According to the introduction, this was written before the war but published after in the wake of the success of The 39 Steps to give soldiers at the front something enjoyable but nice and short to read.
This book introduces Hannay’s second main hero, the barrister Edward Leithen. Leithen is stuffier and more isolated than Hannay; he admits to having only loved one girl, and lost her. Her husband’s missing, so Leithen goes looking for him – but the story lacks emotional power. Where it is strong is in terms of atmosphere (a Buchan speciality) – lots of spooky buildings and walking down streets. Leithen battles a super villain – who is a kind of fallen angel, someone with the potential to be a decent chap but he went evil - but relies more on his brains and less on his fists than Hannay. Not in the top rank Buchan, but interesting enough if you’ve read his other stuff.
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