Lunchtime read: The 39 Steps post I

There is a little dedication at the start, where John Buchan tells a friend that he had read through all of his dime novels so decided to write one himself and the tension in this thriller is introduced very quickly.

Highlights from chapter one

* Richard Hannay has returned to England after years of absence and is bored with London and as he walks back to his flat in central London he vows that unless something happens then he will leave and get on a boat for South Africa

* As he enters his flat a man from upstairs asks him to shelter him and explains that he has unconvered a conspiracy to set Germany against Russia and the only problem is that the Greek leader Karolides is honest and stopping the scheme so he will be assasinated when he comes to London on a visit in a month's time

* He leaves the man in his flat and when he returns the visitor Scudder tells him about the plan to kill Karolides in more detail and seems to be very nervous - sure enough the next evening as Hannay comes in the lights are off and his guest has been knifed through the heart

More lunchtime tomorrow...