Red Sparrow 02 - Palace of Treason

by Jason Matthews

  Unaware of the spectral visitor, the new Chief of Line KR brushed a strand of hair behind an ear and threw the report on the Natanz fire into the out basket on the corner of her desk.

  Acknowledgments

  Writing a novel is a lonely job. What got me through the wilderness were the many people who advised, supported, reviewed, suggested, corrected, and contributed to the finished product.

  My thanks to my literary agent, the transcendent Sloan Harris of International Creative Management, who continued as the unerring windsock of taste and class and grace in all aspects of the manuscript. His advice and counsel have been invaluable. Josie Freedman in Los Angeles translates the cuneiform tablets of Hollywood Babylon, and Heather Bushong tames the hordes. And my thanks to Heather Karpas for her unending support.

  My editor at Scribner is Colin Harrison, and he is the best in the galaxy. He walked with me through the damp basement of the original manuscript, guiding and suggesting and encouraging, in a process that was much more than editing, much more than proofing. As he read and reread the book, his discerning eye missed nothing, equally pondering the historical arc of modern Russia or the science of uranium enrichment, while pointing out the tautological difference between “mud” and “sludge.” The book would not have been finished without him.

  Thanks, too, to the extended family at Scribner and Simon & Schuster, including Carolyn Reidy, Susan Moldow, Nan Graham, Roz Lippel, Brian Belfiglio, Katie Monaghan, Kyle Radler, Rita Madrigal, and Benjamin Holmes. Special thanks to the prescient Katrina Diaz, for endless hours of assistance. The support everyone showed during the protracted coordination process was greatly appreciated.

  I must acknowledge colleagues on the CIA Publication Review Board and thank them for their assistance in getting final approvals for the manuscript.

  My brother and sister-in-law, William and Sharon Matthews, read the draft manuscript and suggested changes and improvements. William sells commercial real estate, lectures on economics at a university, and somehow knows the difference between a surveillance satellite’s low-earth orbit and a geosynchronous one. Inexplicably, my brother is moreover aware of the fortifying effects of scandium on aluminum. The combustible seismic floor in the novel is his invention. He encouraged the author and strategized with me on matters large and small. The book is dedicated to him, and CAJW would be proud.

  I send heartfelt thanks to a former Cold War colleague, BB, who reviewed and massively corrected the Russian words and phrases used in the manuscript. He is a virtuoso operations officer, a scholar, and a legendary linguist. He added critical cultural comments about how Russians behave. I appreciate his help, and salute him.

  Daughters Alexandra and Sophia continue to advise the author drolly in matters of popular music, clothing, and cinema with patience and good humor.

  Despite all the input, I hasten to add that any error of fact or language or science is mine.

  Last, but not least, I thank my wife, Suzanne, for reading the draft, twice, which is more than anyone should have to do, and for her discerning eye and steady hand, tempered by her own career of three decades in CIA. Over the years, we did a few of the sorts of things described in the book together, and she knows what’s real and what is fiction. I thank her for her enthusiasms and for her patience as I wrote.

  THE BEGINNING

  Let the conversation begin...

  Follow the Penguin Twitter.com@penguinukbooks

  Keep up-to-date with all our stories YouTube.com/penguinbooks

  Pin ‘Penguin Books’ to your Pinterest

  Like ‘Penguin Books’ on Facebook.com/penguinbooks

  Listen to Penguin at SoundCloud.com/penguin-books

  Find out more about the author and

  discover more stories like this at Penguin.co.uk

  MICHAEL JOSEPH

  UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia

  India | New Zealand | South Africa

  Michael Joseph is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

  First published in the United States of America by Scribner,

  an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2015

  First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph, 2015

  Copyright © Jason Matthews, 2015

  Cover images: figures © Trevillion Images; background © Adri Berger / Getty Images. Cover design: www.headdesign.co.uk

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  ISBN: 978-1-405-92082-7