thank you you. Just finished the Dewey Andreas series in 3 weeks.
I want more. Excellent recommendation.
Terry Hayes (I Am A Pilgrim) has a great character
Indeed a FANTASTIC debut! Extremly suspensful
Teriffic story! I recently devoured his latest The Year of the Locust. Another well spun yarn.
Vince Flynn was kind enough to leave us a little “Easter Egg” in ‘Protect and Defend’. There is a mention of a John Corey Book by Nelson DeMille on Mitch Rapp’s bookshelf. While it is not quite Mitch Rapp novel, you can see the influence. John Corey is very much a smart ass and the series is a good read.
I, recently became a rabid Vince Flynn reader and didn’t find out until I started reading his novels that he is in Heaven with our Father and and am seriously sad to learn of his passing. Why God takes people like Vince is a mystery, but I, if you can, would like to pass on to his wife and children my sincere sympathies and late players to them.
Bill from Colchester Connecticut
I’m an avid Mitch Rapp fan, so extremely saddened to learn of Flynn’s passing. But after a long search of excellent writing and realistic hero’s that jump off the page, I would recommend the Jericho Quinn by author Marc Cameron. He is awesome! I also came across Dan Morgan by new author Leo Maloney and the Jonathan Grave series by author John Gilstrap. They shouldn’t dissapoint!
Tracey, Thank you for recommending the Jericho Quinn series by Marc Cameron. I bought National Security about a month ago and have now read every book in the series. Can’t wait for the next one to come out! Your recommendation was so good that I’m moving to your next one (Leo Maloney) now. Thanks
Pike Logan by Brad Taylor. I’ve only read the first one but couldn’t put it down.
Sucks to hear the author died, so young too.
I agree, Scot Harvath is a low-rent Mitch Rapp. Avoid at all cost, unbelievably bad writing – inane and ludicrous plot-lines.
While I agree that Scot Harvath is a much inferior character to Rapp (he keeps getting rescued by women and then falling for them) and the writing isn’t as good (Brad Thor writes like he’s hoping for a screenplay before the book is even finished), I’d still recommend giving the series a try. The plots are over-the-top at times, but the writing of the series actually improved as it went on.
That goes for most of today’s authors.They all hope to be picked up by a tv comapany.
Don’t really get why,cause most tv series based on good boks sucks sweaty donkey balls
Try John stratton books by the author Duncan Falconer, about current and ex SBS officer, very good and very current