The 39 Steps

Enter Richard Hannay and the beginning of 'the chase' adventure
Adventurer Richard Hannay, just returned from South Africa, is thoroughly bored with London life - until he is accosted by a mysterious American, who warns him of an assassination plot that could completely destabilize the fragile political balance of Europe. Initially sceptical, Hannay nonetheless harbours the man - but one day returns home to find him murdered. An obvious suspect, Hannay flees to his native Scotland, pursued by both the police and a cunning, ruthless enemy - the 'on the run' trope that was to influence countless others. His life and the security of Britain are in grave peril, and everything rests on the solution to a baffling enigma: what are the 'thirty-nine steps'?
A classic, the book featured on Guardian's Best 100 English Novels list at #42.

John Buchan
, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, GCMG, GCVO, CH, PC (26 August 1875 - 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician. Buchan served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
Buchan embarked upon his writing career at the same moment as his political and diplomatic careers, serving as a private secretary to the colonial administrator of various colonies in southern Africa. When elected Member of Parliament in 1927 for the Combined Scottish Universities, Buchan instead spent the majority of his time writing - in this period, he produced his breakout book The Thirty-Nine Steps , and other adventure fiction.
Buchan's 100 works include nearly 30 novels, seven collections of short stories, and biographies.