Red Sparrow
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4.3 • 344 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton and Jeremy Irons.
Dominika Egorov, former prima ballerina, is sucked into the heart of Putin's Russia, the country she loved, as the twists and turns of a betrayal and counter-betrayal unravel.
American Nate Nash, idealistic and ambitious, handles the double agent, codenamed MARBLE, considered one of CIA's biggest assets. He needs to keep his identity secret for as long as the mole can keep supplying golden information.
Will Dominika be able to unmask MARBLE, or will the mission see her faith destroyed in the country she has always passionately defended?
'A great and dangerous spy-game is being played today between Russian intelligence and the CIA. Very few people know about it, including many of our politicians in Washington. But Jason Matthews does, and his thrilling Red Sparrow takes us deep inside this treacherous world. He's an insider's insider. He knows the secrets. And he is also a masterful story-teller. I loved this book and could not put it down. Neither will you' Vince Flynn
'Not since the good old days of the Cold War has a classic spy thriller like Red Sparrow come along. Jason Matthews is not making it up; he has lived this life and this story, and it shows on every page. High-level espionage, pulse-pounding danger, sex, double agents and double crosses. What more can any reader want?' Nelson DeMille
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This grimly elegant spy novel is set in post-Soviet Russia, where, according to informants on both sides, “the Cold War never ended.” Dominika Egorova’s patriotism for the Motherland is tested when she’s conscripted first as a spy and then into courtesan school. Her secret skill, synaesthesia, lets her read people’s emotions, making her a worthy opponent to up-and-coming CIA agent Nate Nash. In addition to the flinty prose, memorable dialogue, and sharp character descriptions, we were transfixed by Red Sparrow’s authenticity—the CIA itself has applauded retired agent Jason Matthews’ depiction of statecraft in this fast-paced debut.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Matthews's exceptional first novel will please fans of classic spy fiction. In Moscow, CIA agent Nathaniel Nash is running the most valuable asset in the CIA's stable, a major general in the SVR, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. After Nate nearly blows his agent's cover, Nate's chief reassigns him to the CIA station in Helsinki. Meanwhile, SVR deputy director Ivan "Vanya" Egorov decides to use his beautiful 25-year-old niece, Dominika Egorova, as bait in a honey trap designed to kill a Russian mobster who has publicly feuded with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Dominika likes this assignment well enough to ask her uncle to send her to spy school, where she excels. Diagnosed as a synesthete as a girl, Dominika has an unusual gift: she perceives sounds as colors and can tell if someone is lying by the color of his or her aura. After training, she sets out to find the Russian traitor Nate was running. The author's 33-year career in the CIA allows him to showcase all the tradecraft and authenticity that readers in this genre demand. Recipes at the end of each chapter for a dish a character has eaten lend a homely culinary touch to the complex, high-stakes plot. 7-city author tour.
Customer Reviews
Fast Paced & Great Characters
I loved this book. I have not read anything this great for a long time. I could not put it down. What surprised me the most was that at the end of each chapter, there is a recipe of a dish that was referred to within that chapter - brilliant, though it did leave me hungry (for food and the next chapter) after each chapter. I am hanging out for more novels like this from the author.
Brilliant and exhilarating
This book is wonderful. I just couldn't put it down. Fast paced and interesting. Well written. Can't wait for his next one
Exceptional
Probably the greatest piece of literary work I have read in recent years. Could not put it down!