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On his first deep-cover assignment, a young Mitch Rapp must infiltrate a jihadi organization and recover a kidnapped chemical-weapons scientist before the Middle East reaches critical mass in this bold new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Don Bentley—who continues to expand Vince Flynn’s beloved franchise while putting his own mark on the series.
After completing Rapp’s original origin trilogy story with Denied Access (2025), Bentley pushes the young American assassin into the next phase of his development.
(NOTE: Though this is the 25th book in Flynn’s universe starring Rapp, the late author’s official website explains that Double Tap falls between Denied Access and Transfer of Power (1999), making it the 4th book, chronologically, in the series.)
Killing comes naturally to Rapp. Pretending to be someone else does not.
When a Pakistani chemical-weapons scientist is abducted from the streets of Verona, Rapp is tasked with penetrating the jihadi cell responsible. Recovering the scientist, though, means gaining the group’s confidence, surviving inside its ranks, and suppressing every instinct telling him to solve the problem with a bullet to each bad guy’s head.
Pulling the trigger might be easy, but maintaining the lie is the only way to prevent a catastrophe.
That subtle shift from hunting a target to living among the enemy changes the entire texture of the mission, similarly to when Kyle Mills showed an older Rapp undercover with ISIS in the 2016 thriller Order to Kill. Deep-cover work requires patience, deception, and restraint—three qualities rarely associated with Mitch Rapp, especially Bentley’s younger, more volatile version of him.
Meanwhile, the scientist’s disappearance attracts competing intelligence services, resurrects old grudges, and forces unlikely alliances. The increasingly crowded battlefield gives Bentley’s latest offering the geopolitical complexity of classic Vince Flynn while allowing him to deploy the tactical detail and hard-earned authenticity that have become hallmarks of his own work.
Just as importantly, Bentley seems to understand that these prequel novels cannot rely solely on showing readers a younger version of someone they already know. The supporting cast—and Rapp’s evolving relationships with Irene Kennedy, Stan Hurley, and others—help illuminate how the solitary assassin became the man who would eventually command the loyalty of so many people (and become so beloved by readers).
Longtime fans will find plenty of connective tissue and carefully placed callbacks to earlier books in the series, but those moments enhance the story without overwhelming it, allowing newcomers to jump in with ease. Honestly, the book’s best suspense comes from watching Rapp operate without his usual freedom. Every conversation could expose him. Every hesitation carries consequences. And every successful deception pulls him deeper into an organization where one wrong move will get him killed.
Bentley isn’t simply filling gaps in Rapp’s history—he’s turning them into kill zones. Fast, ruthless, and loaded with old-school espionage intrigue, Double Tap feels both like a Mitch Rapp novel and distinctly like a Don Bentley thriller, proving that twenty-five books in, Rapp remains the most lethal name in the genre.
Author: Don Bentley
Series: Mitch Rapp #25
Pages: 416 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 1668045915
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Release Date: September 22, 2026
It’s interesting when comparing the Don Bentley era of Mitch Rapp against Kyle Mills’ nine-book run…
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