I am fortunate to come from a family of readers. I started reading books in the first grade. I wanted to learn ASAP cause i wanted to see what my older sister was always so facinated with.
I married into a family of readers too. My 11 year old son has a double whammy reading gene. He reads all the time. He wants to be a writer too. You should have seen his face light up when I told him that the best way to learn how to write is to read as much as possible; see how it's done by those who are successful at it.
I mentioned Mitch Rapp because, as I'm sure you know, he was recruited into the covert services after his girlfriend died aboard Pan Am 103.
I am a big fan of the series.