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Red Sparrow: A Novel
Red Sparrow: A Novel
Red Sparrow: A Novel
Audiobook17 hours

Red Sparrow: A Novel

Written by Jason Matthews

Narrated by Jeremy Bobb

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Now a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton!

From the New York Times bestselling author and veteran CIA officer Jason Matthews comes the electrifying modern spy thriller Red Sparrow.


In contemporary Russia, state intelligence officer Dominika Egorova has been drafted to become a “Sparrow”—a spy trained in the art of seduction to elicit information from their marks. She’s been assigned to Nathaniel Nash, a CIA officer who handles the organization’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception and, inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America’s valuable mole in Moscow.

For fans of John le Carré and Ian Fleming and featuring “high-level espionage, pulse-pounding danger, sex, double agents, and double crosses” (Nelson DeMille), Red Sparrow is a timely and electrifying thriller that is impossible to put down.

Editor's Note

For Le Carré Lovers…

Written by an ex-CIA agent, this cutting-edge thriller gives incredible insight into the twisted politics of modern Russia, and what it's “really” like to be a spy. A must-read for lovers of John Le Carré.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 4, 2013
ISBN9781442361676
Author

Jason Matthews

Jason Matthews was an officer of the CIA’s Operations Directorate. Over a thirty-three-year career he served in multiple overseas locations, spoke six foreign languages, and engaged in clandestine collection of national security intelligence, specializing in denied-area operations. Matthews conducted recruitment operations against Soviet–East European, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Caribbean targets. As Chief in various CIA Stations, he collaborated with foreign partners in counterproliferation and counterterrorism operations. His first novel, Red Sparrow, won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was made into a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence. He continued the Red Sparrow trilogy with Palace of Treason and The Kremlin’s Candidate. Jason Matthews passed away in 2021.   

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Reviews for Red Sparrow

Rating: 4.089134058743634 out of 5 stars
4/5

589 ratings41 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I don't read many spy thrillers, but I liked this a lot. The author is, apparently, a spy or former spy and the story details do seem realistic. The sex and fights only resemble reality in some vague way, but I suppose most real spys don't spend a lot of time banging each other. It has recipes in it [!], and I think they added an extra dimension.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best espionage novels in recent memory, Red Sparrow is long on tradecraft and realistic details and short on unlikely nonsense, for the most part. The writing is sharp, the characters and most of the scenarios are believable, and the chapters are appended with recipes lifted from the plot – and the food sounds great. (The Austrian espionage writer Johannes Mario Simmel also incorporated recipes into at least one of his novels to great effect). I already have the sequel, Palace of Treason, and am looking forward to reading it.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Book was good but the end is missing. Disappointed
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An exciting, action packed modern spy thriller, Red Sparrow is a sharply written book that kept me on the edge of my seat. I’m delighted this is a series and I hope the next book delivers a similar impact.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    THIS IS MY 2ND TIME LISTENING TO THIS,I GIVE IT 6 STARS OUT OF 5.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    excellent audio book; far more detailed than the movie !
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book. Want to read more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a very well written book with believable and interesting characters that maintain your interest and keep you wanting more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very enjoyable spy thriller. Now I have to see the movie.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This story has good bones. It's interesting but rambles on and on about stuff that makes no difference to the end result. A good read and I'll probably read the follow-up books. Sort of a slow-burner.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I got intrigued by this book because they have made a movie out of it (which I haven’t seen though the way they have made the preview it looked great) and thought maybe it’s one of those really great books made to an exciting movie, it turns out Im wrong. The (audio)book was nice, the characters rich and well developed but I guess I am needing more excitement and more action and I was let a bit let down as it did not give me that feeling of fulfillment of finishing a book upon reaching the ending (well, not really an “ending” per se). It’s a good book but not as exciting as you might think.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I don't usually read spy novels but after seeing the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation, I was intrigued enough to give it a shot. Very pleased with the tale and the character development. The only thing that I had a problem with was the choice of POV. Having different POVs jumping around within the scenes was distracting at times. The addition of the recipes at the end of each chapter made me smile nearly every time. Now I'm off to start the second book in the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Story telling at its finest! The movie doesn't do this book justice.

    The author is able to bring you in and make you part of team DIVA and as such, your emotions roller coaster as your journey with them with each chapter.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    gripping. a book you don't want to stop reading. looking forward to the sequels.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A good SPY STORY in the vein of a Smile's People as the next generation steps up to fight the same cold war that took the life of many of there family members
    Here we get a view in both camps & see how they are directed or cowerest in to this Blazing Hot - Cold War, Then when they see the thin vale of there reality ripped or burned away. We will see how there belief in their : CORP. MILITARY, POLITICAL PARTIES. GOVERNMENT. COUNTRY. And or just Themselves will be enough to live in there new cold War reality, But then someone with training and the know how, Can make a few changes.
    flooking forward to read/listening to the other two books in this series. Thanks & Happy Reading
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Terrific spy thriller. Written by a CIA veteran, it is filled with all kinds of fascinating, authentic-seeming spy stuff and a complex, nuanced, intricate plot.

    But what really elevates Red Sparrow above your average international intrigue-type thriller is the impressive writing. The writing here is far, far above average for this type of book. Instead of the usual workmanlike thriller prose, with a new chapter every 2 pages and lots of one sentence (or even one sentence fragment)paragraphs as a cheap ploy to amp up the suspense (I'm looking at you, James Rollins), the writing here is well-crafted, unique, literary. Instead of 2 dimensional, cliched characters, there all sorts of well-drawn characters. I salute Jason Matthews for putting in the time and energy & having the talent to create something unique, rather than using his "Former CIA agent" street cred to churn out something quickly in a bid to become the next David Baldacci.

    I was riveted. It was a very satisfying entertainment.This is a very assured debut & I'm eagerly looking forward to more novels from Mr. Matthews, possible a sequel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really have to get back on top of my reviews!

    This book...to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it with the slightly supernatural power Matthews gave Dominika (it's synesthesia, but not really).

    But once you get past that, the rest of the book is actually a really well-written, and well-observed story. Yes, there's the stereotypical stunning Russian female agent who is not taken seriously by most of her peers, and the American agent who falls for her... but then Matthews is smart enough to turn that whole tired plot around and make it new.

    Really looking forward to the next two books.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This spy novel makes for an interesting read, especially in the context of Russian spying being in the news in past few years. Overall, I found this book interesting but I'm not quite intrigued enough to continue the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Engaging and thrilling.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Red Sparrow, Jason Matthews, author; Jeremy Bobb, narratorRed Sparrow shines a light on the methods used by the American Intelligence Services and the Russian Intelligence Services. Nathan Nash and Dominika Egorova are agents working for their government’s intelligence services in the interest of national security. Sometimes they are able to turn unsuspecting rubes into spies and traitors. Nate is American. Nate did not want to become part of the long list of lawyers in his family. He defied his father and went to work for the CIA. He became the handler of a Russian spy called Marble. Marble is a gentleman, soft-spoken and well mannered. He is a General, placed high up in the Russian government. He is part of the Russian Intelligence Service known as the SVR. He became disillusioned with his country when his wife was ill. When she was refused treatment outside of Russia, treatment that might have saved her life, he turned against his homeland and became a spy for the CIA. He did not like the direction his country was going in with Putin as its head. Putin is demanding and self absorbed. He expects his orders to be followed to the letter. Disobedience is not tolerated, nor is criticism or dissent. Dominika is Russian. She had adored her father, a professor. When he passed away, she and her mom had financial problems. Both her parents had encouraged her to think freely and follow her heart, but in Russia that was more easily said than done. In Russia, you followed the rules if you wanted to live. Her dad's brother, her Uncle Vanya, the Deputy Director of the SVR, offered her a job as his assistant. She had been a professional ballerina with a promising career. When she was deliberately injured, so severely that her ballet career was ended, she had no career, no financial support. Vanya was an evil man who was in charge of a branch of the Russian Intelligence Service that engaged in brutal methods of investigation and interrogation. Dominika had little choice, but to obey him. He said he would make sure her mother could stay in her home, receiving the same benefits as if her dad had not died. She told Vanya that she wanted to work in the service as an agent, not an administrative assistant. He was not happy; women were not recruited for that kind of job. Still, she convinced him to allow her to do so, and she did so well that she bested all of her competition. He plotted to betray her behind the scenes, and merely used her to his advantage. When her career was deliberately sabotaged again, Vanya forced her to go to Sparrow School, against her will. He promised to continue to take care of her mother if she went, otherwise, he could guarantee nothing. Sparrow School, however, was known by all to be a training ground for prostitutes. The women were looked down upon as they were trained to use their bodies and their wiles to set men up in honey traps in order to “persuade” them to be spies for Russia, or to get their secrets while they whispered in each other’s ears in intimate moments. Sometimes they were unaware that they were betraying their own country. As time passed, the more that Russia betrayed her, the more she wanted to betray Russia. Marble, the double agent handled by Nash, becomes somewhat of a mentor for her, especially when she is assigned a job with him. Neither knows the other is a double agent, at first.Dominika has synesthesia and she sees Marble with a calm purple halo. She trusts him. Dominika is assigned to discover the name of the high level Russian spy that Nate is handling. She sees Nate with the same purple halo around him. It signifies his basic goodness, his honesty and lack of deception when he communicates with her. Her goals become conflicted. At this same time, Nate is assigned to try and turn her into a spy for America; so both of them are working each other without realizing it. Dominika is known as the Diva. Both Nate and Dominika are really attracted to each other, but their cat and mouse game, seeking to find out what each was doing, prevented them from fully realizing their feelings until Dominika grew truly disgusted with the way her country was treating her. To Nate's surprise, she reveals her job to him. She works with the Russian SVR, the feared secret intelligence arm of the government. The novel reveals the brutal nature of the Russian intelligentsia as well as the sometimes callous way the CIA treats its informants. Often, different branches of the services work against each other. The ends seems to justify their means.There are well placed influential spies in both Russia and America. There are no shortages of traitors on both sides. In Russia, though, the mere suspicion of guilt exposes the subject to torture until a confession is given. There is no presumption of innocence. The treatment of prisoners by sadistic guards and interrogators is barbaric. The book is long and sometimes there is too much dialogue, but overall, it is exciting, and it holds the reader's interest. It certainly kept me wanting more. Several of the characters really appreciated good food, and at the end of each chapter, a brief description of a delicious sounding recipe is provided.The narrator does a very good job delineating each character and the author , a former CIA agent, has identified each so well that recognizing them when they speak is not difficult. The part that is confusing is trying to keep track of them, because there are many. This was the first in a series of three books and I am looking forward to the second and third.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What an enthralling spy novel, involving a Russian, Dominika Igarova, and an American, Nathaniel (Nate) Nash. The plotting is very involved with there being "moles" on both the American and Russian sides, with much of the story concerning tracking down who they are, as well as setting up an international relationship between Dominika and Nate.Dominika is the "Red Sparrow" of the title and much of the early part of the book relates her translation from very promising ballerina to a highly rated intelligence operative. This includes her training, the description of which is not only fascinating, but also at times rather harrowing, particularly her time at what is described as "whore school", participants there learning the skills of honey traps and more. The background research is very detailed, probably due to the fact that the author worked for the CIA for a considerable length of time.Dominika also has the ability to discern coloured auras (halos) around people, enabling her to have a pretty good idea of whether or not she can trust them, if they are telling the truth or not, and so foresee devious planning. It is a skill which she uses to great effect, and one which enables the reader (or listener in my case) to understand the plotting better. This is very useful as it is a long and complicated novel.I thoroughly enjoyed the intricacy of the story, my only complaint would be that the end of each chapter is a recipe for something eaten or mentioned in that chapter. I was not sufficiently attracted to any of them to want to cook them!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great spy read. Very well written, good characters and I liked the ending. Really a don’t want to put down novel. I have already ordered the sequel and plan to continue to read this author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Jason Matthews writes with such authority about the CIA that I kept thinking as I read this book -- he's either got a great imagination, or he was a player. It turns out to be the latter. A retired CIA officer, he has written Red Sparrow as the first of a trilogy. If I could sum up my thoughts on completing it, I'd have to say this: I can't wait to start reading the second volume. There are things I could have done without, such as the recipes that end each chapter (and the constant references to food in the text that seem to be placed there as an excuse for the recipes that follow) and the over-use of Russian phrases. That having been said, the book is wonderfully plotted, full of suspense, with memorable characters (most notably Dominika Egorova), violent and sexy and unputdownable. Matthews is a thriller writer of the first order, as good as le Carré and better than Fleming. Yes, that good.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dominika Egorova, a Russian ballerina whose career was ruined - a fellow ballerina contrived "an accident" that destroyed her foot- also suffers the sudden loss of her academic, disillusioned professor father, her closest guide, who trusted in her enough to explain the corrupt Soviet system. Both parents were startled to discover their young daughter had a very rare sort of synethesia: she can "read" individuals' mental and emotional states in an invisible to all but her - colored halo: yellow for duplicity or conniving, purple for sincerity,etc. This unusual ability is something her parents instruct her never to reveal to anyone else. Her mother needs nursing care and treatments for a debilitating illness so, in order to care for her & keep their apartment, Dominika must depend on her ambitious & deceptive Uncle Vanya, Deputy Director of the Soviets' spy agency, SVR. He recruits her to seduce a greedy Russian oligarch whose life ends suddenly by SVR's top assassin, a sociopath named Sergey Matorin- one of the more digustingly graphic scenes in the book. Then Uncle Vanya recruits her for to be a part of the SVR, and even insists she get training at "Sparrow School", a secret institute run by SVR/KGB that trains men & women to understand every conceivable part of human sexuality and the sex act, in order to become cold blooded, ruthless seducers. This too was described in horrific detail - obviously the author is building a complex backround for Dominika's past, how cruelly she was used by those in power, in order to justify her choices in future chapters. But it was still distasteful. Then the book shifts back to Nathaniel Nash, briefly introduced in the opening chapters, and to Nate's involvement with a longtime, highly placed Soviet mole, nicknamed "MARBLE", who goes to ground when the local Soviet investigators shadowing Nate, a known CIA operative, get too close. He's reassigned to Helsinki, where he has the good fortune to fall in with experienced, thoughtful and dedicated CIA officers: Tom Forsyth, station chief and Marty Gable, a legend in the agency: "...loyal to his assets, then to his friends, then to the CIA, in that order" (70). Their assessment of Nate's struggles and eagerness to still prove himself, and how they work with him, was intriguing, unusual analysis type of details for the normal spy thriller genre; it's obvious that Matthews is former CIA and knows this world well, including recognizing the exhausting but persistent commitment and sense of honor some of the US agents maintain, in spite of the disappointments, defeats and political machinations. When Dominika is sent to Helsinki to initate contact w/the only known CIA operative to have probable knowledge of this infuriartingly longtime mole in their own gov't, Nate also recognizes her probable mission and convinces his COS to try and get close to HER in order to turn her - as they research what her past has been, he realizes she needs to get her own revenge for all the damage. The ins and outs of their developing relationship, and the discovery of a reckless U.S. Congresswoman, eager to give away top US military secrets to her contact, a Russian connected to the Wash DC embassy - heats up the importance of Dominika's cooperation & the careful re-connecting with MARBLE, still back in Moscow. Some will find this novel too dense with operational detail, acronyms, and back story on various characters - I did struggle to get through the first 100 pages, perhaps adjusting to Matthews' style?- but as the espionage subplots become clear, the action carried me forward. Not for most teen readers, and clocking in (with small print - Scribner's pb version) at 431 pages, it's not a quick read! Still, Dominika's character is a new, fascinating force in the short list of famous spy protagonists and deserves her sequels.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A really good spy thriller with ambiguity & interesting characters. More accessible than Le Carre & as fun as Fleming with more emotional depth if you like espionage you’ll love this.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Has already been reviewed multiple times. The trailer, being broadcast everywhere, about the movie adaptation is very misleading about the focus of this spy thriller. The hero is a fascinating woman who thrives despite adversity while several of the surrounding older men are intriguing as well. Her nominal handler Nate is a bit of a cipher, but no novel is perfect. It's definitely a step up from some of the popcorn sci-fi I've been gobbling up, if not up to the caliber of Literature. As good as the Ernest DeMille's we used to read.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Great potential, lack of execution. I never connected to the characters on either side. Unfortunate, I was hoping for a good spy-vs-spy thriller and got a lot of not-much.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great read. As a Russian speaker though, there are mistakes in the use of Russian words, and some of the Russian recipes are questionable, the syrnitki for example (soft great cheese?). Looking forward to the second book in the trilogy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    We are introduced first to Nate, a relatively new CIA operative in Moscow, who manages to elude a random counter-intelligence sweep while meeting with a very high level Russian source. Then comes Vanya, uncle to Dominika, chief of the counter-intelligence agency, devoid of any ethic other than devotion to his country who enlists (quasi blackmails) Dominika who sees the world in assorted colors - literally - into the SVR and for training at the Kon Institute (prostitutki school - I leave what that is to your imagination)in order to seduce Nate whom he had suspected as the contact for the mole in his government. Nate has been moved to Finland as punishment for almost getting his source revealed. Then it gets tricky as each tries to recruit the other. I will not reveal too much more except to suggest that two agents known to each other with the same handler, one of whom is a highly placed Soviet Mole, the other one in the U.S. and each side engaged in vigorous mole hunting. It makes for fun reading.Why the author included recipes at the end of each chapter is totally beyond me, however. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. It will be interesting to see whether the movie makes a mash out of the book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    A terrible book that took me several weeks to read. My wife got me the book because the author was a LeCarre clone. He is not. The book begins with a story about Nate, who is in the CIA, and a lusty young Russian, Domenika; Nate is a jerk; he should want to fuck the Russian all the time but he doesnt. Finally, the ending is totally wrong. A sniper is hired by a Soviiet functionary with orders to kill Domenika but shoots a general who did 14 years of spying for the US inside Russia, and was handled by Nate.