Jason Matthews (September 17, 1951 – April 28, 2021 [1]) was an American author of espionage novels and former CIA officer, best known for the Red Sparrow spy novel trilogy.
Matthews was born September 17, 1951, in Hartford, Connecticut. [1] He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for three decades, where he met his wife, Suzanne, also a former CIA officer. [2] [1] He died April 28, 2021 at the age of 69 from corticobasal degeneration. [3]
Prior to becoming a novelist, Matthews spent 33 years working for the CIA. [4] While in the CIA he was officially a diplomat, in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, but his real job was recruiting and then managing foreign agents. [5]
In 2014, his first novel, Red Sparrow (2013), won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American author. [6] Writer and critic Art Taylor praised it in The Washington Post, writing that it "isn't just a fast-paced thriller—it's a first-rate novel as noteworthy for its superior style as for its gripping depiction of a secretive world." [7] It was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Jennifer Lawrence. [8]
In 2015 and 2018, he published Palace of Treason and The Kremlin’s Candidate, which are the sequels to Red Sparrow.
Jason Matthews (September 17, 1951 – April 28, 2021 [1]) was an American author of espionage novels and former CIA officer, best known for the Red Sparrow spy novel trilogy.
Matthews was born September 17, 1951, in Hartford, Connecticut. [1] He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for three decades, where he met his wife, Suzanne, also a former CIA officer. [2] [1] He died April 28, 2021 at the age of 69 from corticobasal degeneration. [3]
Prior to becoming a novelist, Matthews spent 33 years working for the CIA. [4] While in the CIA he was officially a diplomat, in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, but his real job was recruiting and then managing foreign agents. [5]
In 2014, his first novel, Red Sparrow (2013), won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American author. [6] Writer and critic Art Taylor praised it in The Washington Post, writing that it "isn't just a fast-paced thriller—it's a first-rate novel as noteworthy for its superior style as for its gripping depiction of a secretive world." [7] It was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Jennifer Lawrence. [8]
In 2015 and 2018, he published Palace of Treason and The Kremlin’s Candidate, which are the sequels to Red Sparrow.