Other Paths to Glory

[sawyl]

Another Anthony Price novel in the form of Other Paths to Glory, which comes midway between The Labyrinth Makers and The Old Vengeful, and which introduces Paul Mitchell into the series.

When Paul Mitchell's research on the Hindenberg Line is interrupted by a couple of officials, David Audley and Jack Butler, after a quiet word with his mentor, Professor Charles Emerson, he thinks little off it. But when Emerson turns up murdered and an attempt is made on Mitchell's life, he finds himself press-ganged into Audley investigation. As the pair chase down Emerson's First World War contacts in search of clues, they stumble across one dead body after another.

What really make the novel standout is the skillful bend of the historical puzzle involve the different fronts of WWI with elements of a modern-day murder mystery, such that the solution to the former yields up the answer to the latter. Almost. I managed to work out the how of the answer well ahead of Audley and Mitchell, but the why still managed to take me by surprise.

The majority of the novel is narrated from Mitchell's point of view, but with Mitchell disguised as an army captain, the voice slowly shifts as he really starts to live his cover. Although Audley is seen from the outside, it is pretty clear that his character is midway between the pompous desk man of Labyrinth and the more laid back family man of Vengeful. It's also very clear that some of the other recurring characters, Butler and Roskill in particular, are extremely unhappy with him but their loyalties to him are just about holding.

I think that Other Paths to Glory might just be my favourite of my most recent Price reads. It's got a good strong plot, excellent characters, and has stood the test of time better than some of the others. But I'm not the only one to be impressed: Other Paths is the novel that won Price the Gold Dagger in 1974.