Complex plot and plethora of characters make this a challenging, but rewarding read. It is set in 1919 during the final stages of the Paris peace negotiations which lead to the Treaty of Versailles. The initial scenes take place in Orkney and Scapa Flow where the German fleet is blockaded and especially interested me as I've visited Orkney and seen one of the wrecks of the German fleet. Slightly irritating the author finishes this second of three stories on a knife-edge guaranteeing you'll want to find out what happens next! ( )

So, this is the sandwich book of the Wide World trilogy.

During the time period of the Paris peace talks after World War I, our hero struggles on to find the reason why his father was murdered. Lots of twists and turns, intrigue and derring-do. Quite an exciting ride I’m on, but sometimes I get confused with where the story is going and I feel like I’m hanging on by my fingernails, while other times I’m right in the action. I'd have dived right into book 3, but it's not available for sale in the US and my library does not have an available copy. Waiting impatiently.... ( )

Stadig fuld fart ud over stepperne i denne nr. 2 i serien. Fint plot og også rimelig troværdigt. God ferielæsning. ( )

The Corners of the Globe is the second book in Robert Goddard’s historical thriller trilogy. This book picks up immediately following The Ways of the World, and opens in the spring of 1919. The First World War has ended and members of the Paris Peace conference are deciding the fate of the Germans. James (Max) Maxted is now in the service of famous German spy, Fritz Lemmer. His mission is to recover a document hidden on one of the German battleships held captive by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow. While on board Max steals the document known as the “Grey File”. After reading it, Max changes plans and rushes back to London to inform his Special Branch contact of the dangers contained within the file.

This is an extremely complicated book with many characters. I highly recommend you read the first book of the trilogy prior to picking up this one. The historical detail is accurate and the writing is outstanding. I can't wait to read the final book of his mesmerizing trilogy, The Ends of the Earth. ( )

I don´t usually read this kind of book, but felt I needed some light reading and picked up this book from the library.

Previously long ago, I´d read some thrilling books by this author, but didn´t find this one particularly exciting. It was also Volume 2 in a series, so I should have read Volume 1 instead, but it wasn´t available.

The story is set at the end of the First World War. The action begins in the Orkney Islands, in the North of Scotland, where we meet the protagonist, Max, who is apparently some sort of Secret Service man or the like. He is after something termed the “grey file”, which apparently lists various members of Max´s organization who are double agents, or not to be trusted.

Max chases/is chased by other spies through Scotland, and eventually the action shifts to Paris. There are lots of characters, most of which were difficult for me to distinguish from each other, and one could never be certain whether they were “goodies” or “baddies”. i.e. on Max´s side or not. Max is attacked by others, and not averse to defending himself violently.

As mentioned, I didn´t find the book exciting, but still I kept turning the pages, and couldn´t really decide to give it up, so I must admit to it being readable.

There was an unexpected ending, and not really an ending, since we would have to read the next volume in the series to get that.

In my view the best feature of the book is Goddard´s impeccable writing. I won´t actually recommend the book – you will probably find several of the author´s other books much more thrilling. ( )