With a new twist around every corner, Max can get lucky only so many times – He gets shot, recovers and is given a bit of help by elusive “le singe” (the monkey) while he puts a name to the elusive German spymaster who seems to be orchestrating these events – Fritz Lemmer. The only person he can trust in all this is Sam Twentyman who has travelled to Paris to help Max in any way he can.

He crosses paths with the Russian monarchist organisation called the Trust and its beautiful member Nadia Bukayeva. In succession Max meets Madame Dombreux – his father’s mistress (?), his Brazilian friend Ribeiro, Japanese policemen Kuroda and American opportunist Ireton, all the while trying to escape from British intelligence officer Appleby. Max discovers that his father was trying to raise a large sum of money – from conventional sources like mortgage on his estate to unconventional sources like selling diplomatic secrets. But, in a Paris hosting the Peace conference that will actually be the end of the war, truth is neither an easily available nor such a straightforward commodity.Īnd so the game begins as Max starts to chase the loose ends and ghosts left behind by his father’s diplomatic life as well as his sudden death. While Sir Ashley would not like even a whiff of scandal, Max will not accept anything less than a truth. Max travels to Paris with his elder brother Ashley to complete the formalities and to bring their father’s dead body home. While shopping for ex-air force planes with his partner Sam Twentyman, James – known to his friends as Max – receives a telephone call from his mother informing him that his father Sir Henry Maxted has died in a fall in Paris – in not so salubrious an area and under not-so-clear circumstances. Surviving the world war I against all odds as a fighter pilot and prisoner of war James Maxted is looking forward to a future with plans to open his own aviation training school on his ancestral estate in Surrey. It represents the tone of the spy thriller quite effectively. The title text in cherry red with brownish shade looks attractive too. In that version, the protagonist is seen moving towards the tower in an almost similar layout.īoth the versions are moderately good, however, I like the above-shown cover page more than the other. And that version has shades of yellowish-brown taking over as the theme. The other version of the book has a different cover page. A typical outset which will represent you the protagonist and Paris (where most of the important incidents of the thriller happen).

The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard | Book CoverĪ person in a black suit and hat looking directly to the reader and you can see dissolving Effiel tower in the background.

Robert goddard past caring review