Review: The 39 Steps by John Buchan

I believe everything out of the common. The only thing to distrust is the normal.

One day last week I found myself with a few hours to kill whilst sitting in front of the computer. And upon noticing that I was scrolling through my facebook news feed for the ninth time in the space of twenty minutes I decided to go on the hunt for another distraction. After a stop at ebay, amazon, goodreads, pinterest, and yes another quick scroll through facebook, I landed on Google Books and thought I'd have a look at what was available to read in full. Though I was understandably tempted by The History of Silk I eventually settled on John Buchan's The 39 Steps as, being in the region of 110 pages or so, I thought I could probably get through it in the time I had available. And so I did!

Having spent thirty years of his life in South Africa, Richard Hannay is finding England comparatively dull. That is, until an American stranger comes knocking on his door in fear for his life. Franklin Scudder has come to know of a plot to assassinate a leading Greek politician - knowledge that has put his own life at risk - and has therefore had to fake his own death. Hannay agrees to let Scudder hide in his flat, but a few days later, Hannay returns home to find his companion dead with a knife through his chest. Hannay realises he needs to escape fast, for not only will he surely be the police's main suspect for the murder, but his life is now also in danger from the spies who killed Scudder. And so our hero heads to Scotland where the real adventure takes place. The story that follows sees Hannay evade capture through quick-thinking, physical strength, and a series of cunning disguises! But can he also stop the assassination and prevent Europe from plunging into war?

I thought this was a great fast-paced thriller, packed full of action, suspense and mystery. Time and time again I'd wonder 'how's he going to get out of this one?!' with my stomach leaping and my heart in my mouth. There were possibly a few instances in which our hero managed to find his way out of a sticky situation a little too easily, but not to the extent that they made the plot unbelievable. The one part of the story which I did find slightly implausible was the ending, which was a great shame as I felt it let down what had otherwise been a 5-star read. Overall, however, I thought this book was great fun and shall certainly be rejoining Richard Hannay for the next of his adventures in the Richard Hannay series!

RATING: ★★★★☆

Lou x