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Goddard, Robert - 'The Corners of the Globe'
Hardback: 400 pages (July 2014) Publisher: Bantam Press ISBN: 0593069757

James (Max) Maxted is now in the employ of the German Spy chief Fritz Lemmer. The First World War has just finished and the Paris Peace conference is formed to decide the fate of the vanquished Germans. Max is tasked with liaising with an American Naval Lieutenant in Orkney, who will arrange for him to be taken on board one of the German warships held captive by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow.

What Max discovers on the ship makes him flee Orkney and head south through Scotland making for London. He alerts his contact in Special Branch, Horace Appleby, who travels to London. However there are many of Lemmer's associates on route, and Appleby realises when he gets to London that some senior Secret Service people are working for Lemmer. Max's position is further complicated when someone from Max's old school recognised him on Orkney (where Max is going under a pseudonym) and threatens to inform the authorities. He then vanishes. But his sister is determined to pursue Max to find the truth.

Max and Appleby get into many tight spots before Max is sent back to Paris to bring Lemmer to justice.

Max is determined to avenge the murder of his father Sir Henry, despite his elder brother (and now head of the Country House) and his wife's annoyance. Max also meets up with the deadly Nadia Bukayeva now working for Lemmer. He also hasn't seen the last of his father's mistress Corrine Doxbreux the wife of the French spy and traitor.

This is what I believed was the sequel to THE WAYS OF THE WORLD but in actual fact it is now part of a trilogy! You have to slightly question the wisdom of this, particularly when it wasn't made clear in the first book. However for the author's legion of readers, which include myself, we eagerly await the final instalment. Very well recommended.

Geoff Jones, England
July 2014

Details of the author's other books with links to reviews can be found on the Books page.
More European crime fiction reviews can be found on the Reviews page.



last updated 17/08/2014 11:32