The Kremlin’s Candidate is Jason Matthews’ third and final book in the Red Sparrow trilogy and it’s just as exciting as The Red Sparrow and Palace of Treason were. You’ll want to read these books in order and, if you can, read The Red Sparrow before the movie starring Jennifer Lawrence hits the big screen on March 2. Dominka Egorova, a rising star in Russia’s intelligence service, formerly a “sparrow” trained to sexually entrap would be foreign agents, is a now also a spy for the U.S. She’s the primary protagonist of all three political thrillers whose emphasis on Russian spying seems more realistic every day.
Author Matthews retired after serving 33 years in the CIA’s Operations Directorate and his inside knowledge and disdain for politicians and some inside the CIA are on display in his writing. What makes his novels unique is that he builds page-turning suspense and offers word pictures that put the reader into the story. One example occurs when a CIA agent lands in Khartoum. “Outside the terminal, the brakes of the canary-yellow taxi squealed like a pissed-off baboon. Probably the red Sudanese dust on the pads, thought Gable. The shit gets everywhere.”
Author Matthews retired after serving 33 years in the CIA’s Operations Directorate and his inside knowledge and disdain for politicians and some inside the CIA are on display in his writing. What makes his novels unique is that he builds page-turning suspense and offers word pictures that put the reader into the story. One example occurs when a CIA agent lands in Khartoum. “Outside the terminal, the brakes of the canary-yellow taxi squealed like a pissed-off baboon. Probably the red Sudanese dust on the pads, thought Gable. The shit gets everywhere.”
In The Kremlin’s Candidate, Dominika and her American handler and lover Nate Nash must stop a U.S. Admiral who’s a mole spying for the Russians and who’s on the short list to become the next CIA director. Not only would her appointment disrupt American intelligence goals, it would also endanger Dominika. In addition to several terrifyingly exciting action scenes, the novel also offers a delightful, yet chillingly realistic caricature of Vladimir Putin. The book stays away from portraying or even hinting at any current or previous U.S. Presidents which means that readers of every political bent can enjoy it. This review won’t supply any more details of the story as readers will want to discover them for themselves.
Summing it Up: Read The Kremlin’s Candidate to fall under the spell of political intrigue, spy tricks, great descriptions, frightening characters, and a cast of regulars you’re sure to love.
Rating: 5 stars
Category: Fiction, Five Stars, Mysteries and Thrillers
Publication date: February 13, 2018
Author Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JasonMatthewsAuthor/
What Others are Saying:
Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5011-4008-2
The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/only-one-sexy-couple-can-stop-a-russian-spy-from-taking-over-the-cia/2018/02/11/95778982-0dcc-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html
The new faux-Hitchcockian thriller Red Sparrow has the dubious honor of both being too overheated and too sterile to have any impact. Granted, Red Sparrow does have the pedigree of A-lister Jennifer Lawrence playing the conflicted lead, as well as the undeniable sense that this is the kind of prestige-striving film for adults that is rarely made or released outside of awards season. But the end result is flaccid, more convinced of its intelligence than it should be, and painfully overlong.
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