Friday, June 5, 2015

Palace Of Treason - Jason Matthews

Palace Of Treason
Jason Matthews
Scribner, Jun 2 2015, $26.99
ISBN: 9781476793740

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (Sluzhba Veshney Razvedki –SVR) Captain Dominika Egorova is a special double agent working for the Americans.  Her synesthesia perceptions make her very valuable because she “reads” a person’s inner secrets and much more.  Recently Dominika gained access to Putin’s most inner sanctum of advisors to the euphoria for what she can do for his country and fear for her safety by her American handler (and lover) Nate Nash. 

In Vienna, Iranian nuclear scientist Dr. Parvis Jamshidi informs Nate and Dominika of his country’s bomb-making ambitions.  The two lovers try to defuse Iran’s nuke efforts.  Learning from a CIA mole about seditious acts by Russians, SVR operative Alexei Zyuganov plans to dish out vicious deaths to the traitors Lieutenant General Mikhail Solovyov and Egorova, and anyone abetting them.

Filled with the rare combo of violence and torture on one hand, and cerebral analysis and plans on the other, the second Egorova-Nash spy thriller (see Red Sparrow) is a terrific taut tale.  The fully developed cast and settings make this work; as the heroes cope with odious abominations and political ambitious hacks in key positions.  Local recipes add a sense of geography though my stomach tells me to read a few romances before trying them.


Harriet Klausner

No comments: