I prefer this older cover of the Vince Flynn novel Kill Shot, the second prequel in the Mitch Rapp Saga.
Mitch Rapp has been living in France while quietly neutralizing a list of insatiables compiled by his handler (Irene Kennedy) and their boss (Thomas Stansfield). It's a list that only a handful of individuals in the upper echelon of the CIA are aware of - including Stan Hurley, the tough, egocentric, often profane and unlikable trainer of Mitch Rapp who decided early on that he (Stan) didn't like Rapp, maybe because Irene discovered him, maybe because Rapp reminded him of himself.
With Rapp set to put down a specific target in a Paris hotel, he's dotted his i's and crossed all his t's. Finishing up and about to exit via the balcony where he entered, suddenly he hears the entrance of several men with silenced rifles and dashes for limited cover. When these men start shooting, the only hope Rapp has is to wait until they have to reload.
Able to escape but receiving a through-and-through to his shoulder, he hustles back to the apartment he occupies and does his best to patch himself up.
When the police investigators show up to the mess of dead bodies, it isn't long before the DGSE arrives and usurps the case from the lead detective causing her to confront her briefly former lover with questions he won't answer. It doesn't sit right with her, but he makes it clear she has no choice. However, she has no intention of ignoring this infringement or this case.
When Stansfield and Kennedy learn of the mess, they have no idea how the information has been spun, but since Rapp has missed his normal check-in, they assume he's gone off the rails from the sound of the info. Except Kennedy has a hard time believing it.
This thriller covers an abundance of angles from dirty officials in and at every level of espionage and law enforcement. Rapp concludes quickly that he's not safe and has to determine who he can trust - if anyone.
Needless to say, reading Kill Shot again reminds me how much I loved Vince Flynn and his writing, his creation of Mitch Rapp, how superb his sources must have been to author the novels he wrote starting with Term Limits (the only book without Mitch Rapp in it). As I've written previously, there is no other thriller hero equal to Mitch Rapp. Many come in a close second, but no one can take his place.
Highly recommend all of the late great Vince Flynn's novels, the continuation of his saga by Kyle Mills and now Don Bentley.
Father, you know hearts and minds. May each one who has been gifted to write novels realize who it is who's given them their talents. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.