Man with Three Fingers (by Malcolm Saville)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s been a nostalgic and enjoyable experience re-reading my collection of ‘Lone Pine’ books by Malcolm Saville, a series which I first read as a teenager. I’m particularly liking this read-through, partly because I’m taking it slowly - no more than one a month - rather than immersing myself in the books one after another as I used to. But another benefit is that I have managed to replace my Armada paperbacks, which were falling to pieces, with ‘Girls Gone By’ editions.

I had not realised until a few years ago that the Armada versions of these books were quite significantly abridged; I certainly appreciated being able to buy them inexpensively in my teens, and the stories as such were unchanged. But I’m loving the added richness of characterisation and scene-setting that is apparent in these books, which use the original text. They have interesting introductions too, albeit with spoilers for the stories, and information about the publishing history, the author, and the background.

I’ve just finished ‘Man with Three Fingers’, sixteenth in the series, and one which I recalled thinking was highly romantic when I was about fifteen. The older Lone Piners have grown up after some years of remaining the same age, and they have also moved in time to the 1960s, which is when this book was first introduced. So there are quite a few references to pop music, for instance, and the towns are busier with more traffic than in the earlier books, set in the 1940s.

David and Peter (Petronella) are an established couple by now, but this isn’t their story; it’s mainly about Jenny, the hot-tempered redhead daughter of a postmaster, and Tom, the nephew of a farmer who sometimes feels a bit too old for Lone Pine camps and adventures. In this story, Tom has been feeling frustrated with farming and has befriended a young man called Ned who is a lorry driver. Ned isn’t a bad person; he’s a couple of years older than Tom and is a good driver, but he’s quite easily led, and likes to show off a bit. He invites Tom to share a journey with him, something he’s not supposed to do, and that’s when this adventure begins…

It’s quite an exciting story, full of dangers which I’m sure I didn’t understand when I was a teenager, but realise now could have been extremely unpleasant. Naturally everything gets resolved satisfactorily (other than for those committing crimes) at the end, but in this book the adventure is almost secondary to Tom’s gradual awareness of Jenny’s devotion, and her willingness to go to any lengths to be with him. Her depth of feeling is poignant, but she looks young for her age and sometimes struggles to be heard by those in authority.

There’s another subplot too, one which sits alongside the dangerous adventure and the low-key romantic threads: that of a young widow who is hoping for treasure. She’s almost brushed aside more than once, as the Lone Piners have other things to think about; the inevitable discovery makes a nice conclusion, but it doesn’t entirely feel as if it belongs to the rest of the story. Not that it mattered at the time, but after finishing I did briefly wonder why this treasure-hunt was included.

I last read ‘Man with Three Fingers’ in 2010, but remembered many of the important parts of the story; it didn’t matter at all that I recalled the outcome and many of the details. Some significant issues arise, including the importance of truth and loyalty. I loved the extra conversations and narrative which made it feel like a much better-rounded story than I had remembered.

All the Lone Pine books stand alone, but it’s so much better (in my view) to have read the earlier books in the series, to see the character development and the natural way that the older Lone Piners started to pair off in romantic relationships.

Definitely recommended if you like a lightweight teenage adventure story, but the old-fashioned atmosphere of the 1960s means it will probably mostly be read by people like me who recall it fondly from our teenage years. I hope a new generation of teens will discover and relish these books, but suspect there are not so many young folk that will appreciate them.

Unfortunately the GGBP editions of these books go quickly out of print, and are hard to find; I was delighted to discover the ones I bought on a Facebook sales group. The Armada edition can sometimes be found in charity shops, and despite the abridged text, it's still a good story.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews