The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

This is my second book of this year's challenge and my first 'Classic' of the year.

I say classic but this book left me feeling slightly deflated. Maybe I am not the best person to judge this book as the thriller genre has failed to set me on fire.
Maybe a thriller fan would appreciate it more.

Richard Hannay returns home from the Boer war to find a strange man standing by his door, a man with a startling revelation. He invites him in to sleep for the night and the next day his new friend is dead.

Hannay finds himself on the run from the local police and a mysterious gang of criminals. Who is this mysterious gang and what has it got to do with the outbreak of the first world war ?

I found the whole plot dull as dishwater, from the beginning, right through to the disappointing end. I must say that I found the so called chase through the Scottish moors pretty lame and it wasn't much of a chase when half the local population is inviting you in for bed and breakfast !

If I had to say something positive about this book it would be that it was short.

I can't believe the amount of good reviews this book has, but maybe ( just maybe) it's not my cup of tea. I have never seen any of the film adaptations but I presume they tinkered around with the story. I also found much of the plot to be quite unrealistic and unbelievable.

1/5