Kill Shot is the second prequel novel (and sequel to America Assassin) in the Mitch Rapp series, making it the second book in chronological order.

Rapp’s training is complete, Irene Kennedy and Thomas Stansfield have turned him loose to do what he does best, kill terrorists. Working from a mental list of men to rid the world of, Rapp has left a bloody trail around the globe  as he quickly proves himself one of the best assets the CIA has at their disposal. He’s efficient, methodical, ruthless, and never misses… then something goes completely wrong.

The beginning pages are gripping as our hero finds himself ambushed in the Paris hotel room of a man he was sent to kill. It was clearly a setup, and Rapp no longer knows who he can trust. Already thinking of revenge, and plotting his next move, Rapp first realizes he has find a way to escape the situation with his life.

While he does manage to get away, he’s seriously wounded in the process.

Looking for answers Mitch goes off the grid, laying low just long enough to partially recover and put a plan in place. He soon realizes that whoever sold him out must be a high ranking member of the worlds top spy agency. Very few people have any knowledge of, or access to, the list he’s been working off of, and suspects quickly begin to fall into place.

Needing help, Rapp reaches out to his current lover, Greta. Surprisingly, I found myself really liking Greta both as a character, and for Mitch. I’ve always thought Anna Rielly was the best women for Rapp, but Greta is a compelling character that I truly hope to see more of at some point in the future.

Unfortunately, Kill Shot, is the final story of the prequel novels, at least for the time being. Vince Flynn went back to his original timeline, set more in present day, writing The Last Man after Kill Shot.

The Last Man is an awesome novel, however, cancer tragically took Vince from us before he ever had the chance to finish this story arc. You’ll understand when you finish this book exactly what I mean.

On a positive note, Kyle Mills (the new author of the Mitch Rapp series) has expressed interest at eventfully going back and tying up some of these loose ends. I hope he does, and I also hope (assuming she lives past a third prequel novel) that Greta and Rapp can rekindle their relationship down the line in the present day timeline of the series.

I wouldn’t call the way things are left with her a cliffhanger, but it’s definitely left open. The only problem with that, if you can even call it a problem, is that we have no closure as to why we’ve never heard of Greta before in series. Does she die, betray Mitch, or do they just part amicably? For now, we have no idea.

Beyond just Greta, many of the same characters from American Assassin return, including Rapp’s CIA nemesis, Victor.

When Rapp goes dark, Victor goes on the hunt determined to put a bullet into Mitch’s head hoping feed his own personal vendetta. This time around, though, Rapp does more than just break Victor’s arm when they come face-to-face, as the pompous operative gets a small part of what he deserves.

The Victor storyline is another one that could use some eventual closure and, again, hopefully that will happen at some point.

I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. I read it in about a day, and it’s opening sequence is one of my all-time favorites in the Rapp franchise. As good as the opening pages are, the ending is even better. You don’t want to be someone that sells out Mitch Rapp, let’s just leave it at that.