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Comments (37)

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1 to 25 of 37 items
Mar 03, 2024
This is a genre novel against which all other minor works should be measured. It’s nothing short of staggering genius, the best espionage novel I’ve ever read … and I’ve read a lot over my eighty-two years. It’s hard to believe that…
Nov 14, 2023LetsGoBrandy rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The fall of the Soviet Union offered the people a chance to be free but they found freedom a tad chaotic and ran back into the arms of a strong alpha male. This male with the rolling sailor's gait is the linchpin of a vast edifice of…
Aug 06, 2023Gareldb rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This spy novel was very well done. The Cold War chess game between the US and Russia was well portrayed. The bad guys were just a little too bad and overdone. The good guys (Nate, Dominika, and all of the American agents) were great. …
May 15, 2023jewelhound rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I started out reading the book and it really caught my attention. BUT then the background of spy craft went on and on and my interest started to wane. The recipes at the end of each chapter is getting to be a bit overused but was probably…
Mar 18, 2023cshamm1 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Does this sound like "rage" to you? "'Could surveillance have been more poorly managed?', Egorov raged." No, it sounds like bad writing. Any readers looking for something literary will be disappointed, as other reviews called out. What…
Dec 12, 2021RICHARD A PICO rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
not a bad book. the recipes at the end of each chapter, except one, was rather peculiar, but not tedious or distractive in any way. the acronyms can be easily looked up on Google. reading novels by authors who have done what they are…
Sep 25, 2021harrybosch rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Disappointing. Run-of-the-mill cloak and dagger spy stuff. Not that well written. At 550 pages it was way too long and drawn out and would have benefited by being 100 pages less. As other commenters have said, there are just way too…
Mar 23, 2021notAnn2000 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Good story line.
Mar 01, 2020CCPL_Theresa rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This fast-paced cat and mouse spy novel is chock-full of espionage and counterintelligence tradecraft thanks to Jason Matthew’s CIA insider expertise. With intriguing character backstories and believable narrative, Red Sparrow is a…
Jul 27, 2019
bob suggested
Jul 26, 2019gmoney83 rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
as a (hot mess) spy novel: 2 stars out of 5, because it could be a good read on a beach This is not high brow fiction. It is, strictly speaking a spy novel but on a comic book level. I could not finish it (I admit, I am a snob…
Jul 25, 2019oregailgarratt rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Interesting look at life of spies in Russia and U.S. governments...a bit shocking information for myself. Recommended my husband to read. Suggestion to read came from our son.
Apr 03, 2019dissymissylessy rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
'' In the REZIDENTURA she was correct, reserved, did her work quickly and well, with an uncommon intensity....'quite a creature,' thought marta, 'and in operations!' beauty, brains, tradecraft, and incandescent blue eyes. It was…
Dec 04, 2018swheeler89 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Was waiting for this one to end. Will not continue reading the trilogy. Parts lingered too long, and plot line actually got hard to follow. Wish I had just watched the movie instead.
Nov 29, 2018SurreyLibraries_Reads rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
If you thought the cutthroat deep espionage of the Cold War ended when the Berlin wall came down, you would be wrong. Enter Jason Matthews’ 2013 spy novel Red Sparrow. Set in modern day Putin’s Russia, where prison camps still exist and…
Sep 13, 2018
you must next read 'The Kremlin's Candidate'. On the book jacket it said that it was the second book in the 'red Sparrow' trilogy.
Aug 30, 2018
very good spy novel, a real page-turner
Jun 22, 2018jimg2000 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The book is superior to the JL's film which left off the character's attributes of a synesthete who saw emotional content as colors, like Amos Decker in the book series by David Baldacci. However, The movie has a tighter plot with a bigger…
Jun 10, 2018talk2terih rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book was a little bit longer than it needed to be, but that is often the case with new writers. As he goes along, he will learn to edit himself, or his publishing house staff will help him learn. The very best thing about this book…
Mar 16, 2018agoldsby rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Jason Matthews gave us an amazing, intriguing, smart, page turning thriller. I could not put this book down! Then I went to see the movie. I thought there’s no way Hollywood could mess this up. If you take the words from the book and put…
Dec 06, 2017cambridgedon rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Well above average spy novel that reeks of authenticity since author was a former CIA operative. Very good plotline but doesn't quite have Tom Clancy's gift for storytelling. But to be fair it's very difficult to make following people or…
Nov 12, 2017Candaceb108 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Fabulous. Great writing. Well researched, great balance, humor the best. And new things to cook. One of the best spy novels I have read in decades.
Oct 21, 2017Manekinek00 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Fast-paced, wonderfully researched spy novel. It is well written and super thrilling, and if that's not enough to sell you, there is an authentic, delicious Russian recipe at the end of each chapter!
Apr 19, 2017xiaojunbpl12 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Ultimate spy game! First hand experience plus unusual writing skill, macho and sensual (1 recipe per chapter, a bonus).
Oct 11, 2016RicardoEdm rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This book was definitely entertaining but despite its length, I couldn't help feeling like I was reading the "light" version of a spy novel, the flavour was off and there was not enough substance. The characters are definitely likeable so…