Jason Matthews (1951 – April 28, 2021) was an American author of

espionage novels Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...

and former

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

officer, best known for the ''Red Sparrow'' spy novel trilogy.

Personal life

Jason was married to Suzanne, also a former officer. He died April 28, 2021 at the age of 69 from

corticobasal degeneration Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease involving the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia. CBD symptoms typically begin in people from 50 to 70 years of age, and the average disease duration is six years. It is chara ...

Career

Prior to becoming a novelist, Matthews spent 33 years working for the

. 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. In 2014, his first novel, ''

Red Sparrow ''Red Sparrow'' is a 2018 American spy thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Justin Haythe, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaer ...

'' (2013), won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. Writer and critic

Art Taylor Arthur S. Taylor Jr. (April 6, 1929 – February 6, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, who "helped define the sound of modern jazz drumming".Watrous, Peter (February 7, 1995)"Art Taylor, 65, Jazz Drummer Who Inspired Young Musicians" ''The Ne ...

praised it in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', 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." It was adapted into a movie of the same name starring

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people i ...

. In 2015 and 2018, he published '' Palace of Treason'' and '' The Kremlin’s Candidate'' which are the sequels to ''Red Sparrow''.

Works

Novels. ''Red Sparrow'' trilogy: # ''

'' (2013) # '' Palace of Treason'' (2015) # '' The Kremlin's Candidate'' (2018)

Adaptations

* ''

'' (2018), film directed by

Francis Lawrence Francis Lawrence (born March 26, 1971) is an Austrian-born American filmmaker and producer. After establishing himself as a director of music videos and commercials, Lawrence made his feature-length directorial debut with the superhero thrille ...

, based on novel ''

Awards

* 2014 ITW Thriller Award for Best First Novel, for ''

'' * 2014 Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, for ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Jason 1951 births 2021 deaths American spy fiction writers Edgar Award winners People of the Central Intelligence Agency Deaths from corticobasal degeneration