Simon&Schuster, London 2012

The subtitle of this thriller says “A hero can´t always be good”, and that is the story in a nutshell. Flynn has already written 13 bestsellers, all probably with the FBI and the CIA at the center and some crude war stories, that justify the ample use of weapons of war described in loving detail.

If you are not likewise inclined, the pagelong description of the latest military helicopters, drones and other war paraphernalia is rather boring.

The two heroes of the plot are Mitch Rapp (CIA), the “good” hero, desperately trying to find his colleague Joe Rickman, who has been captured by Afghan or Pakistani warlords. The “bad” hero, the killer Gould, tries to kill Rapp, but in the end he is integrated in the very clandestine operations of the CIA.

Flynn himself is suffering from cancer like Rapp´s one time mentor Hurley, the eminence gris of the described CIA system. Flynn died in 2012, so this is his last thriller.