A dark and riveting thriller that reimagines the life and mission of the Spanish nationalist enlisted to murder Leon Trotsky: Based on a true chapter of world history and ten years of research, here is the story of the real-life reluctant soldier and killer, Ramón Mercader-the obedient assassin Ramón Mercader was plucked from the front of the Spanish Civil War by the Soviets and conscripted to murder the great intellectual Leon Trotsky, a leader of the Bolshevik Revolution who was exiled in the 1920s for opposing Joseph Stalin. As Ramón is trained for the task and assumes a new identity, he lives a lush life in Paris, befriending Frida Kahlo and other artists of the time. He falls in love with a left-leaning Jewish woman whom he is ordered to seduce as a means of getting at Trotsky. From Barcelona to Paris and New York to Mexico City, the group controlling Ramón-including Ramón's mother and her lover-guides the assassin on the inevitable resolution of his grim task as he must penetrate Trotsky's compound.
"The quality of writing stands out in this vivid novel about the events that led to Leon Trotsky's assassination-a skillful blend of history, political intrigue, betrayed love, and the author's uncanny ability to paint a lively picture of those times and places."
Neil McMahon, author of Dead Silver
"Reading The Obedient Assassin is like watching a great Hitchcock movie. From the first paragraph the reader is caught in a quiet undertow of suspense and swept into a fully realized story of twisted filial duty and cruel deception. In this remarkable novel, John Davidson has transformed the political murder of Leon Trotsky into a frightening, intimate, and hauntingly human crime."
Stephen Harrigan, author of the national bestseller The Gates of the Alamo
