Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this riveting real-life thriller, journalist Ireland (Churchill & Son) traces how a group of Russian spies managed to infiltrate Leon Trotsky's inner circle. Ireland begins with Trotsky's banishment to Siberia in 1928, which was the first of a series of exiles that would each see a physically ailing but politically fiery Trotsky pushed farther and farther away from Russia, eventually landing him in Mexico. Against the narrative of Trotsky's banishments, Ireland presents the parallel stories of the Russian spies who hounded, undermined, and surveilled him, including one who grew so close as to become the publisher of Trotsky's newsletter. Ireland dissects the techniques used by Soviet intelligence to recruit and groom spies to join Trotsky's circle, while also noting how, in a topsy-turvy twist, "looking after Trotsky" carried its own dangers--just opening his mail was risky, as the packages could contain bombs. Ultimately, the narrative begins to swirl around Soviet recruit Ramon Mercador, a young Spanish aristocrat who grew close enough to Trotsky to know where the switch for his alarm system was in his study, meaning he was able to block it with his body when, on orders from Moscow, he infamously struck Trotsky in the head with an ice pick on August 21, 1940. Cinematic and suspenseful, this vividly depicts the yearslong tightening of the noose around a brilliant and hunted man. (Feb.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Written with cinematic zeal, this account of the 1940 death of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky brings to life the bizarre world of early Soviet espionage and the paranoia and antisemitism of the Stalinist project. Well-known figures associated with Trotsky, such as artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, are explored in detail, but Ireland (Churchill & Son) makes just as enjoyable the lesser-known spies, shills, and disillusioned revolutionaries surrounding Trotsky in his later years, before his assassination. Full of intermingling and branching narrative arcs, the story is purposefully complex to follow, but the research is clear, and differing historical opinions about individuals are presented without losing the book's near-novelistic feel. Ramón Mercader, Trotsky's assassin who was a member of the Soviet secret police, is a particularly fascinating figure, and Ireland takes the time to explore his motivations, showing the price of following ideals, such as Stalinism, to grim ends. VERDICT Ireland offers a page-turner for readers of 20th-century history, with enough true-crime elements to bring along fans of that genre as well.--Margaret Heller
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An arresting narrative about the assassination of Leon Trotsky. In his latest book, Ireland takes a well-worn story and transforms it into a tale as gripping as the best novels of espionage. Much of the book unfolds over the 10-year period that precedes Trotsky's murder, when Stalin's agents hunted the revolutionary across Europe and ultimately to Mexico City. Using the great abundance of accounts that already exist, Ireland has written a book that is thick with plot and swift in feel, placing at the heart of the work a large cast of characters made intriguing by their unwavering fidelity to either the house of Stalin or Trotsky. Stalin's crusade to slay his most bitter enemy is riveting fodder for any author. Yet it's in the characters Ireland has chosen--and more crucially his deft presentation of their contradictions, desires, and flaws--that the book flows with life. Above all, he gives us a penetrative profile of Ramón Mercader, the man who, after several others failed, succeeded in assassinating Trotsky. Mercader, a Spaniard of a petty aristocratic stock, became an ardent and then hardened communist who, Ireland tells us, spent years infiltrating Trotsky's world. As the book reaches its final third and Stalin's agents draw close to the kill, Ireland's writing reaches a crest, and the spycraft, gun battles, and Soviet schemes land like torrents. Some authors write their books from a thousand feet up, failing to get close to their characters and scenes. Good books get closer, bringing readers within a few yards of the narrative. Ireland puts us within an inch of his characters, offering such acute intimacy that you can hear Trotsky's terrible scream when Mercader drives the ice pick into the back of his skull, and you can see his blood splattering across the papers on his desk. Narrative history in fine form: thrillingly paced, deeply researched, told through the people at the center of it. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
