EXTREME MEASURES - Vince Flynn

When the news flash came across the TV screen that author Vince Flynn had just died of prostate cancer at the age 47, first I was shocked that deaths were still occurring from that type cancer.  Next I was shocked that I hadn't heard of Vince Flynn, why hadn't I heard of him before?  Why hadn't I read any of his books?

Six of his fourteen books have been on the New York Times Bestselling Lists.  How did I miss that?  So, I immediately went to my computer and pulled up information on Mr. Flynn and I ordered EXTREME MEASURES, one of his Mitch Rapp political thrillers - counterterrorism.  When the novel arrived I sat down with it and read it till I finished it.  I didn't want to put it down. I carried it to and from the kitchen with me, to and from the bathroom, in the bathtub, read it from cover to cover, no skipping or skimming.  Damn!  He's gone and I have just begun to read him.  That sucks!

Some have compared him to Robert Ludlum, we all know who RL is.  I mean after Ken Follett's "Eye of the Needle" and "Key to Rebecca" I was sold on political thrillers, espionage. I immediately switched to Robert Ludlum and read his novels till they began to get boring, which is what happens after reading one author 'till you are saturated. At least that's what happens to me. Sometimes the books themselves become boring, the author's writing becomes stale ... his plots and characters ... that's when he needs to try something fresh.  Anyway, I've found that with Nora Roberts, Danielle Steele, and Robert Ludlum - all major sellers.  Not with Jack Whyte, however, he still holds me, as does Ken Follett and as I suspect George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) will. I'm just now starting to read Martin.

But back to Flynn. I loved EXTREME MEASURES.  It's about rooting out a third cell of well-trained terrorists before they strike in the U.S. Two cells have been stopped. And boy, this is one fast-paced killer of a book, literally. The title of the book is how detainees and suspects are treated and grilled to get pertinent information from them, even though parts of U.S. government have banned those measures and try to make it stick. This book makes you really think about it all, it really does. It feels like reality. A must read if you haven't read it already.

At this point, I have to mention a book I published for Tom Onstott - SNIPER, that is also a terrific read about terrorists in the U.S.  I love it too.  And many readers have expressed their positive impressions of the novel and Tom's writing and are eagerly awaiting his next thriller.  Well, another is on the way. FOR THE LOVE OF A CHILD will be launched towards the end of July.  More on that later.  I'll be announcing it on the RJBP (www.rjbuckleypublishing.com) website as well as on Facebook and other social networks.

Read, read, read.  Do the author a favor, write reviews on Amazon after you read a book.