Fans of stories about spies and secret agent men will want to read Jason Matthew’s Red Sparrow trilogy. “The Red Sparrow” introduces Dominika Egorova, a former dancer drafted to become a “sparrow,” a trained seductress. Sent to seduce a CIA operative, she is instead recruited to ferret out a high-level traitor in Washington.  This story was shortlisted for an Edgar Award and made into a popular film featuring Jennifer Lawrence.  In “Palace of Treason”, Egorova returns to the Soviet Union, where she becomes part of Putin’s inner circle. In “The Kremlin’s Candidate”, she uncovers a plot to install a mole in the US government.  Author Matthew’s, an ex-CIA officer, combines an insider’s knowledge of tradecraft with a masterful handling of pace and suspense. Highly topical, as well.