Vince Flynn Books in Order
Vince Flynn was the New York Times bestselling author of the Mitch Rapp series. He wrote the series until his death in 2013,and Kyle Mills later completed his unfinished novel The Survivor and continued the books, with Don Bentley taking over in 2024.
The Mitch Rapp novels now have two useful reading orders. Several books published much later take place during Rapp’s earlier years, so readers can follow either publication order or the chronology of his story.
A printable book list is available below. You can print it or save it as a PDF.
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Latest Mitch Rapp Books
Publication date: September 22, 2026
Where to Start with Mitch Rapp
There are two main ways to begin the series.
- Publication order: Start with Transfer of Power, the first Mitch Rapp novel published in 1999. This follows the books in the order Vince Flynn’s original readers encountered them.
- Chronological order: Start with American Assassin, followed by Kill Shot, Denied Access and Double Tap. These books are about the younger Rapp before the events of Transfer of Power.
Term Limits, published in 1997, was Flynn’s first novel but is not a Mitch Rapp book. It is a standalone novel.
Mitch Rapp Series (Publication Order)
- Transfer of Power, 1999 Amazon
- The Third Option, 2000 Amazon
- Separation Of Power, 2001 Amazon
- Executive Power, 2002 Amazon
- Memorial Day, 2004 Amazon
- Consent to Kill, 2005 Amazon
- Act of Treason, 2006 Amazon
- Protect and Defend, 2007 Amazon
- Extreme Measures, 2008 Amazon
- Pursuit of Honor, 2009 Amazon
- American Assassin, 2010 Amazon
- Kill Shot, 2012 Amazon
- The Last Man, 2012 Amazon
- The Survivor, 2014 Amazon
- Order to Kill, 2016 Amazon
- Enemy of the State, 2017 Amazon
- Red War, 2018 Amazon
- Lethal Agent, 2019 Amazon
- Total Power, 2020 Amazon
- Enemy at the Gates, 2021 Amazon
- Oath of Loyalty, 2022 Amazon
- Code Red, 2023 Amazon
- Capture or Kill, 2024 Amazon
- Denied Access, 2025 Amazon
- Double Tap, 2026 Amazon
Mitch Rapp Series (Chronological Order)
- American Assassin, 2010
- Kill Shot, 2012
- Denied Access, 2025
- Double Tap, 2026
- Transfer of Power, 1999
- The Third Option, 2000
- Separation Of Power, 2001
- Executive Power, 2002
- Memorial Day, 2004
- Consent to Kill, 2005
- Act of Treason, 2006
- Protect and Defend, 2007
- Extreme Measures, 2008
- Pursuit of Honor, 2009
- Capture or Kill, 2024
- The Last Man, 2012
- The Survivor, 2014
- Order to Kill, 2016
- Enemy of the State, 2017
- Red War, 2018
- Lethal Agent, 2019
- Total Power, 2020
- Enemy at the Gates, 2021
- Oath of Loyalty, 2022
- Code Red, 2023
Who Writes the Mitch Rapp Books Now?
Vince Flynn wrote thirteen Mitch Rapp books, including his last, The Last Man in 2012. He was working on The Survivor when he died in 2013.
Kyle Mills completed The Survivor, published in 2015, and continued the series until Code Red in 2023. Don Bentley took over with Capture or Kill in 2024 and also wrote Denied Access and Double Tap. The books continue to be published under Vince Flynn’s name alongside the current writer.
For the changeover dates and writers, see the Mitch Rapp handover timeline in our Crime Series Handovers guide.
Standalone Novel
- Term Limits, 1997 Amazon
Vince Flynn Book Adaptations
- American Assassin – adapted into the film American Assassin (2017)
The book was published in 2010 as a prequel about the younger Mitch Rapp and is now the first novel in chronological order. The film takes place in a more contemporary time period, and it’s not following the original timeline exactly.
About Vince Flynn
Vince Flynn was born in 1966 in Saint Paul, Minnesota as the fifth of seven children. In 1984 he graduated from Saint Thomas Academy, and in 1988 from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in economics. He passed away June 19, 2013.
Official website: vinceflynn.com
After college he worked in sales and marketing for Kraft General Foods until 1990, when he switched careers with the intention to become a pilot with the United States Marine Corps. After being diagnosed with concussions and convulsive seizures which he experienced while growing up, he was disqualified from the Marine Aviation Program just one week prior to him leaving for Officer Candidate School, which is a training program that aims to evaluate potential Marine Corps Officers.
Vince Flynn had also dyslexia as a child and had struggled with reading and writing. He was trying to overcome it by keeping a strict daily regimen of reading and writing. During this time he fell in love with books and decided to become a writer as well.
In the meantime, he worked at United Properties as a commercial real estate leasing agent, a job which could turn out to be quite lucrative for him.
Eventually, he quit his job, moved to Colorado, and started writing books full-time. He wrote and published on his own his debut novel, Term Limits, set in the same universe as Mitch Rapp. The book was featured on the New York Times bestseller list for several weeks.
He very much wanted to continue writing books, especially since several of his first novels, including of the most popular of Vince Flynn’s books like Transfer of Power, The Third Option, and Separation of Power, which were all on the NYT bestseller list.
In 2010, the author was diagnosed with a rare form of prostate cancer. While getting treatment, he continued to write his bestselling novels. Over the years, he wrote 14 books, out of which 13 are part of his popular Mitch Rapp series. The last book that he was working on, which he couldn’t complete, The Survivor, was eventually written by Kyle Mills.
Vince Flynn’s books were sold more than 15 million books in the U.S. alone. Two ex-presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were among his serious fans.
Flynn died on June 19, 2013, at the age of 47 after treatment for prostate cancer. He was survived by his wife, Lysa, and their three children. The Mitch Rapp series continued after his death, first with Kyle Mills and now with Don Bentley.
What’s the next book after “Oath Of Loyalty “?
It’s called Code Red, available September 2023.
I just finished the entire series. Please tell me there are more books coming…
@Jason American Assassin, although written some 10 years after Transfer of Power, is chronologically the first in the Mitch Rapp series. If you want to see how the author’s writing style has evolved over the years, you should start with Transfer of Power, but for the character progression, definitely start with American Assasin, in my opinion.
This looks like an older post so hopefully I’ll get a response but I just picked up American Assassin at my local Goodwill last night. I had started reading one of his other novels Pursuit of Honor but didn’t finish it. I am curious about something though. I’m reading Flynn’s books mainly because I want to study his writing style because I’m actually writing a book myself. I won’t go into details but it’s a sci-fi story. Because I had started about halfway thru his series, not really knowing the character development of Mitch Rapp, is it still the best idea to read American Assassin first or should I read Transfer of Power first? I want to get a feel for how he develops Mitch Rapp to perhaps better understand how to develop my own character(s) in my book. Maybe I’m overthinking things but I’m curious about which book to read first.
I seem to have lost what happened to Stan Hurley. The last I remember is when he drops Mitch off to go upstairs and kill some people who were going to out Mitch and Stan. Stan picks him up on the street after, apologizes and that is it. What did I miss?
I have read all of Mr. Flynn’s (RIP) books several times and will do so again! A truly an outstanding author! I beat prostate cancer and really thought it very rare to take someone so young! God rest his soul, there will not be another like him for a very long time!
Stan as you may know was dying to lung cancer (months to live) and he keeps the assassin that killed Mitch’s wife from killing Mitch and it the course of that he gets shot and killed.
I will read all Vince Flynn books. Well written and so realistic you would think he had a direct line to all the events.
So very saddened by his premature death.
I read every book written by Mr. Flynn and enjoyed every one of them. His death is our loss!
I have loved Vince’s books for many years. I hope to see them in years to come.
I am not even an American ( I am Australian) but I have read all of Vince Flynn’ s books and loved every one of them. . Although some of the politics leaves me a little confused!!! he is a wonderful writer of this genre. I was devestated to hear that he had passed away much much too early. My deepest sympathy goes to his family and friends, it is a huge loss.
I am not a book reader in the slightest but over 5 years I have read all Vince Flynn books apart from the last in the Rapp series. (Only books I have actually read since school). Everytime I pick up the next book I’m hooked love them.
Just found out Vince has passed away and I’m absolutely gutted, loved his writing and a sad loss. R.I.P Vince thank you.
Talk about getting “hooked” on an exceptional series of well written books. A friend of mine introduced me to “Kill Shot” about two months ago. I am now on my 8th book in the series. For me anyway the best way to get my daily “Mitch Fix” is on audio book. I do a lot of driving so windshield time is Vince Flynn time. Enjoying “Consent To Kill” right now. My daily fix has met once again.
As litteraly anyone who has ever know me would tell, I am not a “reader”. My job discription has changed and I have found free time in the day now. I was turned on to this series from a friend who gave me access to his audible account. American Assassin was my intro, Wow!! I have since been purging Amazon for Mitch Rapp/ Vince Flynn books. My wife and teenagers have asked me if I am having a mid- life crisis? Hell if I know. But I enjoy this character and series so much. I don’t like to put these books down after opening them. I was stunned and shocked to find the Mr. Flynn has passed. I will continue to our purchase these books, rather than check these books out at the library. I am finding joy in books for the first time in a long time. Thank you Mr. Flynn.
So sad to know that Vince Flynn has died at such a young age. I have loved reading all of his books and couldn’t put them down until finished. A brilliant writer. A terrible loss.
I feel like I have lost something very special. I have all the books about Mitch Rapp and would like for the series to continue, but I don’t feel anybody else could compare to Vince Flynn.
I’m really sorry to see Mr.Flynn past away. He was my favorite writer. My condolences to his family and friends