In the final, thrilling installment of the Red Sparrow Trilogy, Russian counterintelligence chief Dominika Egorova and her lover, CIA agent Nate Nash, must find a Russian agent about to be appointed to a very high office in the US government. With a plot ripped from tomorrow's headlines, Jason Matthews's high-powered, seductive third novel not only continues the dangerous entanglements of Dominika and Nate but reveals with chilling authenticity how Russian espionage can place agents in the most sensitive positions of power. The novel opens with Russian president Vladimir Putin planning the covert assassination of a high-ranking US official with the intention of replacing him with a mole whom Russian intelligence has cultivated for more than fifteen years. Catching wind of this plot, Dominika, Nate, and their CIA colleagues must unmask the traitor before he or she is able to reveal that Dominika has been spying for years on behalf of the CIA. Any leak, any misstep, will expose her as a CIA asset and result in a one-way trip to a Moscow execution cellar. Along the way, Matthews, a thirty-three-year veteran of the CIA and winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, sets vivid, unforgettable scenes in Moscow; Washington, DC; Hong Kong; New York; the Sudan; and Turkey, and introduces two cold-blooded killers: Iosip Blokhin, a brilliant Spetsnaz military officer, and Grace Gao, ravishing Chinese spy, master of Kundalini yoga, and Beijing-trained seductress. Ultimately, the lines of danger converge on the spectacular billion-dollar presidential palace on the Black Sea during a power weekend with Putin's inner circle. Does Nate sacrifice himself to save Dominika? Does she forfeit herself to protect Nate? Do they go down together? This dazzling finale to Jason Matthews's *New York Times* bestselling Red Sparrow Trilogy, called "a primer in twenty-first-century spying...terrifically good" ( *The New York Times Book Review* ), confirms the critical acclaim he received for the first two novels, praise that compared Matthews to John le Carré and Ian Fleming. *The Kremlin's Candidate* will be published just before the 2018 release of *Red Sparrow* , a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence, produced by 20th Century Fox.
Praise for the First Two Books in the Red Sparrow Trilogy
REDSPARROW
“A primer in twenty-first-century spying . . . Terrifically good.”
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“A smart, intriguing tale rooted in his own experience . . . Fans of the genre’s masters including John le Carré and Ian Fleming will happily embrace Matthews’s central spy.”
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“You, too, may also conclude that
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“[A] sublime and sophisticated debut . . .
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“This debut novel from a thirty-three-year CIA veteran delivers action as pulse-pounding as it is authentic.”
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“Matthews’s exceptional first novel will please fans of classic spy fiction. . . . The author’s thirty-three-year career in the CIA allows him to showcase all the tradecraft and authenticity that readers in this genre demand. . . . [A] complex, high-stakes plot.”
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“An intense descent into a vortex of carnal passion, career brutality, and smart tradecraft, this thriller evokes the great Cold War era of espionage.”
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“A compelling and propulsive tale of spy versus spy . . .
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“Features enough action to satisfy even the most demanding of adrenaline junkies . . . The author’s CIA background and the smart dialogue make this an entertaining tale for spy-novel enthusiasts.”
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“Not since the good old days of the Cold War has a classic spy thriller like
—Nelson DeMille
“[Jason Matthews is] an insider’s insider. He knows the secrets. And he is also a masterful storyteller. I loved this book and could not put it down. Neither will you.”
—Vince Flynn
“The spy thriller is back in full force thanks to newcomer and CIA insider Jason Matthews. . . . I have not read a more exciting, gripping novel in a long time.”
—Doug Stanton,
“All the tradecraft and cat-and-mouse tension of a classic spy thriller—a terrific read.”
—Joseph Kanon, author of
PALACE OF TREASON
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“As authentic a spy novel as you are ever apt to read, rendered in exciting prose by a master who helped craft the rules by which spying is conducted. A ten-cloak, ten-dagger read.”
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“On a scale of one to five stars,
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“Like the first novel, [
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“You’ll never see Vladimir Putin in the same light after reading this chilling portrait. Matthews’s characters seem to leap out of the page; his firsthand familiarity with the toys and routines of the spy world is a definite plus. VERDICT: Seldom is a sequel as stunning as the original, but this one absolutely triumphs.”
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