A review by cymo01
The Kremlin's Candidate by Jason Matthews

2.0

Unfortunately Matthews couldn't satisfactorily close his Red Sparrow trilogy. "The Kremlin's Candidate" is a 1.5-star book within hailing distance of being 1-star. The book is, in a word, preposterous. Good spy novels keep the story line firmly rooted in the plausible. To say that Matthews did not in this concluding volume of the Red Sparrow Trilogy is an understatement. As with this novel's two predecessors, Matthews' depiction of IC tradecraft is outstanding. This is the biggest asset and best part of the Red Sparrow stories. But in this concluding book, Matthews can't resist over-the-top, fantastical plot twists which makes reading this novel, at times, a chore. Descriptions of Nash's libido got very tiresome. Egorova's astounding luck just became too good to be true. Violence and sex too often substituted for good story. I also tired of smaller things. Egorova's synesthesia, which "lets her see words, music, and human moods as ethereal airborne colors" has annoyed me as a contrivance from the start but especially so in this novel. The detailed descriptions of attire and food grated. I love a good spy novel but at times this one was a chore to get through. Recommended with reservations (for silly Hollywood-ish plot twists, at least one glaring plot hole, and a little too much unpleasant violence).