Cover of Transfer of PowerTransfer of Power introduced Mitch Rapp to the world... The uber-operator, that is NOT a soldier, but is what best described as an assassin... to kill bad guys. In this book, there is the ultimate high concept... Terrorist attack on the White House itself. The book could easily been turned into a movie, it is that good.Premise: CIA operative Mitch Rapp is undercover in Iran... to snatch local head of Hezbollah. The operation went without a hitch, and soon interrogation yielded a bombshell... Top terrorist Rafique Aziz is in the US planning an operation against Washington D.C.. However, they don't know the threat vector. That was soon realized when a coordinated assault (enemies snuck past security in linen truck, plus sniper on a rooftop, AND Aziz, with plastic surgery, pretended to be an Arab prince and somehow bypassed security background check) hit the White House. Only through dedicated secret service agents who put their lives on the line did the President escape to his bunker, but was out of communication, but over a dozen secret service agents lost their lives and 100 hostages were taken, various staffers and such. The terrorists quickly rigged the West Wing with explosives, and proceed to issue various demands. What is the terrorist up to? While the politicians fight for power and spin control, and military and law enforcement bicker over who's in charge, CIA pulled out their ultimate weapon: Mitch Rapp, who is ordered to infiltrate the White House, and if possible, rescue the hostages AND save the president...
Vince Flynn have a flair of writing about political intrigue that sounds so cold-blooded it'll make you squirm and wonder how can people just "burn" others like that in order to give themselves a tiny advantage. In this book, the Vice President is a pushover who keep waffling over what to do, and his chief of staff keep giving him spin control advice that somehow makes himself (and his principal) look better, instead of the right thing. The actual 'fighting' is short, and yes, many people get killed, esp. bad guys, but plenty of good guys as well.
The villains are pretty much cardboard cutouts, albeit smart ones. The politicians are portrayed with a bit more character. There are a few too many characters though.
Still, the high concept makes this book irresistable read. I've been tracking to track down this book for a while, having discovered Mitch Rapp series rather late (Memorial Day was actually my first.) and this book, IMHO, was worth it.
Rating: read it (at least once)
NOTE: this is the new cover. There's an older edition that has a blue cover.
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