Overview

From the Edgar Award-winning writer Robert Goddard comes a captivating new historical thriller, set at the tail end of World War I and featuring the devilishly charismatic James ""Max"" Maxted, a Royal Flying Corps veteran who has a knack for getting himself in trouble. In the spring of 1919, Paris is filled with delegates working towards the Treaty of Versailles--British diplomat Sir Henry Maxted among them. But before his work is done, he turns up dead outside a Montparnasse apartment building. The French police conclude that Sir Henry tripped and fell from the roof, but when his son Max is sent to Paris to collect the body, it quickly becomes clear that there is more to the story, starting with the beautiful woman whose apartment Sir Henry often visited. What begins as an innocent inquiry into his father's death soon leads Max into a perilous world of secret allegiances, international espionage, and double- and triple-crosses. The Ways of the World is a vivid, visceral thriller at the crossroads of history, where one spilled secret has the power to change the fate of empires.

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9780802125064

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Reviews

Former Lt. James (Max) Maxted, the dashing protagonist of Robert Goddard's historical espionage thriller . . . is a refreshing throwback to an earlier romantic tradition of heroes . . . A rip-roaring adventure . . . Paris in 1919 is a snake pit of spies, counterspies, traitors and turncoatsjust the setting for this convoluted tale . . . We re sure to see this charismatic chap again in what the author promises will be a trilogy of high-action adventures. New York Times Book Review Wildly entertaining . . . Goddard has long been one of the genre s cleverest plotters and most accomplished prose stylists . . . Goddard assembles around Max as savvy, as well spoken, and as treacherous a band of double-dealing con artists as we ve seen since Caspar Gutman, Joel Cairo, and Brigid Shaughnessy joined forces to hunt a black bird. Booklist (starred review) Goddard paints the Paris of that era with sure strokes. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Robert Goddard is the master of complex, tricky thrillers that dazzle with surprises. . . Another stellar performance. Sydney Morning Herald Enjoyable . . . Goddard evokes time and place with an expert hand . . . Fans of period mysteries set in times of historical transition will be satisfied. Publishers Weekly [Goddard is] still producing the riffs on historical crime fiction that are his sweet spot, but his new book's absorbing language and artful depictions of physical locations, along with a plot that falls somewhere between Georges Simenon and Graham Greene, should keep readers rapt . . . A sly, highbrow take on the espionage thriller with a rich background that lends sophistication to an already opulent story. Kirkus Reviews Dashed good yarn-spinning. . . . The action is insistent and often deadly. Toronto Star Cleverly plotted . . . there is plenty here to keep the pages turning . . . Most of all, it is exceptionally well written. Reviewing the Evidence

"""Former Lt. James (Max) Maxted, the dashing protagonist of Robert Goddard's historical espionage thriller . . . is a refreshing throwback to an earlier romantic tradition of heroes . . . A rip-roaring adventure . . . Paris in 1919 is a snake pit of spies, counterspies, traitors and turncoats--just the setting for this convoluted tale . . . We're sure to see this charismatic chap again in what the author promises will be a trilogy of high-action adventures.""--New York Times Book Review ""Wildly entertaining . . . Goddard has long been one of the genre's cleverest plotters and most accomplished prose stylists . . . Goddard assembles around Max as savvy, as well spoken, and as treacherous a band of double-dealing con artists as we've seen since Caspar Gutman, Joel Cairo, and Brigid Shaughnessy joined forces to hunt a black bird.""--Booklist (starred review) ""Goddard paints the Paris of that era with sure strokes.""--St. Louis Post-Dispatch ""Robert Goddard is the master of complex, tricky thrillers that dazzle with surprises. . . Another stellar performance.""--Sydney Morning Herald ""Enjoyable . . . Goddard evokes time and place with an expert hand . . . Fans of period mysteries set in times of historical transition will be satisfied.""--Publishers Weekly ""[Goddard is] still producing the riffs on historical crime fiction that are his sweet spot, but his new book's absorbing language and artful depictions of physical locations, along with a plot that falls somewhere between Georges Simenon and Graham Greene, should keep readers rapt . . . A sly, highbrow take on the espionage thriller with a rich background that lends sophistication to an already opulent story.""--Kirkus Reviews ""Dashed good yarn-spinning. . . . The action is insistent and often deadly.""--Toronto Star ""Cleverly plotted . . . there is plenty here to keep the pages turning . . . Most of all, it is exceptionally well written.""--Reviewing the Evidence"

Author Information

Robert Goddard is the Edgar Award-winning, internationally best-selling author of Long Time Coming, Past Caring, and Into the Blue, which won the first WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award. Goddard read history at the University of Cambridge and lives in Cornwall.

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