Robert Goddard’s The Ways of the World

In recent years, Robert Goddard has been described as ‘the master of the triple double-cross’ (The Times), ‘a conjurer’ (The Guardian) and ‘a compelling storyteller’ (The Sunday Telegraph). Time Out went a step further by labelling him ‘one of Britain’s finest thriller writers’ – and who are we to argue? Robert’s novels grip you from the first page, are thoroughly compelling and contain the kind of unexpected plot twists that will leave you disoriented and dizzy, yet still hungry for more.

The Ways of the World, published in hardback and ebook on 4th July, is no different. Set in Paris at the end of the Great War, The Ways of the World opens with the mysterious death of a senior British diplomat that is passed off as a bizarre accident by the local authorities. Convinced otherwise, one man attempts to uncover the truth and throws himself head first into the dark heart of a seemingly impenetrable mystery.

And here’s a note from Robert himself, introducing his new novel:

Every new novel is a new departure for a writer, but The Ways of the World is also a change of scope for me. It initiates a trilogy of novels about the quest of James ‘Max’ Maxted, former First World War flying ace, to discover the strange and beguiling truth that lies behind the death of his father, Sir Henry Maxted, in Paris during the spring of 1919.

Paris and the famous post-war peace conference the city hosted are characters themselves in the peopling of this story. As the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War approaches, I found myself drawn to the intrigues, the conflicts and the unexplained twists of fate that made the conference a uniquely cosmopolitan drama. It was, in a very real sense, the last, the longest and arguably the most important battle of the war. There were many casualties, but it took the rest of the twentieth century to reveal them.

Into this historical melting-pot I have plunged a cast of very human characters, to wage a struggle none of them fully understand. Max will discover in the course of The Ways of the World that his father did not die in an accident, as the Paris police maintain, but was murdered. He will find out why, and he will track down the murderer – despite the best efforts of powerful enemies to stop him. But for him – and the people he comes into contact with – that is only the beginning. They have embarked, without realizing it, upon a journey that will lead to a destination and a secret they could never have imagined.

Join them on their journey. Taste the mystery. And guess where it may be taking you. The ways of the world are many – but the truth stands alone.

Robert Goddard

Click here to find out more about the sequel to The Ways of the World, Corners of the Globe.

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