Saturday, March 13, 2021

The Brighter Buccaneer by Leslie Charteris (1933)

 

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About the author: Leslie Charteris (1907 – 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of his charming hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". Charteris spent 55 years – 1928 to 1983 – as either writer of or custodian of Simon Templar's literary adventures, one of the longest uninterrupted spans of a single author in the history of mystery fiction, equalling that of Agatha Christie (from Wikipedia). 

Major characters:
  • Simon Templar, The Saint
  • Peter Quentin
  • Patricia Holm
  • Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal

Synopsis:

The Brain Workers - Simon provides some karma to a woman who was swindled out of some stock.
The Export Trade - Simon pulls the old switcheroo with the help of a friend who makes jewelry imitations.
The Unblemished Bootlegger - A con man who specializes in getting mugs to invest in a liquor export scheme to the prohibition-era USA gets the Saint treatment.
The Owners' Handicap - Patricia Holm steps in to enact some justice on a crooked racing horse owner.
The Tough Egg - Simon stages a gambling grab which also serves to annoy Claud Eustace.
The Bad Baron - Simon gets fooled by some stand-ins but gets a nice little compensation from a policewoman.
The Brass Buddha - Simon finds out what makes a souvenir Buddha so valuable.
The Perfect Crime - Simon puts up some suspicious Latvian bonds as collateral. He seems to have an endless supply of them. Is that a crime?
The Appalling Politician - An annoying politician has an important treaty stolen from his wall safe. Yet the room was guarded and watched the whole time. 
The Unpopular Landlord - A landlord who takes advantage of his tenants gets taken advantage of himself.
The New Swindle - A priceless piece of jewelry is sent through the mail. What can possibly go wrong?
The Five Thousand Pound Kiss - Simon is caught almost-red-handed with a precious jewel in his fist. How to get rid of it quickly?
The Green Goods Man - A swindler sets up the old switcheroo of a packet of real currency with a packet of pieces of newspaper. Simon doesn't fall for it.
The Blind Spot
The Unusual Ending

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