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Red Sparrow

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Red Sparrow

By: Jason Matthews
Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
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About this listen

A Russian honey trap agent targets a young CIA operative to uncover a senior-ranking mole at the heart of the Russian Intelligence service.

Dominika Egorov, former prima ballerina, is sucked into the heart of Putin's Russia, the country she loved, and spat out as the twists and turns of betrayal and counter-betrayal unravel. American Nate Nash, idealistic and ambitious, handles the double agent, codenamed MARBLE, considered one of CIA's biggest assets. He needs to keep his identity secret for as long as the mole can keep supplying golden information. Will Dominika be able to unmask MARBLE, or will the mission see her faith destroyed in the country she has always passionately defended?

Jason Matthews retired after 33 years in the CIA's Directorate of Operations as a clandestine operations officer and senior manager. Matthews lives with his wife Suzanne, herself a retired 34-year veteran of the CIA, in Rancho Mirage, California. Treason is his first novel.

©2013 Jason Matthews (P)2013 Audible Ltd Espionage Genre Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Political Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting

Critic Reviews

"Not since the good old days of the Cold War has a classic spy thriller like Red Sparrow come along. Jason Matthews is not making it up; he has lived this life and this story, and it shows on every page. High-level espionage, pulse-pounding danger, sex, double agents and double crosses. What more can any reader want?" (Nelson DeMill)
"A great and dangerous spy-game is being played today between Russian intelligence and the CIA. Very few people know about it, including many of our politicians in Washington. But Jason Matthews does, and his thrilling Red Sparrow takes us deep inside this treacherous world. He's an insider's insider. He knows the secrets. And he is also a masterful story-teller. I loved this book and could not put it down. Neither will you." (Vince Flynn)
"I read till 11 and woke up at 5 am to finish this book in three days. If it doesn't supplant The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as the next mammoth read, and if it doesn't take its place alongside le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, the love of literature and jaw-dropping thrills really is dead.... I have not read a more exciting, gripping novel in a long time." (Doug Stanton, author of Horse Soldiers)
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A good listen and am looking forward to hearing the next book,,, But,,, after the first few times of hearing the recipes being read out I got pretty sick of hearing them. I understand why they are there in the story as it breaks it up a bit and refreshes your mind but they do get a bit annoying! Also I wish the narrator gave the Russian characters a Russian accent rather than American!. Got a bit confusing at times and was left wondering which character was which. But all in all it wasn't a bad book and get better the more you get into it, more particularly towards the end.

A Good. book, but could use some improvements.

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Fantastic storyline and great characterisation. Hard to put down. Modern espionage drama which is so believable.

Brilliant

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This kept me in the the edge of my seat from start to finish. Great characters and storyline set in current timeline.

Cracker of a novel

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Narration a bit flat sometimes but a decent yarn even though the next moves were telegraphed for anyone who listens to spy thrillers.

Enjoyable listen

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As I rarely foray into the fiction books this was a pleasant surprise, the story was quick and held me on for hour long stints, i actually went on extra runs just to get through the book quicker. The audiobooks content is difficult at times and those sensitive to interment violence should take caution.

Gripping

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I mostly enjoyed the book.The detailed food recipes’ were a bit much.If I heard one more I would have cracked.

Recipe Overload.

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I really like this book. I have been meaning to read it for a while or see the film. Will definitely hunt down the film now to see how the story is conveyed through the eyes of Dominica. Particularly, the visual effects!

The only downside for me was that the actor/narrator Jeremy Bobb, used an American accent for both Russian and American speech. This also extended to any other ethnic background, which was sadly disappointing. Due to the speed and multilayers of this story, sometimes it was quite hard to distinguish who was speaking with whom. However, his annunciation when required was spot on and the tempo was great! Once you got past that nuance, although not very easily, Jeremy did do a mighty fine job otherwise.

What I really liked was the strength, character, cunning and intelligence of the women portrayed in this novel, especially Dominica.

Although fiction but I'd say with the authors research, in many ways non fiction, it was a brilliant portrayal of spy vs spy, Russia intelligence against America intelligence post USSR, with President Putin still as the current president of Russia.

Lots of twists and turns, lots of multilayers within factions and heaps of suspence! The author also tries to convey both sides of Russian and US intelligence with a air of equal light and darkness.

A very great read and would recommend! I'm keen to read the next book so the fact that the author doesn't change accents isn't really a game changer for me!

Thanks to Jason Matthews for this terrific read, Jeremy Bobb, the narrator and all that contributed and made this Audible book possible! Nice work!!!! :)

Terrific Multilayered Suspence!

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Brilliant. Got next book immediately. Then the 3rd. Had me hook line and sinker. Hope there is a 4th coming soon.

Could not top listening.

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This is a great spy thriller.

The narration is a little deadpan, but once you get into it it’s hard to imagine it being any better.

Highly recommended

Enthralling

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great listen, awesome story. had me always coming back for a little bit more which spiralled into a lot more

amazing

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