• The Third Option

  • Mitch Rapp Series
  • By: Vince Flynn
  • Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
  • Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (11,285 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Third Option  By  cover art

The Third Option

By: Vince Flynn
Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.46

Buy for $22.46

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

CIA counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp falls prey to government forces with an agenda of their own after Dr. Irene Kennedy is named the successor to dying CIA Director Thomas Stansfield—a choice that enrages many inside the world’s most powerful intelligence agency. Her detractors will resort to extreme measures to prevent her from taking the reins—which makes Rapp an expendable asset. But Mitch Rapp is no one’s pawn, and he will stop at nothing to find out who has set him up.

Hear Mitch Rapp, the CIA's top operative, battle global terrorism in more of Vince Flynn's political thrillers.
©2011 Vince Flynn (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Flynn hits his stride in this thriller about high-end Washington politics...[he] has an exciting, Ludlum-like series going here." ( Booklist)
"Flynn's latest thriller...is an old-school spy story...updated with heavy helpings of international intrigue and domestic politicking and betrayal." ( Library Journal)
"Fans of Ludlum and Clancy will want to check it out.' ( Pioneer Press)

What listeners say about The Third Option

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7,786
  • 4 Stars
    2,735
  • 3 Stars
    616
  • 2 Stars
    91
  • 1 Stars
    57
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6,526
  • 4 Stars
    2,363
  • 3 Stars
    769
  • 2 Stars
    206
  • 1 Stars
    130
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6,935
  • 4 Stars
    2,332
  • 3 Stars
    567
  • 2 Stars
    84
  • 1 Stars
    37

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great novel nearly ruined by the reader.

Would you listen to The Third Option again? Why?

Yes.

What didn’t you like about Nick Sullivan’s performance?

He sounded like he was narrating a science text book.

Any additional comments?

Vincent Flynn novels not read by George Guidall should be re-recorded by George Guidall.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

60 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

If it had an ending, I'd give it a 5.

I can't get enough of the Mitch Rapp series, and this is no exception. My only complaint is that I could not believe this installment ended when it did. I was convinced that I failed to download a segment. Alas, the narrative was at an end. Fortunately, I have already downloaded Vince Flynn's next book. Great series Mr. Flynn!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

37 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A good book ruined by the narrator

Another good one from the Mitch Rapp series. Unfortunately I could not enjoy this one as much as American Assassin, Memorial Day, or Third Option due to the girly voice of this narrator. It's just hard to hear Mitch Rapp, General Flood, or even Senator Clark in this guys voice. It really distracts you from the story...
Oh, which is it Anna Reilly or Anna Riley? Little things like this grated on my nerves ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

why no ending???????????????????

book was great all the way to the non ending. left a big hole, felt like a jigsaw puzzle with the last piece missing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Narration was a turn-off

What disappointed you about The Third Option?

The narration.

What could Vince Flynn have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Re-do the audio book with Guidall.

How could the performance have been better?

Change the narrator to Guidall.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment. Unfortunately, I paid for this book because I ran out of credits. After listening to the American Assassin and Kill Shot, I decided to start from the beginning of the series. I was forewarned by other reviewers about the poor narration but I was hoping to prove them wrong. My husband listen to the books to keep him awake during long driving trips. But we had to turn off this book because he started to get drowsy.

Any additional comments?

Any future Mitch Rapp audiobook purchase much have Guidall for the narrator. I hope the powers that be will decide to redo the old audiobooks with Guidall. Otherwise, we will read them to fill in the blanks of the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Poor Narration

What disappointed you about The Third Option?

the narrator is terrable

What other book might you compare The Third Option to and why?

Transfer of Power because the narrator is also not George Guidell

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nick Sullivan?

George Guidell

What character would you cut from The Third Option?

none

Any additional comments?

George Guidell is Mitch Rapp even great narrators like John Lee or Chales Griffin could not pull off Mitch Rapp

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

"Non" Ending and Basic Pronunciation Errors

First, the pros. The story is good and the character development is what you'd expect from the series. Listening to the book is helpful if you want to follow the Rapp story arc sequentially. Now the cons. The book ends with no resolution, which is very unsatisfying. Had I not read other reviews before listening, I would have been certain that it was a download error.

Nick Sullivan's voice is fine; it's what he does with it that had me wanting to correct him in my head. For example, the character Anna Reilly comes from a family of Chicago cops. Is it at all reasonable to think it would be pronounced "Reelee"? Flynn writes the name Reilly countless times in the book, and every time Sullivan mispronounced it it was like nails across a chalkboard in my skull. I thought it was ridiculous that he kept pronouncing McLean, Virginia as "Macleen," but that only comes up a few times in the book. You'd think the production team would at least get the pronunciation of the main ensemble's names right.

The problem with those type of "unforced errors" is that they take the reader out of the story, dampening the fun of escaping into the author's world.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

no part 3???!!

There must be a part 3 somewhere. It couldn't possibly end at the end of part 2. What gives, Audible?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Rapp fans won't be disappointed

There are apparently three options to solve problems: political, military and covert operations. Mitch Rapp is the ultimate overt operator...although he leaves quite a wake of violence, death and destruction in his activities - hard to call it 'covert'. This is a story of a race between several cells of terrorists that plan to bomb different places along the east coast in a short period of time. It falls onto a combination of military, intelligence agents and Rapp to stop these bombs - did I mention they were nuclear bombs? The method of smuggling in the bombs was plausible as was the general terrorist plans..in fact, they were all to real given what happens in real life now....

The book was first released in 2001 so it was eerie that some of the actions of the terrorists turn out to be close to what they do in real life.

There's lot of action and everybody's rights get trampled as Rapp is hell bent on stopping an atomic bomb from going off in DC. Interesting story on line on how key people in the government are dispersed when DC is threatened.

If you like action political thrillers and especially if you like Mitch Rapp - you will like this earlier offering by Vince Flynn.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another winner from Vince Flynn!!

Vince Flynn released The Third Option during the year 2000. It was his third novel, his second Mitch Rapp novel, and is now Book 4 in the Vince Flynn series (Books 1 & 2 in the series, American Assassin and Kill Shot were written much later). The Third Option is one of three audiobooks in the series not narrated by George Giudall. I would like to see them released with Guidall narrating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful