While the plot is a bit repetative (a big chunk of the book is the main character on the run, but with a new unlikely helper in each chapter), the language of the book makes up for it. Because of later parodies, it's hard to take this kind of "jolly" British seriously today, but it makes the book a delight to read. I did not even know that Hitchcock had made a film adaptation of this book, but it makes sense as this is the kind of "man on the run"-thriller he was famous for. And despite being an early example of one, it's often quite thrilling (obviously due to it being published in a serialized form).