The Ways of the World: A James Maxted Thriller

by Robert Goddard Narrated by Derek Perkins

Overview

From the Edgar award-winning, internationally bestselling British writer Robert Goddard comes a captivating new trilogy of historical thrillers, 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 hard time keeping himself out of trouble. Four years of horrific fighting have finally ended on the battlefield, but in the spring of 1919, Paris is filled with delegates from around the world who are still trying to hammer out the terms of peace. One such delegate is British diplomat Sir Henry Maxted, in charge of liaising with the Brazilians regarding seized ships. But before a deal is reached Sir Henry Maxted turns up dead outside a Montparnasse apartment building, apparently having fallen from the roof. His sons Max and Ashley are sent to Paris to collect the body, and it quickly becomes clear that the theory the French police have put forward is flawed. But since the murder of a diplomat could be disastrous for the peace conference, no one is keen to ask questions-except Max.



What begins as an innocent inquiry into his father's death soon leads Max into a dangerous world of secret allegiances, international espionage, and people double-crossing each other at the highest levels of government. How far is he willing to go discover the truth about the death of a father he barely knew? And how much will the authorities-and others-let him find out before threatening Max's own life?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“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

Kirkus Reviews

2015-03-17
A former Royal Flying Corps pilot investigates his father's murder in Paris on the eve of the Treaty of Versailles. The prolific Goddard (Fault Line, 2012, etc.) offers a slow burn here as he begins a new trilogy. He's 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. Set in 1919, the novel introduces James "Max" Maxted, a 27-year-old R.F.C. pilot who has seen enough carnage to last a lifetime after two years on the western front and another year as a prisoner of war. He just wants to set up a small flight school with his best friend and top mechanic, Sam Twentyman. His plans go awry when his father, a minor British diplomat, is killed in what seems like an accident in Paris. Max's posh older brother, Ashley, inherits the family's estate, but he's embarrassed by Max's business ambitions and his assertion that their father's death wasn't an accident. Arriving in Paris, Max encounters a rogue's gallery of suspicious characters amid the postwar forging of a peace treaty, among them femmes fatales of various nationalities, an American fixer named Travis Ireton, and an omnipresent German operative named Fritz Lemmer, whose narrative momentum carries readers all the way to the edge of the book and down through a dastardly cliffhanger. It's an atmospheric thriller yet in some ways a gentle one; its enormous cast of characters, antiquated tradecraft, and societal diplomacy may remind readers as much of Downton Abbey as John le Carré. A sly, highbrow take on the espionage thriller with a rich background that lends sophistication to an already opulent story.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171735234
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Series:	James Maxted , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged

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