The Third Option

Vince Flynn was a graduate of Saint Thomas Academy in 1984 and the University of St. Thomas in 1989. After graduating, Flynn went to work for Kraft Foods as an account and sales marketing specialist. In 1991, he left Kraft to pursue a career as an aviator with the United States Marine Corps. One week before leaving for Officer Candidate School, he was medically disqualified from the Marine Aviation Program, due to several concussions and convulsive seizures he suffered while growing up. He had also been diagnosed with dyslexia, so in an effort to overcome the difficulties of dyslexia, Flynn forced himself into a daily writing and reading regimen.

His newfound interest in such novels motivated him to begin work on a novel of his own. While employed as a bartender in the St. Paul area, he completed his first book, “Term Limits”, which he then self-published. The book went to number one in the Twin Cities, and within a week had a new agent and two-book deal with Pocket Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint.

“Term Limits” hit the New York Times bestseller list in paperback and started a trend for all of Flynn's novels. Since then, his books have become perennial bestsellers in both paperback and hardcover, and he has become known for his research and prescient warnings about the rise of Islamic Radical Fundamentalism and terrorism. Read by current and former presidents, foreign heads of state, and intelligence professionals around the world, Flynn's novels are taken so seriously one high-ranking CIA official told his people, “I want you to read Flynn's books and start thinking about how we can more effectively wage this war on terror.”

October 2007 marked another milestone in Flynn’s career when his ninth political thriller, “Protect and Defend”, became a #1 New York Times bestseller. A few months later, CBS Films optioned the rights for Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character with the intention of creating a character-based, action-thriller movie franchise. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, as head of production at Warner Bros., and Nick Wechsler will produce the films.

Works by Flynn include American Assassin, Kill Shot, Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power, Executive Power, Memorial Day, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, Extreme Measures, Pursuit of Honor, The Last Man, The Survivor and Term Limits (not part of the Mitch Rapp series). He also served as a story consultant for the fifth season of the television series “24”.

On June 19, 2013, Vince Flynn died after a three-year battle with prostate cancer. He left behind his wife Lysa, whom he described as "My favorite thing about life," and their 3 children.