This article originally ran on November 2, 2015 over at my other site MitchRappFan.com – a fan site dedicated for all things Mitch Rapp. To see the original article, or for more information about the Rapp series, head that way!
Recently, bestselling author Brad Thor announced the title and plot for his next novel: Foreign Agent. For those unaware, Thor pens the fantastic Scot Harvath series. If you’ve never read his books but enjoy Vince Flynn and Mitch Rapp, then you likely already love Thor and Harvath – you just don’t know it yet! Seriously, check him out.
Anyways, Thor’s announcement got me very excited. It also got me thinking about what’s next for Mitch Rapp. The Survivor has only been out for about two months, so the truth is, we don’t know very much. But we do know a few things about the next book already, all of which I’ll list below.
1.) Coleman “takes a beating”
On November 1, Kyle Mills tweeted the following in response to my tweet about Scott Coleman being one of my favorite characters.
@MitchRappFans Close your eyes! ‘Cause he take a serious beating in the next one…
— Kyle Mills (@KyleMillsAuthor) November 1, 2015
So the question is: Does he physically take a beating, or could it be his reputation that is called into question? Obviously, Coleman has quite a checkered past, which longtime fans of Vince Flynn will recall. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read Term Limits.
Is it possible some of Coleman’s past sins have caught up with him? Maybe, though not likely in my opinion. Instead, my guess is that it’s a new antagonist that gets to Scott, maybe even as a way to draw Mitch Rapp to him. Obviously, it’s too early to tell – but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun speculating!
2.) Rapp has a new love interest
In September I had the honor of interviewing Kyle Mills for The Life Sentence, which they published on October 6. During our conversation, I asked him if there was a chance Rapp might ever settle down and have a family. Mills didn’t reveal everything he has planned for Mitch, but he did confirm that our favorite CIA super operative has a new love interest in the next book.
In the next book (after The Survivor) he is definitely exploring a new romantic relationship, but, in an unconventional way. There’s just no way that somebody like that, in my mind, goes about dating in a normal way.
3.) Rapp vs ISIS
In the same interview I mentioned above, I asked Kyle Mills if we’d ever see Mitch take on ISIS. His answer is exciting, but he didn’t offer much information. Just enough for us to know ISIS will be mentioned in the book (in some way) but not enough to spoil anything.
Here’s what he said:
Well, he is going to take on ISIS, though it may not be that satisfying. Therein lies a little bit of my style creeping in. There are definitely things like ISIS, where there is a little bit of a hopelessness in that situation. I portray a little bit in what will be the next book. There’s only so much that can be done, so there will be a little bit of that with the follow-up to The Survivor.
@MitchRappFans They’ll be hitting Costa Rica in the follow up to The Survivor. I think that’s a new one!
— Kyle Mills (@KyleMillsAuthor) August 11, 2015
The only thing I’ll add is that Rapp has been to Costa Rica once during the series. In the very beginning of Protect and Defend, Mitch pays a visit to a guy who is one of the antagonists in two previous novels. And of course by “pay a visit,” I mean Rapp kills him.
5.) The House
**SPOILER** If you haven’t read the entire Mitch Rapp series, and don’t want anything spoiled, STOP READING NOW. For everyone else, please scroll down.
Back in Consent to Kill, before Anna Rielly (Rapp’s wife) was killed when the home they were living in exploded, it was revealed that Mitch was in the process of having a new home built for them.
We don’t know too much about it, other than that it’s located in Virginia “just outside the Beltway on two very private acres.” Oh, and that it was going to be “more secure than Fort Knox,” thanks to multiple security measures Mitch designed.
Kyle mentioned the unfinished home in The Survivor, and it was made clear that Rapp was considering resuming the project in the near future.
Well, apparently, Rapp is going to have the home finished in the very near future. Here’s another snippet from my interview with Kyle:
Mitch is working hard to get his house built because, remember, he bought that acreage outside of the Beltway, and it’s just sitting there. Meanwhile, his old house is still sitting there half burned down. So, he’s trying to get his life together.
Good for Mitch, I’m happy to see him slowly moving on with his life. I’d always wondered what became of the new home, and now we’re finally going to get a look at it!
6.) A new super villain
After I finished asking Kyle a ton of questions, I decided to try my luck and press Mr. Mills for even more details about the next Mitch Rapp book. I honestly thought he’d have to politely decline any further comment. Instead, he blew me away with he shared, and left me excited beyond belief.
Before I reveal what he said, let me just add in that Kyle Mills has stated numerous times in interviews that he really likes the bad guys in these types of books. If you’ve already read The Survivor, and I assume that you have, then you know what a fantastic job he did with Gould, Taj, and the other bad guys. I guess the only real question is: How can he possibly top the antagonists from The Survivor in the next book?
The big thing that I’m doing in the next book is that Mitch has a nemesis that is really close to being his equal. That’s something that hasn’t been done in the past. Mitch is always on top. Gould would probably be the closest that Vince ever came to that. In a lot of ways, Gould was the inspiration. What if someone like Gould, but pumped up a couple of notches, went at it with Mitch?
Wow. So in the next book Rapp is forced to go up against a guy with very similar abilities to himself. Like an evil version of Mitch. If that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will.
The first thing I pictured when Kyle Mills told me this was the fight scene in the movie Fast Five between Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Two heavyweights battling in especially brutal fashion. Whatever happens when this new villain and Rapp come face-to-face is yet to be seen, but it certainly has the potential to be epic!
So there you have it. That’s all we know, so far, about the next Mitch Rapp book taking place after The Survivor. Not bad for a book that’s probably about eleven months (maybe more) away from publication.
UPDATE: 11/11/2015
In an interview Kyle Mills did with Jackson Hole News & Guide, Kelsey Dayton reports that Mills has “already finished about three-quarters of the next Mitch Rapp book,” which is excellent news. Also, the article ends with “The new book also involves the Russians and ISIS.” For much more, and some awesome quotes from Kyle, read the entire interview by clicking here!
As always, check back frequently for updates. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter or leave a comment if you want to talk about anything Mitch Rapp, Vince Flynn or Kyle Mills related!