Get ready for explosive action as Vince Flynn’s iconic hero Mitch Rapp returns in Denied Access, the riveting conclusion to the prequel trilogy that began with American Assassin and continued with Kill Shot.
Rapp, one of the biggest names and most beloved heroes the thriller genre has ever produced, first appeared in #1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn’s second novel, Transfer of Power, back in 1999. After twelve consecutive bestsellers, Flynn, in his 2010 novel American Assassin, went back in time to show Rapp’s origin story with the CIA, launching what he called a new “prequel trilogy” within his series. The next year, Flynn followed up with Kill Shot, which follows a young Mitch Rapp on the run after being set up and shot, forced to survive on his own as the very people who trained him attempt to track him down and kill him. Tragically, Flynn, who passed away in 2013 after a battle with cancer, was never able to complete the prequel trilogy arc, leaving many fans to wonder what, exactly, happened between Kill Shot and Transfer of Power.
As longtime fans of the series know, fellow New York Times bestselling author Kyle Mills stepped into the Rappverse in 2015, and wrote nine books in Flynn’s series, all major bestsellers and well received by readers and critics alike. Last year, New York Times bestselling author Don Bentley (best known for his own Matt Drake books and his brilliant work in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe), took over for Mills, and in doing so, took readers back to 2011 with Capture or Kill, a bloody, electrifying thriller that sees Rapp join the search for Osama bib Laden.
Now, after dazzling readers with Capture or Kill, Bentley will again revisit the past, this time with Denied Access, available everywhere on September 30th, which is set directly after the events of Kill Shot, tying up the arc Flynn started fifteen years prior. Expect a lot of hype around this book, and for good reason.
Check out the cover art and plot details below.
Denied Access by Don Bentley
Release Date: September 3o, 2025
Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Don Bentley completes the trilogy begun with American Assassin by taking Mitch Rapp back to his fledgling assassin days, picking up where Kill Shot ended, on a mission to save the woman he loves amid a CIA showdown with the Russian intelligence services in a new thriller from the author of Vince Flynn’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.
The Central Intelligence Agency is in crisis.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Congress is questioning the organization’s necessity. Interim CIA director Thomas Stansfield must fight for his agency’s survival while explaining why the previous candidate for his job was found murdered in a French hotel—surrounded by booze, cash, and dead men. Worst yet, a brilliantly run sting operation in Moscow has resulted in the arrest of America’s most prized Russian asset and the expulsion of his CIA handler.
With the CIA’s Moscow Station now paralyzed by the catastrophic intelligence failure, Stansfield seeks help from Mitch Rapp, a newly minted assassin in the secretive Orion program. But Rapp has problems of his own: when his Swiss girlfriend Greta’s grandfather receives a box containing the head of a former Cold War comrade along with a note promising that Greta’s head will be next, Rapp finds himself on the frontlines in a war between the American and Russian intelligence services. To protect the woman he loves and save the CIA from destruction, Rapp must be willing to risk everything.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn (1966–2013) created one of contemporary fiction’s most popular heroes: CIA counterterrorist agent Mitch Rapp, featured in thirteen of Flynn’s acclaimed political thrillers. All of his novels are New York Times bestsellers, including his stand-alone debut novel, Term Limits.
Don Bentley is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books in several series including the Matt Drake novels, the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan Jr. series, and now the Vince Flynn Mitch Rapp series. Don is a former FBI Special Agent, SWAT team member, and Army Apache helicopter pilot. Learn more at DonBentleyBooks.com.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor in addition to running TRBS. He is the author of FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” LETHAL RANGE, OUT FOR BLOOD, and TED BELL’S MONARCH. For more information, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and BookBub. To interact with other readers and talk about your favorite books and authors, join The Real Book Spy’s Discord server.