The Obedient Assassin: A Novel Based on a True Story

Davidson (The Long Road North) tries his hand at a thriller centered on the assassination of Leon Trotsky in 1940 Mexico City with mixed results. In the strong opening, Lt. Ramón Mercador, an officer fighting for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, returns home from the front, only to learn from his mother, Caridad, that his brother, Pablo, has been killed for disobeying orders. That tragedy is only exacerbated for Ramón because his mother, to prove her loyalty to the anti-Franco movement, remained silent as Pablo was strapped with dynamite and forced to run in front of a tank before being crushed. Caridad bears orders from Stalin for Ramónto to go undercover and, eventually, murder Trotsky, whom Stalin blamed for the infighting of the Spanish Republicans, which ultimately led to their defeat. Davidson has clearly done his historical research, but no character, especially the lead, feels truly alive, and the plot offers little suspense. Agent: Emma Patterson, Brandt and Hochman Literary Agents. (Feb.)