Red Sparrow

Friends of mine strongly recommended Red Sparrow (#518), an espionage thriller by Jason Matthews.  This is not a sleek and glamorous portrayal of the world of spies, a la James Bond, but a gritty and gripping read which leaves the reader feeling that Red Sparrow is the real world of today's spy craft.  Since the author retired after more than thirty years in the CIA, it's no wonder it feels authentic. 

Dominika Egorova is a promising young ballerina, destined for spot in the Bolshoi Ballet when her career is sabotaged.  Her uncle Vanya takes advantage of the double blow to Dominika at her father's funeral to recruit her for a clandestine assignment.  Things don't go well, but she does wind up in the elite training academy for Russian spies, an almost exclusively male preserve.  Her uncle once again intervenes in her life, forcing her to attend the infamous sexpionage "Sparrow School".  Determined to overcome this humiliation, Dominika becomes a single-minded Russian agent.  Her assignment will be to seduce the identity of a high-ranking Russian mole from the young American CIA Case Officer, Nate Nash, who is his (or her!) handler.  Once the information is obtained, Vanya Egorov will claim the credit and advance his position with Putin.  Naturally, things do not go as planned for either the Americans or the Russians with twist on twist in the devious game they are playing.

I did stay up late several nights reading Red Sparrow, and I can't wait to read the continuance of Dominika and Nate's story in Palace of Treason, which I'm told is even better than Red Sparrow.  The sense of menace is palpable throughout the book, and I appreciated author Doug Stanton's cover blurb when he says: "Halfway through, I was afraid Vladimir Putin would find out I was reading Red Sparrow and have me arrested."  I also, based on personal experience, agree with Matthews' view of the FBI.  They don't come off very well here.

Once of the quirky but interesting features of this spy novel is the fact that Jason Matthews ends each chapter with a recipe for a dish the characters ate during the preceding pages. You'll have to guess at quantities here, but some of the recipes sound absolutely delicious.  My husband would certainly like to try one or two of them!  Not for the faint of heart, but highly recommended.