The Power-House (The Leithen Stories Book 1)

Find all my book reviews, plus fascinating author interviews, exclusive guest posts and book extracts, on my blog: https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/Our narrator is Sir Edward Leithen, in his first appearance in a Buchan adventure. A barrister and Member of Parliament, he describes himself as ‘a placid, sedentary soul’. In fact, his friend Tommy Deloraine observes acutely, ‘Life goes roaring by and you only hear the echo in your stuffy rooms.’ This all changes when, by a series of seemingl

Reading this book from John Buchan I thought to myself when a book evokes such a strong sense of deja-ious am I reading just a new version of an old story or in fact I am reading one of those rare books which sets the ground work for a more famous descendent. Let me explain - I have been fan of 39 steps and particular the character of Richard Hannay (as well as his subsequent adventures) and reading this the first instalment in the Sir Edward Leithen series (honestly I didnt realise it at the ti

2023 reread: 3½*I am changing from 4 to 3 stars (rounding down instead of up). I enjoyed it but it really wasn't as good as some of Buchan's other books.2018 review:Perhaps only 3½* for this fairly short adventure novel about a man who discovers a secret anarchist society in pre-WW1 London.