The Kremlin Candidate

The Kremlin's Candidate Review

By Sithmi

I invested a month into this 460 page book, reading it slowly so I don’t reach the end, because I did not want to know how it ends. But by then end of August, I finished the book and it took me a few days to recover.

I cannot spoil anything but let me just say, Jason Matthews, that was quite cruel and smart and required. Don’t go jumping into conclusions just yet though.

The Kremlin Candidate, the third and final book of the Red Sparrow series, was a wild goose chase, quite literally, because a mole was in their midst, inside CIA. And this mole was going to be so high up, they would get to know DIVA’s real name, Dominika Egorova, the current Chief of Line KR, the counterintelligence section in the SVR. And that could never happen. Because that would mean losing the best Russian agent actively operating in Moscow for more than seven years now.

Also the love of Nathaniel Nash’s life. The officer handling this agent, who hopes she would defect instead of continuing this furtive work but would do anything to protect her from being exposed.

The story follows, in several angles, revealing to us the readers, who the mole is, a US Navy Lieutenant, and how the officer has been operating for 12 years after the SVR recruited her thanks to blackmail which Dominika herself had played a part in all those years ago, albeit  unknown to her. But just as this mole rises in rank in the CIA with the Russian’s help, so does Dominika, encrypted DIVA, inside the SVR. She becomes part of the siloviki, club. The President’s club which is made of the people favoured by Putin himself and well aware of the plans involved to keep the Russian President’s name in the spotlight and feared by all.

Throughout the books we find new threats that could potentially reveal Dominika’s secret life as a mole, but this one takes the proverbial cake as the Russian run asset has been running for 12 years and could ruin the CIA from the inside if it reaches the ultimate goal.

Despite the heavy seriousness throughout the whole book, the humour incorporated by the team and their sarcastic demeanours is refreshing and hilarious. At times you have to reread to spot the sarcasm or understand their phrasing. It’s like a gold mine.

The ending I realised after a few days, was necessary to show the dangers of this espionage, the sacrifices needed, the toll it takes on a person. I felt for the agents, imagined their lives every day, from waking moment to the close of their eyes at night, and realised how lonely it must be, and how dreadful, to wonder when you’ll be found as traitor to the country, when the moment will come. It makes you recall MARBLE from the first book.

I do not know how to summarise this amazingly adrenaline filled book full of plot twists and big reveals, and breath holding moments. All I can say is, this trilogy is a must read, because of how well its written, the characters and their motivations, the story and the plot and of course the insight into the lives of agents and handlers and politics involved globally.

But don’t say I didn’t warn you by the end. It’s a dangerous game they all play, and once you’re inside, your head never quite leaves the book the same way it went in.

Writing Style rating: 5/5
Plot rating: 4.9/5
Total rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐