My Amazon Review of Jason Matthews' "The Kremlin's Candidate: A Novel"

Spy Hunters

Former CIA operations officer Jason Matthews has offered up his third and likely final book in his “Red Sparrow” series of novels on Dominika Egorova, a CIA spy operating in the heart of the Kremlin. To get a sense of whom Egorova is I would note that Jennifer Lawrence is playing her in the newly released “Red Sparrow” movie.

Although not quite as good as the first two, “The Kremlin’s Candidate” packs quite a punch. In Moscow Egorova is well on her way to becoming the head of the SVR (Russian Foreign Intelligence Service) wining, dining and bedding Putin all the while the Kremlin is running an agent in the United States destined to become the CIA Director. It is Erogova’s and her CIA handler and lover, Nathaniel Nash, role to foil the Kremlin’s plot. Similarly the Russians are searching for a mole in their security services with Erogova in and out of the cross hairs.

Along the way we visit Khartoum, Hong Kong and yes, Staten Island, New York. We learn much of the tradecraft used by the CIA and the Russians and of how the Russians use “illegals” in the United States. (Shades of the TV series “The Americans”) We also get a very real sense that Matthews doesn’t like the wimpy politicians who ran America’s foreign policy under the Obama Administration. My guess is that he will like the current crop of politicians even less. As with his prior two books Matthews ends each chapter with a recipe for a menu item that was eaten in the chapter. Trust me; there are some real good ones here.

Although the reader doesn’t have to read the earlier novels first, it certainly helps. You won’t be wasting your time. Enjoy.

The full Amazon URL appears at: https://www.amazon.com/review/R8G9GXRKEST4E/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv