THE THIRTY NINE STEPS, John Buchan, Narrated by Jeffrey George

John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps: Before James Bond, before Jason Bourne—there was Richard Hannay. Disillusioned and restless in London, Hannay thinks life has nothing more to offer him—until a desperate stranger bursts into his flat with a story of international conspiracy, political assassination, and a plot to hurl Europe into war. Hours later, the stranger lies dead, a knife in his heart, and Hannay is suddenly both the sole guardian of a terrible secret and the prime suspect in a murder he didn’t commit. With the police hunting him on one side and a shadowy network of spies on the other, Hannay flees across the wild Scottish moors, pursued by enemies who will stop at nothing. Every turn of the road, every face in the crowd may conceal a traitor. His only hope: to stay alive long enough to unravel the riddle of the “thirty-nine steps” before June 15th—when the fate of nations will be decided. A masterclass in fast-paced espionage, The Thirty-Nine Steps is the novel that launched the modern spy thriller—adapted by Alfred Hitchcock, and still a gripping ride into danger, disguise, and desperate intrigue.