

Her job is to extract the name of the Russian agent from him, by any means possible.īy the time Dominika ends up in Helsinki, she’s starting to question the nationalistic orthodoxy she grew up with.

Once trained, she’s deployed to Scandinavia to get close to CIA agent Nate Nash, who is the sole contact of a highly placed Russian mole. With her father dead and her mother on the outs with the State, she’s vulnerable enough to be used by her creepy uncle, whose career is ascendant at the nuevo KGB.ĭominika is groomed by her uncle and eventually forced to attend State School Four, which is, as she puts it, “whore school.” Students are taught seduction and to view sex, love, and human contact as cold weapons of war. Our heroine, ballerina Dominika Egorova, has few choices that are her own-especially when her career is sabotaged by jealous fellow dancers. It’s set in a dour, dangerous, highly restrictive Russia where the whims of its president and secret service control nearly everything. It’s a meaty, deliberately-paced 400-page novel (almost 600 pages on my iPad). Like any dedicated reader, I decided to hit Jason Matthews’ 2013 best-seller first. Anything involving Russians spies feels apropos these days, anyway, right? Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian spy trained to set honey traps? Does she become a double (perhaps triple) agent working with the CIA? Yes, please. Based on the plot summary alone, I knew instantly that I had to see it.
Red sparrow book movie#
The New York Times Book Review called the trilogy’s finale, The Kremlin’s Candidate, “a primer in 21st-century spying…terrifically good.I came to Red Sparrow by way of a movie critique that I heard on the radio last week. As Chief in various CIA stations, he collaborated with foreign partners in counterterrorism operations.Ī New York Times best seller and winner of an Edgar Award, Red Sparrow was made into a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton. During his tenure, he served in multiple overseas locations, engaged in clandestine collection of national security intelligence, specializing in denied-area operations, and conducted recruitment operations against Soviet, Middle Eastern, East Asian, and Caribbean targets. Jason Matthews wrote his debut spy thriller, Red Sparrow, after retiring from a 33-year career with the CIA. Bobb’s pacing, delivery, characterizations are simply brilliant.” Bobb keeps up with the story’s heart-pounding twists and turns-and delivers each chapter’s featured recipe in a way that’s mouthwatering. To quote one listener: “English, French, and Russian rendered flawlessly.
Red sparrow book series#
The accomplished narrator has also appeared on stage, in films, and on television, including recurring roles in the CBS drama Hostages and the Netflix series Russian Doll, and his experience comes through in his performance of Red Sparrow. Jeremy Bobb gives these thrillers top-level treatment. Along with intrigue, tradecraft, and passion, each chapter serves up a recipe for food prepared in the course of the action-with dishes ranging from Shrimp Yiouvetsi, Caviar Torte, and Pasta Alla Mollica to Old Lady’s Beet Soup, SVR Cafeteria Chicken Kiev, and Moscow Airport Cuban Sandwich. Written by a CIA veteran, the Red Sparrow Trilogy draws listeners into the world of international politics and deception in a fast-paced plot ripped from the headlines. The high-level espionage and pulse-pounding action culminate in The Kremlin’s Candidate, with a desperate hunt for a Russian spy among the three top contenders for an appointment to the United States Cabinet. The star-crossed spies continue their dangerous cat-and-mouse race in Palace of Treason, as SVR Captain Egorova expertly dodges exposure while her CIA handler, Nate Nash, risks his life for love. Red Sparrow follows Dominika as she embarks on a deadly course as a double agent and a forbidden love affair. Assigned to seduce secrets from Nash, Dominika isn’t prepared for their electrifying attraction-or her thirst for revenge against a state dominated by Vladimir Putin. The Russians know Nash is his connection, but they don’t know the traitor’s identity.

Elsewhere in Moscow, first-tour CIA officer Nathaniel Nash is handling a high-level Russian official: America’s most valuable mole.

Out of desperation, disgraced ballerina Dominika Egorova accepts a job offer from the Russian Intelligence Service (SVR)-to become a “Sparrow,” a spy trained in the art of seduction. A sizzling spy trilogy revolving around a young CIA officer and a seductive Russian double agent-written with the insider detail and real-world insight known only to a veteran CIA spook.
