Perhaps more than any other book The Thirty-Nine Steps has set the pattern for the story of the chase for a wanted man. And, of the many writers who have attempted this kind of thing since Buchan, only a very few, like Graham Greene, have managed to sustain the tension in the same way. The story's extended chase scene inspired Alfred Hitchcock's movie of the same name.
The Thirty-Nine Steps, Buchan's best-known thriller, introduces his most enduring hero, Richard Hannay—who, despite claiming to be an "ordinary fellow," is caught up in a dangerous race against a plot to devastate the British war effort.
It begins calmly enough with a rather boring trip to London. Returning to his flat, Richard is shocked to find his neighbor dead on the floor with a knife in his back. Near the deceased is a small black notebook containing cryptic notes about the "thirty-nine steps" and a black stone. As the situation escalates, Hannay is mistaken for a secret agent by the police. Now he must run for his life across the Scottish highlands, thinking his way through narrow escapes while trying to decode the thirty-nine steps.
With wit and flair, this old-fashioned roller coaster ride offers soaring suspense with a comic touch.
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"The thirty nine steps has a remarkably unbelievable plot with a lot of deus ex machina. And yet the book is a classic because despite all the unbelievable elements it succeeds. Some critical readers may miss the brilliance of this novel due to their pedantic and uppish views. Such brilliance is that it successfully with few words creates a narrative that serves the purpose of any good novel. And that is to engage the reader with a story, no matter how unbelievable. Who cares how believable the story is so long as one is engaged in another world? That is what this tale does engages the reader and allows them entry into another world."
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Jonathan (4 out of 5 stars)