'Red Sparrow' is Kerri's book pick

Kerri's book Pick of the Week is "Red Sparrow," a spy novel by first-time author Jason Matthews.

The New York Times wrote that one thing that makes the book a page turner is the real life experience of Matthews in the intelligence field:

With the exception of Charles McCarry, there hasn't been a first-rate American spy novelist who claims to have worked as an intelligence officer before turning his hand to fiction.

Until now, that is. Jason Matthews is a 33-year veteran of the C.I.A. who, according to the press release in front of me, "served in multiple overseas locations and engaged in clandestine collection of national-security intelligence." Lord knows how he got the manuscript of "Red Sparrow" past the redacting committee at Langley, but he has turned his considerable knowledge of espionage into a startling debut.

Euan Kerr's book pick is "The High Divide" by Lin Enger.