Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

Red Sparrow
by Jason Matthews

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Published: 2013
Publisher: Scribner
Genre: Thriller, Espionage, Russia
Hardback: 448
Rating: 4

Red Sparrow Trilogy:
Red Sparrow
Palace of Treason
The Kremlin's Candidate

First sentence(s):
Twelve hours into his SDR Nthaniel Nash was numb from the waist down.

In the grand spy-tale tradition of John le Carré…comes this shocking thriller written with insider detail known only to a veteran CIA officer.

In present-day Russia, ruled by blue-eyed, unblinking President Vladimir Putin, Russian intelligence officer Dominika Egorova struggles to survive in the post-Soviet intelligence jungle. Ordered against her will to become a “Sparrow,” a trained seductress, Dominika is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a young CIA officer who handles the Agency’s most important Russian mole.

As the action careens between Russia, Finland, Greece, Italy, and the United States, Dominika and Nate soon collide in a duel of wills, tradecraft, and—inevitably—forbidden passion that threatens not just their lives but those of others as well. As secret allegiances are made and broken, Dominika and Nate’s game reaches a deadly crossroads. Soon one of them begins a dangerous double existence in a life-and-death operation that consumes intelligence agencies from Moscow to Washington, DC.

Page by page, veteran CIA officer Jason Matthews’s Red Sparrow delights, terrifies and fascinates, all while delivering an unforgettable cast, from a sadistic Spetsnaz “mechanic” who carries out Putin’s murderous schemes to the weary CIA Station Chief who resists Washington “cake-eaters”. Packed with insider detail, this novel brims with Matthews’s life experience of espionage, counterintelligence, spy recruitment, and cyber-warfare. Brilliantly composed, Red Sparrow is a masterful spy tale. Authentic, tense, and entertaining, this novel introduces Jason Matthews as a major new American talent.

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:

This story gets into some of the intricacies of the Russian espionage world. However, I found myself more interested in heart to heart scenes with Dominika and Nate rather than the story as a whole.

Interesting to note: there are food recipes included at the end of most chapters.

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* review copy courtesy of publisher

* part of World Reads challenge - Russia (here)

World Reads: Russia

World Reads
hosted by Stephanie Jane
details | my world posts
World Reads blog series challenge is to encourage and promote the reading of global literature. On the 5th of each month Stephanie Jane highlights five books. Everyone is welcome to join in by reading one or more books from a different country each month, write a post about them and include the World Reads banner.

For the next two months arm-chair traveling to... RUSSIA

My reading list:

Red Sparrow
by Jason Matthews
-Espionage, Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4

A Gentleman in Moscow
by Amor Towles
-Historical, Russia, Mosco
Amazon | Goodreads

Lovely Books and Things - 3.17.18

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Happy St. Patrick's Day - going out to get Irish Soda Bread

2. Watching Japanese tv show about making miniature food with miniature appliances (source: image)

3. Studio Ghibli Pop Up Shop

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Bought:

My Neighbor Totoro
by Tsugiko Kubo
illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki
-Fantasy, Japan
Amazon | Goodreads
MY treat from the Studio Ghibli Pop Up shop.


Prize: books and audiobooks

Red Sparrow Trilogy
by Jason Matthews
-Espionage, Mystery, Thriller
courtesy of Simon and Schuster via instagram -Thanks!
FIRST book win from an instagram giveaway! So cool ;-)

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews Amazon | Goodreads
Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews Amazon | Goodreads
The Kremlin's Candidate by Jason Matthews Amazon | Goodreads


AND watched: in theatre

Red Sparrow (2018)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay: Justin Haythe
Based on book by: Jason Matthews
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Mary-Louise Parker
-Mystery, Thriller | imdb | my rating: 4
Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to 'Sparrow School,' a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. Her first mission, targeting a C.I.A. agent, threatens to unravel the security of both nations.

THE origin story for the Dominika character with Jennifer Lawrence doing what she does best. Tough cookie that she is.

AND watched: on Netflix

The Armstrong Lie (2013)
Director/Writer: Alex Gibney
Stars: Lance Armstrong, Reed Albergotti, Betsy Andreu
-Documentary | imdb | my rating: 4
A documentary chronicling sports legend Lance Armstrong's improbable rise and ultimate fall from grace.

THE curiosity of this whole affair is fascinating.


AND watched: at event

The Ito Sisters (2018)
An American Story
Director/Writer: Antonia Grace Glenn
-Documentary | website | my rating: 4
THE ITO SISTERS is a feature-length documentary film that captures the stories of three Japanese American sisters, interviewed in their 80’s and 90’s, as they recount how their immigrant parents struggled to make a life in America at the beginning of the 20th century. The family’s chronicle is set against the backdrop of the anti-Japanese movement in California, a 60-year campaign by politicians, journalists, landowners, labor leaders and others that culminated in the evacuation and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast during World War II. THE ITO SISTERS is written, directed and produced by Antonia Grace Glenn, the granddaughter of the middle of the three sisters.

THE Presidio Trust presented a screening of this which included a Q&A with director, Antonia Grace Glenn, and lead scholar, Evelyn Nakano Glenn.

GREAT personal story piece to watch and learn about for Women's History Month!

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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)