Author John Buchan’s book, “The Thirty-Nine Steps,” is a spy thriller about London everyman Richard Hannay.

Hannay is forced to assist an American spy named Franklin Scudder who is working to prevent the murder of the Greek Premier from a group of anarchists. According to Scudder, the Premier’s death would destabilize Europe and lead to a German invasion of England.

But when Scudder is found stabbed to death in Hannay’s flat, the Londoner is accused of murder and forced to disguise himself and live the life of a fugitive.

While Hannay hides out from the authorities in Scotland, he begins to find out Scudder was not all that he claimed to be. And as Hannay pieces together the real story, he encounters the mysterious group the Black Stone and their connection with the “The Thirty-Nine Steps” and how this secret group is working to prevent Hannay from saving the Greek Premier and Europe.

The cultural impact of this book is still felt almost a century after it was published in 1915.

Not only did Buchan’s novel give readers the character Richard Hannay but it inspired four films, one directed by Alfred Hitchcock, as well as inspired four other sequels.

“The Thirty-Nine Steps” also inspired the “spy” genre that gave the literary world great writers like Jeffrey Archer, Ian Flemming, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, Clive Cussler and Brad Thor.

To download this thrilling story of espionage and murder, “The Thirty-Nine Steps”  by John Buchan, visit LibriVox.com.