Courts of the Morning (Classic Thrillers)

I'm only giving this book four stars because Buchan and others have written better stuff. This novel, concerning the Richard Hannay menage (but in which he makes no more than a guest appearance) is more the tale of Sandy Arbuthnot, master of disguise, and newlyweds Archie and Janet Roylance. In a South American republic, revolution is afoot and Sandy is behind the scenes pulling strings and living in the danger. Archie and Janet stumble upon it by mistake, but then they join Sandy and co. Then Janet is kidnapped and Archie takes Geordie Hamilton into the heart of the toxic Poison Country in a desperate bid to rescue her. The story takes a little more time to get going, unlike Buchan's tauter, shorter books, but once it does, it's gripping.

Not many people read John Buchan's works, but they are without a doubt worth reading. This book is one of his best. He has taken character's from his Richard Hannay series, and in one smooth, skillful chapter he throws them into a different world. While his other books deal mostly with the spy games of WW1 era, in The Courts of the Morning three of his best characters (Sandy Arbuthnot, John S. Blenkiron, and Archie Roylance) are transported to a small South American country to try to bring down a man who is almost insanely bent on world conquest. To accomplish this process, they organize the cleanest revolutionary guerilla war ever concieved, and with a mixture of brilliant spy techniques and unexpected mercy they win a victory better than anything the recent war turned out...