Vincent Joseph Flynn (April 6, 1966 – June 19, 2013) was an American author of political thriller novels featuring the fictional assassin Mitch Rapp. He was a story consultant for the fifth season of the television series 24. He died of prostate cancer on June 19, 2013.
In an effort to overcome the difficulties of dyslexia, Flynn forced himself into a daily writing and reading routine. His writing influences included Leon Uris, Tom Clancy, Ernest Hemingway, John Irving, Robert Ludlum, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Gore Vidal.
Pocket Books published the hardcover edition of Term Limits in 1998, and a mass market paperback in 1999, which spent several weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. Subsequent works, including Flynn's 1999 novel Transfer of Power, his 2000 novel The Third Option, and his 2001 novel Separation of Power, also appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, with Separation of Power rising as high as No. 7.
Flynn's fifth novel, Executive Power, was published in hardcover by Atria Books in 2003, followed by his sixth novel, Memorial Day in 2004, his seventh, Consent to Kill, in 2005, his eighth, Act of Treason, in 2006, his ninth, Protect and Defend, in 2007, and his tenth, Extreme Measures, in 2008. Except for Term Limits, his books centered around counterterrorism agent Mitch Rapp.
Flynn wrote six New York Times bestsellers for Atria Books, and had a contract for four more. He remembered deciding between following the path that was the most uncomfortable—continuing with what looked to be a promising career as a commercial real estate leasing agent—or taking a big risk and starting a new career as a writer: "I look back on it now and I couldn't be happier with my decision, but at the time I remember a lot of people thought I was nuts."
In February 2008, Flynn agreed on film and book projects with CBS Corporation units CBS Films and Simon & Schuster/Atria Books. Lorenzo di Bonaventura was negotiating to produce Mitch Rapp films. The first film, American Assassin, was released in 2017. Atria Books got worldwide rights to four of Flynn's books. In August 2010, Flynn signed a two-book deal for a new series that he would have co-written with Brian Haig, a retired Army lieutenant colonel. He was a frequent guest on The Glenn Beck Radio Program on the Fox News Channel, and on Dan Barreiro's radio program on Twin Cities station KFXN-FM.
From 2015 to 2023, the Mitch Rapp series was continued by Kyle Mills. Starting in 2024 with Capture or Kill, the Mitch Rapp series has been continued by Don Bentley.
| Vince Flynn |
| Kyle Mills |
| Don Bentley |
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