This is the fourth of the five Richard Hannay novels and in it all of Buchan's strengths and weaknesses are on show. His use of motifs are most definitely his strengths and in this one, as in Greenmantle it is a riddle or 'key' which contains the clue to the kidnap plot. The villain is one of Buchan's most memorable ones - Medina as you as the reader are both attracted by him and repulsed by him in equal measure. Hannay's success in unmasking and thwarting the villain comes to its denouement on a craggy outcrop in Scotland in which fear and terror is centre stage.
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Thriller and Suspense Espionage and spy thriller Classic fiction: general and literary War, combat and military adventure fiction Action Adventure |