Pursuit of Honor by Vince flynn

Flynn is definitely on my power rotation. Every new title the library gets has my name on the (long) request list. As a reminder, I sort of know his sister from some work with US Soccer. I read this during the week I was sick after returning from India. Probably read over half of this in the can.

The books opens days after Muslim extremists have blown up a power lunch restaurant filled with members of Congress and staffers. As a further insult, a second squad attacks the National Counter Terrorist Center killing dozens more until our hero Mitch Rapp and partner Mike Nash send the bad guys off to paradise. With nearly 200 dead, the nation is in no mood to coddle Islamic extremists. The President has given Rapp a green light to be if not judge and jury, certainly the executioner. The sharp edge of the CIA's sword has been let loose with few strings attached. The story takes place over the following week.

Rapp is on the trail of a liberal weenie lawyer inspector general of the CIA who has been giving out information that some consider to aid the enemy. Meanwhile, 3 of the cell that helped carry out the DC attack are hiding out in rural Iowa, waiting for the heat to die down. Hakim is the logical planner who knows about the US having lived here. Karim is the hotheaded soldier who wants a legacy as The Lion of al Qaeda. A dad and son walk up to their farmhouse asking for permission to hunt. Hakim says sure because he knows that's all they want, but Karim is convinced they are police and kills them both. Now they are on the run, trying to stay a step ahead of the police. Neither trusts the other and end up splitting. Hakim to Nassau to get money and hide somewhere, Karim and Ahmed to Washington to wreck more havoc.

Rapp is trying to piece together disparate clues from British and French intelligence, the FBI, local police, Caribbean banking, and more I can't recall. How he does it on probably 4-5 hrs sleep is beyond me. Meanwhile, Mike Nash is worried he is becoming just like Rapp and can't deal with it. By pure luck, Rapp runs into Hakim while following the money to Nassau. As Karim had beaten Hakim to within an inch of his life for insubordination, Hakim is easy to turn against Karim. They all go back to DC just as Karim kidnaps Nash's daughter and holds her as the central figure in one last final shot at Islamic glory. Of course, he fails with Rapp taking care of business with exxxxxxtreeeeeeme prejudice.

In this story, Flynn seems to be more focused on character and logical plot development rather than body count. It's all about trying to connect the dots . . . at a breakneck pace. If there was one thing I didn't like, it's Flynn's penchant for conservative sermonizing as when Rapp confronts the treasonous lawyer, and I'm on his side. But that doesn't get in the way of a terrific read. It all seems like a re-telling of something that really could happen. I certainly hope that the realism presented isn't a look into our near future. Flynn's books have yet to let me down, but I sure hope he isn't right.

East Coast Don