Transfer of Power

Written in 1999, of course, before 9-11, this book is about the takeover of the White House by terrorists. An interesting point made by one of the Secret Service agents, is the realization that there is no way to protect against or prevent an airplane loaded with explosives from crashing into the building. This was before the no-fly zone over the White House.
This book introduces Anna Rielly, Mitch Rapp's future wife. She is one of the hostages and they meet when he saves her life. A genuine hero.
He almost single-handedly gathers intelligence, takes down the terrorists and saves the President. A well-told story with a lot of action and suspense.

Rafique Aziz, a notorious Arab terrorist finds a weak point in American politics. By posing as a wealthy campaign contributors he gains access to the White House. At the same time his group of thugs infiltrate the executive mansion, slaughtering dozens of innocent bystanders, taking numerous hostages, thus sealing off and taking control of the White House. President Hayes manages to escape to his underground bunker before the bloodbath.

Top CIA counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp is sent in to take control of the crisis. With Milt Adams, a retired secret service agent, they sneak into the Mansion through an air duct to collect intelligence and evaluate the situation. When an attempt to smuggle more agents in fails, Rapp must act on his own to save the President and hostages……..

Transfer of Power is a great introduction to the series as it lays the groundwork for the interactions between Flynn's characters and their respective roles in the government. The characters are deeply drawn and the villains particularly detestable. The plot was captivating and well thought out. The very idea of terrorists taking over the White House is almost unthinkable. The whole political scene with the interdepartmental clashes and wounded egos is easy to relate to. Fortunately, for us, this is merely a work of fiction and a good political thriller.

Nice book.

EXCELLENT!! Tom Clancy has been surpassed. I have been an avid Clancy reader for years...now I've changed to Vince and I can hardly wait for his next book.