Rating: 
Summary: Mitch Rapp struggles with career and marriage, and succeeds.
Review: Mitch Rapp, a CIA SuperAgent is entering a new phase on his personal life and his career. Previously he was a secret assassin, and had just thwarted an attempt by Iraq to procure nuclear weapons. In "Executive Power", we find that Rapp's exploits have been (partially) leaked to the press. Now he must deal with being a well known entity as well adjust to life as husband to Anna Reilly, a national news reporter based in Washington DC.
Despite promising Anna to give up his high risk career, Rapp quickly involves himself in a hostage rescue of an American family that has been kidnapped and is being held in the Philippines by terrorists. He sustains an injury which infuriates his new bride, and requires the intervention of his boss, CIA Director Irene Kennedy, in order to placate his wife's sullen mood. But Rapp is soon deeply involved in tracking another mystery involving Middle-East terrorists, Israeli strongmen, and a hedonistic Saudi Prince. Before long Rapp is advising the highest levels of our government, including the Executive Branch. As a complex plot of the Palestinian and Israeli power struggle reaches a climax, Rapp is soon exercising his power to carry out lethal justice in order to restore some sense of peace in a turmoil filled world.
This is Flynn's 5th novel with Mitch Rapp. I appreciate Rapp's steely resolve, and the gradual character development - now involving marriage to a liberal news reporter. I also like Flynn's realistic presentation of how the world really works - behind the scenes. But in "Executive Power" the final story line wraps up rather quickly. And the reader may feel overly immersed in the Palestinian/Isralei conflict, which is so vividly reported on in the real world. Also, the reader may be left wondering if Rapp is still an unflappable assassin trying to right some of the world's wrongs, or just a politically expendable killer that is having a hard time putting his gun down. I prefer to believe the former. I'm already looking forward to Flynn's next installment in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Rapp (and Flynn) Roll On!
Review: Notwithstanding what some others here think, in my humble opinion, Vince Flynn has not written a dissapointing novel yet. If you have not read any of his "Mitch Rapp" novels yet, it would behoove you to start and the beginning and move forward. While this novel deals with an Iraq still controlled by Sadaam, the story loses nothing in that regard and the essential points made by the story that is laid out for the reader is sure to leave you waiting for the next installment. I will be looking forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the series
Review: Of Vince Flynn's books, this is the best I have read thus far. Normally, I would give something like this 3 stars, but as it is the best of his books, I will give it four. The book is about as one would expect from a spy thriller / action novel. There is action, some romance, politics and a dose of death and destruction. The story is a little far fetched, but for the most part quite believable. If not for a outdated piece on Iraq, the book could come from todays headlines. If you were new to Vince Flynn or you were looking for an entertaining / somewhat realistic action / thriller of a novel... give this one a go.
Rating:
Summary: Great thriller
Review: Once again Vince Flynn comes through with an exceptional thriller which is both timely and provocotive. The story comes straight from todays headlines. From the jungles of the Philippines to the Israeli/Palestinian fiasco, Flynn's protragonist, Mitch Rapp, tracks down the evil elements and actually gives them what they deserve. A great thrill ride.Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Another exciting installment
Review: Once again Vince Flynn takes us into the world of a CIA secret operative otherwise known as an assassin. Mitch Rapp leads us through another fun, fast paced adventure as he travels the world hunting down the terrorists that threaten America's safety.
This novel is a fun and exciting thriller. While it is a bit over the top at times, it is a good portrayal of the considerations that the CIA and other government leaders have to evaluate when faced with the threat of global terrorism. It also captures the political forces that attempt to interfere with international relations.
Rating: 
Summary: Unwrapping Rapp
Review: Sub-par story as author Vince Flynn, obviously trying to keep up with fast changing events in the Middle East, spends far too much time explaining the ongoing political struggle between Israel and Palestine and too little time with the hero, Mitch Rapp. Also, having Rapp domesticated and reassigned to a bureaucratic environment subtracts greatly from his far more interesting freelance, loner-assassin role in earlier books.
Rating:
Summary: Relentless pacing with nonstop action
Review: The hero of this superb series of political thrillers, CIA agent Mitch Rapp, has two problems to deal with. First of all, an American family is being held hostage by rebels in the Philippines. The Philippine government appears unable or unwilling to help. After a Navy SEALs team is ambushed while attempting the rescue, Rapp decides to attempt the rescue while exacting revenge on those who are responsible for the leak causing the ambush.
The second problem concerns a Palestinian assassin attempting to force Israeli concessions for a rapid peace by taking out top Arab leaders while making it look like the Israelis are involved. The question is: who is the assassin and who is he working for? The result of his actions might lead to war.
What sets Vince Flynn's thrillers apart from most others is the timeliness of the topics and the realistic and plausible settings. There is little doubt that any of these events could occur in the very near future. Rapp is an ideal thriller super hero, yet, he appears more human than most. As with all of Vince Flynn's thrillers, the pacing is relentless, the action nonstop and the length perfect for entertainment on a long flight or an afternoon at the beach. All his books are highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Wake Me When It Gets Good....
Review: The problem with thrillers these days is that so many are dreadfully formulaic. Superman type hero, crazy assassin killer, throw in some geo-politics and international locales, and you have your modern thriller. A few authors today know how to buck this conventional trend, and Vince Flynn used to be one of them. Term Limits, his first novel, was an extremely exciting and unique book with a really engaging storyline. His next couple of efforts were also top notch, as they introduced the character of CIA operative Mitch Rapp, who brought along quite the colorful assortment of enemies. The publishers were pushing Flynn as a Daniel Silva type superstar, and I waited with much anticipation for the further adventures of Mr. Rapp. All for naught. Instead of another intriguing addition to the saga of Rapp, Executive Power is a barely readable bore of a book. With this tome, we find Mitch Rapp as a horribly conventional type of CIA officer. Fresh off his daring exploits in Iraq, Rapp is a now a nationally recognized celebrity. Even worse than that, Rapp has gotten married, a plot point that annoys the reader to no end. Agent Rapp, or "Ironman", was a great character because of his loner personality and his deadly ferocity. Now we find him cooking pasta for his returning wife. Of course, Flynn finds some exciting things for his domesticated hit man to do, but it is just not the same. Well, I thought, maybe the storyline can carry the new characterization of Rapp. Failure again. Two story arcs struggle throughout the 377-page work, searching for some kind of synchronization and sophistication, but they never even get close. The minor arch deals with fighting terrorists in the Philippines, a story which never even peaked any excitement from this eager reader. It seems like Flynn got bored with that tale, and moved on to one concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The villain in this one is the mysterious Palestinian terrorist known as David (ironic, huh?). David has some kind of amazing plan that he only hints at at first, and by the time it is revealed in all its illogical glory, the reader barely cares anymore. Never mind the fact that the story and the plan make little sense, it is just lackluster writing anyway. This book has a lot of problems. The first is that Middle Eastern thrillers these days have to rise above a certain threshold of believability these days, and Executive Power fails to even approach it. Even an amateur student of current events should recognize the flaws in a lot of the plot "twists". The characters are a very tedious bunch, with Rapp's new wife leading the pack of wearisome cutouts. She is the hip network reporter who will not stand for her husband's lies and wants the scoop on everything he does. How original. The President's chief of staff is a conniving operative who will sell out her country in order to protect her career. Come on Vince, now you are just copying yourself. We have the mysterious assassin/terrorist, and his drunken billionaire Saudi sponsor. Little insight into the motives or background of any of these characters is given, and the reader could care less how they end up. The dialogue throughout the story is uninspired at best, cringe worthy at worst. Mr. and Mrs. Rapp deliver some of the most ludicrous pillow talk I have ever heard. The book has a few attributes. Try as he might, Flynn just cannot seem to make Rapp boring. Nothing like a deadly CIA assassin with a 9mm Beretta pistol to get a thriller aficionados blood pumping. The actions and exploits of the Navy SEAL team are also fairly stimulating. However, the reader just gets the constant feeling that Flynn is just going through some motions, trying to make his characters and the dreadful world they inhabit matter in our eyes. It is a shame, because Mr. Flynn seems to be, from his other novels, a promising young author. Hopefully he can recover in his next book, after Rapp gets a divorce, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Unnecessary Fluff
Review: The story started out so, so promising. Unfortunately, it got lost somewhere along the way. Almost like it was exposition rather than serious story telling. More accurately, the book's two separate stories that were forcefully melded into each other for no rhyme or reason other than to add pages. To add insult to injury, neither story is very good standing alone.
Take the Abu Sayyaf angle.
Q: How does the Abu Sayyaf story relate to Omar and David's?
A: It doesn't, other than that Mitch Rapp stars in both, but that's a flimsy reason if you ask me.
Worse, the only character with any real depth or complexity, David, dies at the end.
Seems to me Flynn's going the way of Mr. Clancy, from very good to extremely mediocre.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: The thumbs up from Dan Brown on the front cover enticed me to buy this book in addition to the fact that the book was considered to be a post 9-11 thriller. I almost expected the book to flow like the 24 Hours TV Series, but instead it turned out to be a jumble of different sub-plots that really didn't flow well at all. Some of the characters / sub-plots (Phillippines, the love story) didn't come together quite well. The "hero" was a little too macho and not too likeable. It seemed like the author ran out of steam toward the end.
My fav character: Prince Omar!
Mark
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