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The Death of Trotsky

The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin’s Greatest Enemy

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About this listen

 THE PULSE-POUNDING TRUE STORY BEHIND THE ASSASSINATION THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY

'Elegant, unshowy and gripping in the manner of a dependable le Carré' THE TIMES

'The page-turning pace of a thriller . . . A first-class historian' ANDREW ROBERTS

'Breathtaking . . . This is lucid, kaleidoscopic history' RORY CARROLL

'Gripping . . . Full of treachery, intrigue and betrayal' DAMIEN LEWIS

In August 1940, a man walked into Leon Trotsky's study in Mexico City and drove an ice pick into his skull. The killer? Ramón Mercader - an aristocratic Spaniard turned Soviet assassin. The mastermind? Joseph Stalin.

But this was no simple hit. It was the climax of a decade-long global hunt: a story of seduction and betrayal, of fake identities and secret loyalties, of idealists and fanatics, lovers and spies. While Trotsky raged in exile - still clinging to his revolutionary dream - Stalin's agents closed in. At the heart of it all was Mercader: a man trained to lie, charm and ultimately to kill.

Tracing a path from the cafés of Paris to the battlefields of Spain, from Stalin's Kremlin to a bloodied study in Mexico, The Death of Trotsky unfolds like a spy thriller - a story of obsession and betrayal, of dreams destroyed and loyalties twisted, culminating in one of the most shocking murders of the modern age.

'Hugely compelling' ROGER MOORHOUSE

'As good as any thriller' HELEN RAPPAPORT©2026 Josh Ireland Historical Military Russia Stalin Latin American Espionage Imperialism Mexico Soviet Union

Critic reviews

A breathtaking swoop into an extraordinary tale. The narrative takes us from Stalin's dark obsession to a remorseless hunt spanning decades and continents and a final, fateful moment in Mexico City. This is lucid, kaleidoscopic history (RORY CARROLL, bestselling author of Killing Thatcher)
Gripping . . . full of treachery, intrigue and betrayal. Josh Ireland reveals in shocking details how the long arm of the Russian state deals with its enemies, which still feels very timely today (DAMIEN LEWIS, author of Agent Josephine and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare)
Elegant, unshowy and gripping in the manner of a dependable le Carré . . . Ireland, a bestselling ghostwriter and former editor, narrates the drama with a novelist's eye and a historian's restraint. He captures the claustrophobia of life with a target on one's back (PRATINAV ANIL, author of Another India)
In this pacy, well-researched account, Josh Ireland sheds fascinating new light on one of history's most notorious assassinations. The Death of Trotsky is as good as any thriller, proving that true stories, when well-told and with panache, are always the best (HELEN RAPPAPORT, author of The Race to Save the Romanovs)
Josh Ireland tells the grim story of Trotsky's assassination with tremendous style and aplomb, weaving the many twists and turns of Trotsky's exile and later targeting into a hugely compelling narrative. An elegant retelling of a most heinous act (ROGER MOORHOUSE, author of First to Fight)
With impeccable scholarship and impressive research, Ireland sheds new light on the incredible tale of The Death of Trotsky. It is epic, panoramic history crossed with the joys of a spy thriller and the tragic denouement is brilliantly brought to life in the dusty, claustrophobic streets of Coyoacán (EDWARD SHAWCROSS, author of The Last Emperor of Mexico)
Mesmerising . . . A fascinating study of Trotsky . . . Equally a remarkable one about the paranoia and violent insanity that drove Stalin (ROBERT LYMAN, author of Victory to Defeat)
A riveting, propulsive read full of strange-but-true intrigue and laced with telling detail - this is narrative history at its very best (TOBY HARNDEN, author of First Casualty)
A riveting account of how Stalin and his secret police successfully plotted to kill Leon Trotsky. Ireland takes us into the mind of the assassin and the flawed attitude of Trotsky himself, who allowed the murderer to infiltrate his home. Deeply researched and compellingly written, this book will stand as the definitive story of Trotsky's shocking death in Mexico in August 1940 (JOSHUA RUBENSTEIN, author of The Last Days of Stalin)
All stars
Most relevant
The Death of Trotsky by Josh Ireland is a fascinating and often gripping account of the final years of one of the most important figures of the Russian Revolution. Rather than focusing primarily on the revolution itself, the book explores Trotsky’s long and dangerous period of exile after his bitter split with Stalin, when he became the primary target of the Soviet secret service, the NKVD.

What makes the story so compelling is the relentless nature of the pursuit. Trotsky was forced to move from country to country as Stalin’s agents worked tirelessly to locate and eliminate him. The threat extended far beyond Trotsky himself. Friends, family members and political allies were also caught up in the danger, and at times it became almost impossible to know who could truly be trusted. This constant atmosphere of suspicion and danger gives the narrative the feel of a political thriller, even though the events described are very real.

The book also highlights Trotsky’s unwavering commitment to his beliefs. Even while living under constant threat, he continued to criticise Stalin and the Soviet system he had helped to create. It makes for a powerful and often tragic story of a man who refused to compromise his principles, even when doing so might have made his life safer.

Josh Ireland tells the story in a clear and engaging way, bringing both the historical context and the personal drama to life. The narration by Orlando Wells adds greatly to the experience, capturing the tension, intrigue and human drama that runs throughout the book.

For anyone interested in twentieth-century political history, this is a compelling and highly engaging listen that I would thoroughly recommend.

Gripping account of Trotsky’s final years in exile

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Great narration, loved the flow of the book, read like a thriller, great job of putting the characters in context.
Loved it!

Brilliantly read, gripping like a thriller.

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