The novel went out of print for many years and slipped into obscurity, until – in the 1990s – there was a resurgence in the popularity of the film, which in turn generated fresh interest in the book.

In 2016, the playwright Torben Betts adapted the novel for a critically acclaimed production by Newcastle's Northern Stage.

Jack's presence in the town causes unease among the local crime families, who fear that his snooping will interfere with their underworld operations.

Everything from simple suggestion to brute force is employed to try to get him to leave, but he doggedly refuses, bullying his way through numerous attempts on his life to arrive at the truth, leading to a violent and ambiguous conclusion which takes place in a derelict brickworks on the shoreline of the Humber.

The character of Jack Carter, though not fully named for copyright reasons, plays a key role in the Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill graphic novel League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969.