The Kremlin's Candidate: A Novel
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

*Starred Review* A recap of Matthews' three-decade career with the CIA reads like a plot summary for his galvanizing Red Sparrow trilogy (Red Sparrow, 2013; Palace of Treason, 2015), starring Dominika Egorova, a stunning former dancer turned Russian spy determined to thwart Putin's brutal and corrupt regime. Shrewd, courageous, and synesthetic, Dominika, in the spectacular final volume, is poised to take over the SVR, Russia's intelligence agency. But the Kremlin is secretly backing a candidate to head the CIA after the mysterious death of the previous director. This audacious move puts Dominika in grave danger, so, naturally, she ups the ante in New York, where a mysterious operative is camouflaged as the editor of a top liberal magazine, and in Hong Kong, where this former Sparrow an agent trained in sexpionage, meets her Chinese counterpart, a Nightingale with a deadly seduction planned for Nate, Dominika's lover. Matthews spins a mighty operational web replete with exacting tradecraft and horrific violence. His descriptive precision is breathtaking; the sparring between his vividly realized characters is devilishly clever. With nail-biting suspense, scorching eroticism, dark wit, lashing contempt for politicians dismissive of intelligence work, and fury over Russia's disinformation campaigns, this is a riveting and knowing dramatization of today's clandestine geopolitical conflicts. Expect redoubled demand for Matthews' exceptional trilogy with the March 2018 release of the movie adaptation of Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2018 Booklist

The next CIA director could well be U.S. admiral Audrey Rowland, a mole working for the Russians, in bestseller Matthews's stellar conclusion to his Red Sparrow trilogy. If selected, Rowland would learn the identity of Diva, the code name for Gen. Dominika Egorova, a spy for the Americans who has caught Vladimir Putin's eye and is on track to head the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service. The action shifts among such exotic locales as Istanbul, Khartoum, Hong Kong, and Putin's compound on the Black Sea, where CIA agent Nate Nash goes undercover on a daring mission to prevent Dominika's exposure. Dominika and Nate's romance, which has been smoldering since they parted ways at the end of 2015's Palace of Treason, creates complications. Meanwhile, back in the States, the CIA operation planners must contend with hostile politicians seeking to end the dirty, underhanded methods the agency uses against the country's enemies. Matthews, a 33-year CIA veteran, provides a chilling portrait of the cold-blooded Putin, while saying almost nothing about the fictional current and previous U.S. presidents, in a suspenseful thriller that races to a heart-pounding and unexpected resolution. The March release of the film version of the first in the series, Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence, is bound to give a boost. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Matthews's own term psychological smorgasbord is the best summary for this final book in the "Red Sparrow" trilogy (after Palace of Treason). Vladimir Putin is a main player here as is the Russian appetite for meddling in U.S. affairs. Dominika Egorova, the synesthetic double agent, is about to become the head of the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service. In Washington, DC, an admiral who became a Russian mole owing to Egorova's successful seduction of her years ago, is about to be named director of the CIA. The clash of the Amazon warriors looms. The indestructible Nate Nash races in to protect his beloved Domi, although she, as ever, is spurred to hyperperformance. Subplots abound, and there is plenty of attention to spycraft in the cyberwar era. Read as a stand-alone or as the culmination of the high-energy earlier tales, this notably well-written saga plunges deeply into the human stew of fear, ambition, and lust. Matthews spent 33 years on the operational side of the CIA so the story is loaded with Clancyesque technology embellished with le Carré nuance. Verdict In March 2018, the trilogy will be in the headlines again with the release of the film version of The Red Sparrow. Fans will be primed to scoop up the trilogy and beg for more. [See Prepub Alert, 8/13/17.]-Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The third and final installment of Matthews' (Palace of Treason, 2015, etc.) Red Sparrow series delivers a wallop on all fronts, from adrenaline-charged action to dark political intrigue to gripping emotional stakes.Former sparrow Dominika Egorova is back. Trained to sexually entrap promising targets to spy on behalf of Russia, Dominika has risen to the rank of colonel in the counterintelligence section of the SVR, the external Russian foreign intelligence service. But back in 2005, before she evolved into a rising star in the Soviet spy agencyand a double agent, feeding information to the CIADominika sexually compromised a U.S. Navy lieutenant named Audrey Rowland, never anticipating that their encounter would one day spark a lethal chain of events. Hating her role as SVR seductress, Dominika embraced her new secret identity as DIVA, one of the CIA's premiere foreign assets. As Audrey, entrenched in her position as a Russian mole, courts a North Korean scientist willing to hand over secrets about the country's arsenal, she passes the U.S.'s most sensitive weapons technology to Moscow. The Kremlin, eager to take advantage of Audrey's position, hatches a risky plot to assassinate the CIA director and replace him with now-Vice Adm. Audrey Rowland. The American traitor operates under the code name MAGNIT, her identity as tightly guarded as that of her counterpart. Dominika and her lover, CIA operative Nate Nash, must put their relationship on the back burner to uncover MAGNIT's identity or risk DIVA's exposure. The novel is rich in spycraft that treats readers like insiders, with witty, memorable dialogue and emotional consequences that go far beyond most books in this genreand Matthews stuffs his always hungry characters with onions, garlic, and personalities that make the last of this trilogy both satisfying and bittersweet.Readers will finish the book, but their memories of Matthews' brilliant and fearless heroine will linger well past the final page. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* A recap of Matthews' three-decade career with the CIA reads like a plot summary for his galvanizing Red Sparrow trilogy (Red Sparrow, 2013; Palace of Treason, 2015), starring Dominika Egorova, a stunning former dancer turned Russian spy determined to thwart Putin's brutal and corrupt regime. Shrewd, courageous, and synesthetic, Dominika, in the spectacular final volume, is poised to take over the SVR, Russia's intelligence agency. But the Kremlin is secretly backing a candidate to head the CIA after the mysterious death of the previous director. This audacious move puts Dominika in grave danger, so, naturally, she ups the ante in New York, where a mysterious operative is camouflaged as the editor of a "top liberal magazine," and in Hong Kong, where this former Sparrow—an agent trained in "sexpionage," meets her Chinese counterpart, a Nightingale with a deadly seduction planned for Nate, Dominika's lover. Matthews spins a mighty operational web replete with exacting tradecraft and horrific violence. His descriptive precision is breathtaking; the sparring between his vividly realized characters is devilishly clever. With nail-biting suspense, scorching eroticism, dark wit, lashing contempt for politicians dismissive of intelligence work, and fury over Russia's disinformation campaigns, this is a riveting and knowing dramatization of today's clandestine geopolitical conflicts. Expect redoubled demand for Matthews' exceptional trilogy with the March 2018 release of the movie adaptation of Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Col. Dominika Egorova, a Russian counterintelligence chief who has been stealing Kremlin secrets for her CIA handler (and paramour), is endangered by a mole the Kremlin has placed in Washington. With a seven-city tour; this wrap-up to the "Red Sparrow" trilogy is publishing just before the release of the Red Sparrow film.

Matthews's own term psychological smorgasbord is the best summary for this final book in the "Red Sparrow" trilogy (after Palace of Treason). Vladimir Putin is a main player here as is the Russian appetite for meddling in U.S. affairs. Dominika Egorova, the synesthetic double agent, is about to become the head of the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service. In Washington, DC, an admiral who became a Russian mole owing to Egorova's successful seduction of her years ago, is about to be named director of the CIA. The clash of the Amazon warriors looms. The indestructible Nate Nash races in to protect his beloved Domi, although she, as ever, is spurred to hyperperformance. Subplots abound, and there is plenty of attention to spycraft in the cyberwar era. Read as a stand-alone or as the culmination of the high-energy earlier tales, this notably well-written saga plunges deeply into the human stew of fear, ambition, and lust. Matthews spent 33 years on the operational side of the CIA so the story is loaded with Clancyesque technology embellished with le Carré nuance. Verdict In March 2018, the trilogy will be in the headlines again with the release of the film version of The Red Sparrow. Fans will be primed to scoop up the trilogy and beg for more. [See Prepub Alert, 8/13/17.]—Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA (c) Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The next CIA director could well be U.S. admiral Audrey Rowland, a mole working for the Russians, in bestseller Matthews's stellar conclusion to his Red Sparrow trilogy. If selected, Rowland would learn the identity of Diva, the code name for Gen. Dominika Egorova, a spy for the Americans who has caught Vladimir Putin's eye and is on track to head the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service. The action shifts among such exotic locales as Istanbul, Khartoum, Hong Kong, and Putin's compound on the Black Sea, where CIA agent Nate Nash goes undercover on a daring mission to prevent Dominika's exposure. Dominika and Nate's romance, which has been smoldering since they parted ways at the end of 2015's Palace of Treason, creates complications. Meanwhile, back in the States, the CIA operation planners must contend with hostile politicians seeking to end the dirty, underhanded methods the agency uses against the country's enemies. Matthews, a 33-year CIA veteran, provides a chilling portrait of the cold-blooded Putin, while saying almost nothing about the fictional current and previous U.S. presidents, in a suspenseful thriller that races to a heart-pounding and unexpected resolution. The March release of the film version of the first in the series, Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence, is bound to give a boost. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM. (Feb.)