Enter the Saint by Leslie Charteris, 1930

 

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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). 

Series characters:

• Simon Templar, The Saint
• Norman Kent, one of the Saint's "haloes"
• Roger Conway, one of the Saint's "haloes"
• Dicky Tremayne, one of the Saint's "haloes"
• Patricia Holm, Simon's girlfriend
• Chief Inspector Claude Eustace Teal

This title contains three novellas. Some reprints are rumored to only contain two.

The Man Who Was Clever

The Saint infiltrates a gambling den at "Danny's Club", run by owner Edgar Hayn and cocaine smuggler 'Snake' Ganning. He enlists the help of gambling-debt-laden Jerry Stannard and his girlfriend Gwen Chandler. The plan is to get a hold of $10,000 of ill-gotten gains and route them to charity, while getting Stannard back on the right path.

Mini-review: This is the standard Saint pattern: a repulsive crook, an innocent in need of help, a beautiful girl, and a plan to teach the crook a lesson. Lots of action and fisticuffs. 

 The Policeman With Wings

Roger Conway meets a girl, Betty Aldo, who has a strange story. Her uncle Sebastian built a house seven years ago; and suddenly some characters are insisting on buying the property. He had stubbornly refused, and one day he was seen getting into a car with a policeman; and neither were heard from again. Even stranger, no policeman is missing.

Mini-review: A clever setup with the bad guys suddenly interested in real estate. The Saint turns the tables on the fake policeman scam and has Roger Conway masquerade as one as well, but everybody gets tied up in a house full of dynamite with a slow-burning fuse. High adventure!

The Lawless Lady

Countess Anusia Marova has chartered a yacht to entertain some rich guests. However, her real name is Audrey Perowne, and she is the head of a group of crooks set on robbing the guests. The Saint is set on infiltrating her operation, as one of her crooks had murdered an innocent girl. Simon is too well known, and deputizes Dicky Tremayne to get aboard as one of the gang.

 

Mini-review: Dicky Tremaine handles most of the action, with The Saint popping in for a cameo at the end. Infiltration of the gang and the resulting love interest stretches believablity, but it's all in good fun and revenge is properly taken.

The Saint Intervenes by Leslie Charteris, 1940

 

Also published as 'Boodle'

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). 

Synopsis:

The Ingenious Colonel - The Saint meets up with a Colonel who has developed a con game to predict the winner of horse races. The Saint places his bets and manipulates the Colonel's system to his own benefit.

The Unfortunate Financier - A financier with the unfortuate name of Wallingford Titus Oates (see article) has a scheme to manipulate stock values. He is also a rabid stamp collector, and The Saint uses a rare stamp to lure him to his come-uppence.

The Newdick Helicopter - Oscar Newdick has supposedly invented an improved version of helicopter, and teases The Saint into investing in it. 

The Prince of Cherkessia - The Prince is in London supervising creation of a fabulous jeweled crown. Inspector Teal takes measures to ensure it is not stolen, but The Saint gets away with it anyway.

The Treasure of Turk's Lane - Turk's Lane is a quaint little London back street which time has passed by. Now a developer is buying up all the property to gentrify the street with moden businesses and apartments, and The Saint does not take that lightly.

The Sleepless Knight - Truck drivers are being pushed past their limits and causing accidents. The Saint teaches the owner of the trucking line, Sir Melvin Flager, what being a driver is really like.

* The Uncritical Publisher - Herbert Parstone is a "vanity printer" who prints small runs of books despite his wild promises of promoting their sale. The Saint traps him into printing something not quite legal.

* The Noble Sportsman - Maurice Vould has been receiving threatening letters. The Saint and Inspector Teal attend his house party, but he is murdered under their very noses.

The Damsel in Distress - Domenick Naccaro brings his unmarried daughter and her child to The Saint, and hires him to help persuade the baby's father to do the right thing and marry her. If The Saint can grab him, Domenick will do the persuading - with a bar of soap.

The Loving Brothers - Brothers Walter and Willie Kinsall never got along, and never tired of cheating each other. Now their father has died, but there are several versions of his will floating around. The Saint manages to purchase (!) the latest one.

The Tall Timber - The Saint encounters a Ponzi scheme: Sumner Journ gets people to invest in his African timber production. But it takes ten years for his trees to grow up and make a return on their investment.

The Art Photographer - Photographer Gilbert Tanfold sells "saucy" photos of Parisian ladies, while looking for blackmail victims. He traps The Saint into a compromising pose, but his blackmail scheme backfires.

The Man Who Liked Toys - Lewis Enstone is shot to death in a locked room. It appears to be suicide to Inspector Teal, but The Saint knows it is murder.

The Mixture as Before - Louie Fallon shows The Saint a contraption which supposedly can produce artificial diamonds. The Saint tries it himself, and to Fallon's surprise, it works!

* some editions omit the stories "The Uncritical Publisher" and "The Noble Sportsman"

The Saint in Pursuit by Leslie Charteris, 1970

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:

• "Hamilton", The Saint's anonymous government contact
• Colonel Wade, Lisbon embassy
• Major Robert Kinian, who died in 1945
• Vicky Kinian, his daughter
• Curt Jaeger, Nazi posing as a watch salesman
• Freda Oliveiros, stewardess
• Pedro, a killer for hire
• Mischa Ruspine, Russian MVD agent
• Boris Uzanov, Russian MVD agent
• Simon Templar, The Saint

Locale: Lisbon, Portugal and Geneva, Switzerland

Synopsis: The Saint, Simon Templar, gets a call from a US government contact, "Hamilton". He wants Simon to go to Portugal to follow Vicky Kinian, age 25, arriving from Iowa. Her father, Major Robert Kinian, had died in World War II, and to her suprise left a letter to be delivered to her on her 25th birthday.

The letter tells her to retrieve something valuable that he hid away in Lisbon. She meets and old school friend, Freda Oliveiros, on the flight and they room together in Lisbon. Vicky is the object of interest of several people, including pushy salesman Curt Jaeger. Simon arrives and tries to convince her to accept his help and protection. Vicky, being skeptical, rejects all offers of help and seeks the object by herself; taking her to a deserted cemetery in the middle of the night.

Review: This is a different Saint story that the ones from his prime, it is more a spy novel. There are no appearances by Patricia Holm, Hoppy Uniatz, or even the Hirondel.

The story is both written and set in 1970 when there are still plenty of WWII veterans around, and Vicky has just turned 25 (although at one point she is described as 21, a continuity error).  Simon is using airplanes and a rented Volkswagen beetle to get around, a definite step down from his famous Hirondel of the 1930's.

It starts off slowly with Vicky taking her first airplane trip and meeting stewardess friend Freda. As the two travel, it takes on a Nancy Drew-like adventure for a while.

We are not told too much of the origin of the valuable object (which I won't reveal here), but it is puzzling the Russians are after it - since they were allies in World War II, not enemies. 

The location of the hiding place of the valuable object is pretty clever and a good choice if you want to stash something securely for decades. Overall, an enjoyable spy thriller.

The Saint Steps In by Leslie Charteris, 1942

 

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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:

• Madeline Gray, who seeks out The Saint
• Calvin Gray, her inventor father
• Frank Imberline, WPB (War Production Board)
• Sylvester Angert, a funny little man
• Hobart Quennel, head of Quenco Chemical
• Andrea Quennel, his daughter; a.k.a. Diana Barry
• Walter Devan, personnel manager of Quenco Chemical
• Karl Morgen, a tough
• Simon Templar, The Saint
• Inspector John Fernack, of the police

Locale: Washington, New York, and Conneticut

Synopsis: World War II is in progress. Simon Templar is in Washington. A young Madeline Gray recognizes him and seeks his help. She is the daughter of chemist Calvin Gray, and is trying to interest the Washington bureaucrats in her father's invention: a synthetic rubber; which would be invaluable for the war effort.

She sets up an appointment with Frank Imberline of the War Production Board. Then she is warned off from seeing him. Simon visits to Imberline to find he was unaware of the appointment. Suddenly various actors start having an interest in Madeline: Walter Devan of Quenco Chemical, and Sylvester Angert, a funny little man who listens at her hotel room keyhole. Someone shoots through the window of Simon's hotel room.

Simon wants to check out Calvin's Gray's process. He and Madeline travel to her home in Connecticut, to find Calvin apparently missing. Madeline sees a man lurking in the lab, and recognizes him as Calvin's former employee, Karl Morgen. Simon challenges him. Morgen flees. Simon chases, and trips over the body of Sylvester Angert. 

Review: This, being one of the early Saint stories, is when he is in his early tough-guy persona, which may have played well in the movies, but is a bit too hard-boiled. (He even refers to the actor who plays him in the movies!) He tends to hit or shoot first, not the subtle Saint we like so much later on. Plus, this is set in the US which is not his best venue.

I really prefer those set in the UK when he has Patricia Holm at his side, and matches wits with Claude Eustace Teal. 

Other than that, we have the stock bad-guys-after-the-scientist plot, complete with the beautiful daughter in distress. Overall, quite predictable with a lot of World War II era paranoia stirred in. 

The Saint at Large by Leslie Charteris, 1942

 

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). 

This is a collection of 14 short stories, all reprinted from earlier 1930's collections. 

Mini-synopses:

The Export Trade - Simon's old friend is an expert at making copies of jewelry. Then a priceless necklace is stolen, and Simon is hired to take a small package to Paris. Light and predictable.

The Owner’s Handicap - Patricia Holm steps in to convince an ungodly race horse owner that it would be to his benefit to intentionally lose a race.

The Perfect Crime - The Saint gives an unscrupulous moneylender a taste of his own medicine, with what appears to be a swindle, but isn't.

The Unpopular Landlord - The Saint is on the trail of a devious landlord whom none of the real estate agents will touch. The Saint rents an apartment from him, then turns the tables on him.

The Five Thousand Pound Kiss - The Saint is after a valuable diamond necklace at a society party. Unfortunately, he has a pretty competitor who wants it, too. The Saint grabs it first - and gets caught.

The Unfortunate Financier - W. Titus Oates has perfected a stock scheme. The Saint devises a way to get Oates out of the picture at the critical time, and turn the scheme to his own advantage. 

 
The Prince of Cherkessia - The prince is in London to oversee the purchase of a priceless new crown, a tempting tidbit for The Saint. Scotland Yard provides a ring of extraordinary security around the prince and the crown, but Simon manages to penetrate it easily.

The Treasure of Turk’s Lane - A quaint row of cottages is being gobbled up by a real estate developer, and Simon figures out a way to mitigate the damage. 

The Uncritical Publisher - a publisher runs a vanity printing press (still common nowadays) in which desperate authors pay dearly to have their book published. Of course, Simon cannot resist and becomes an author himself.

The Man Who Liked Toys - A locked room murder mystery. Lewis Enstone is found murdered in his room, the gun in his hand. But who shoots a gun using their thumb on the trigger?

The Wicked Cousin - Jacqueline Laine had been caregiver to her elderly grandmother for years before she passed away. Jacqueline is peeved as the grandmother changed her will in favor of Jacqueline's cousin,  stiffing her with only $100 and some worthless old love letters. Simon finds a way to increase the value of the letters tremendously.

The Charitable Countess - A dilettante countess loves to do charity work. She and Simon hatch with a amusing idea: At a fundraising dinner, Simon will steal her $100k necklace for charity as the guests watch. This sells lots of tickets. But the necklace is safely in the bank vault while she wears an imitation. How can the Saint get it?

The Mug’s Game - A couple Simon encounters are in deep trouble - the husband has been gambling away their house fund. Simon also meets a salesman for a marked cards system. Simon figures the husband must be one of the marks. 

The Man Who Liked Ants - Simon encounters a mad scientist who is breeding ants to extraordinary size, capable of dominating mankind. While Simon ponders this, some of the ants escape from the lab.

Mini-reviews: 

The good:

The Perfect Crime and The Unpopular Landlord are The Saint at his best - when he is not out for his own gains, but is out to right wrongs inflicted upon the innocent. 

The Unfortunate Financier contains a hilarious episode when Titus Oates is misdirected to an insane asylum and tries to convince the administrators he is sane, in this Manning Coles style adventure. 

The Wicked Cousin has a clever plot by which Simon saves the heroine, and makes a fool of the wicked cousin. Perfect. 

The Mugs Game has a lot of tedious poker play-by-play (yawn), but the real sparkler is the sudden twist at the end which redeems the whole story if you stick with it. 

The so-so:

The Owner's Handicap is all about horse racing, and heavy on mathematical odds discussions. Not knowing anything of the topic, I was really unable to follow the plot other than Simon and Patricia convince an owner to throw a race. 

The Treasure of Turk’s Lane is different in a couple of aspects... Simon cannot save the cottages from being developed, and I found the ending ambiguous and could not really figure out what happened.

The Man who Liked Toys is a longer story, a bit predictable. Was is suicide, accident, or murder? It is left to the reader to decide.

The Man Who Liked Ants is really a science fiction story. No mystery to it, but puts the Saint in the position of making an ethical choice. 

The Saint vs. Scotland Yard by Leslie Charteris (1932)

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). 

This book consists of three novellas. The three should be read in sequence, as each refers to events in the previous.

The Inland Revenue

Simon Templar, The Saint, has a big income tax bill to pay (for income from his mystery book!). He is at a local club when blackmailer "The Scorpion" shakes down club owner Montgomery Bird. Simon intervenes and walks off with a blackmail payment as well the contents of the club's safe. This, of course, puts The Scorpion after Simon. Simon cooks up a deal with Chief Insepctor Claud Eustace Teal: If Simon delivers The Scorpion to Teal, Teal won't inquire where Simon came up with the money to pay the income tax. Simon makes use of an informer, Harold Garrot (Long Harry), to catch up with The Scorpion on a dark, deserted road. Simon's girlfriend, Patricia Holm, performs some gunplay to get the better of The Scorpion.

Mini-review: Two big surprises here. First, I never knew Simon wrote a murder mystery! Second, I never knew Patricia Holm to use a gun. Simon pens some outlandish poetry, which is a hoot in itself. 

 The Million Pound Day

Simon is returning from a trip in the early morning hours when he encounters a man running for his life, chased by a large Black man, Ngano. The man passes out, and Simon brings him to a hotel and arranges a doctor. Lacking his name, the Saint just refers to him as Beppo. When he awakes, he tells Simon he is the Duke of Fortezza, and president of the Bank of Italy. He had come to England to pick up the shipment of new Italian Lire notes. He had been adbucted by a criminal named Kuzela and forced to order an additional one million pounds worth from the printer, which would not make it back to Italy, but remain with Kuzela - genuine Lire notes, but "off the books". Simon finds Kuzela but winds up his captive, and fights hand-to-hand with Ngano.

Mini-review: A clever plot for the criminals to get an illicit haul of genuine notes, but marred by the unfortunate stereotyping of Ngano as a savage; emphasizing his race, size, and strength. He is even clothed in a loincloth for no apparent reason. Note the use of the n-word.

The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal

Frankie Hormer is a diamond smuggler working for Isadore Elberman, yet Frankie only lasts a page or two before being double-crossed and stabbed by Elberman's tough guy, Gunner Perrigo. Now Perrigo has the diamonds, and The Saint wants them in order to reach his financial goal prior to retirement. It appears Perrigo has them on his person, so the Saint takes him along until he can figure out where they are. The amusing climax occurs on the boat train as Perrigo attempts to flee to the continent, with Perrigo stashed in a prim lady's trunk.

Mini-review: This is the best of the three, although there are lingering racist remnants from the previous novella, as well as additional use of the n-word. The episode on the boat is quite funny and this alone makes it worth the read.

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The Saint Bids Diamonds by Leslie Charteris (1937)

 

DP Paperbacks and Antiquarian Books

This book was also published as Thieve's Picnic.

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:

• Joris Vanlinden, an elderly Dutch gem cutter
• Christine Vanlinden, his daughter
• Reuben Graner, flamboyant master criminal
• Art Palermo, Cecil Aliston, and Lauber; Graner's thugs
• Simon Templar, The Saint
• Hoppy Uniatz, Simon's companion

Locale: The Canary Islands

Synopsis: Simon Templar is in the Canary Islands, and happens across a group of thugs (Art Palermo, Cecil Aliston, and Lauber) engaged in beating up an old man. Simon beats up the thugs and takes the old man, Joris Vanlinden, and his attractive daughter, Christine Vanlinden, off to safety.

The thugs work for Reuben Graner, a flamboyant receiver of stolen gems. Graner had forced Vanlinden to cut gems under duress, and now distrusts him and wants him out of the way; hence the beat-up. An added complication: Vanlinden was the holder of the winning ticket in the Spanish national lottery, and during the dust-up in the road, the ticket was taken. Now Simon has something Graner wants (Vanlinden), and Graner has something Simon wants (the ticket).

Simon infiltrates the Graner estate posing as a gem cutter to replace Joris. He gains the trust of Graner, but faces a problem: he has no idea how to cut gems.

Review: The setup is similar to some other Saint novels: an innocent, fragile, older man with an alluring damsel-in-distress daughter; and thugs who want what they have. 

The most amusing episode is when Simon is brought to the workroom and is expected to begin cutting gems under the eye of Graner - but, of course, Simon has absolutely no idea what he is doing and has to fake his way along. 

The tedious part is the long series of chase arounds in which Simon plays Graner and the three henchmen against each other, in every possible combination. There is also the requisite scene of tying up the damsel, an obligatory part of all Saint stories.

Hoppy Uniatz makes regular appearances, drinks a lot, but does not contribute much more. Simon manages to hustle to Vanlindens off to safety at the end, with an interesting bit of play-acting over a hidden microphone to fool the chasers.

No Patricia Holm this time around.

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The Saint on Guard by Leslie Charteris (1943/1944)

 

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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). 

This book comprises two novellas: The Black Market and The Sizzling Saboteur.

The Black Market

The Saint is in New York City and learns from Inspector John Henry Fernack about a black market in precious Iridium, urgently needed for the war effort. He meets two industrial manufacturers who have been forced to buy it on the black market: Milton Ourley and Gabriel Linnet. Ourley's wife, Titania Ourley, takes a liking to the Saint. Urbane Allen Uttershaw is the head of the mining company which produces the Iridium. The Saint drops in to Linnet's home to find him dead, and a beautiful decoy, Barbara Sinclair, trying to set him to take the fall.

The Sizzling Saboteur

The Saint is driving across Texas and encounters a burned body in the road. Simon stops to assist, and the victim's (Henry Stephens Matson) last words appear to name his killer(s). He consults with the police, who are adamant it was a suicide. Simon doesn't believe it, and tracks down his girlfriend, Olga Ivanovitch. Through her, he gets a lead on the three named by Matson: Johan Blatt and Fritzie Weinbach. The third killer, Siegfried Maris, is more elusive. Simon finds that Matson was working in war production plants, and was a saboteur. He had failed to complete a sabotage mission for the Axis, and was murdered in revenge. The killers catch up to Simon and Olga, who wind up captives. 

Review: 

These two novellas are set in World War II-era USA. Both deal with bad guys messing with the war effort for personal gain or military advantage. 

The Black Market has several clever story lines, especially the use of decoy Barbara Sinclair to distract The Saint. The Sizzling Saboteur was not as engaging, and the whole setup of the killing seemed false - I would think agents out for a revenge killing would do something a bit more 'professional'. Simon's informer, Po't Arthur, is an enjoyable character.

Women are not too well represented in these stories, just one in each, both cast as elegant bad girls; although Olga turns out be on our side (the names are a tipoff - Olga is clearly Russian - therefore an ally. Johan, Weinbach, and Siegfried clearly German - thus the enemy). 

The stories do give a feel for the high wartime feelings present on the home front USA, when war production was the #1 priority. 

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The White Rider by Leslie Charteris (1928)

 The White Rider is the second of two novels which preceded the Saint series (The first being X Esquire). I was fortunate in finding both titles on eBay.

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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:

• Seldon, now deceased, accumulated a fortune in drug money
• Marion Fenton, Seldon's step-daughter
• Arnold Bracebridge, lecherous receiver of stolen goods
• Bill Kennedy, police detective
• James Haddon, New York City police
• Simon "Peter" Lestrange, a Saint-like adventurer
• Rev. Theophilus Gregory

Locale: England

Synopsis: Marion Fenton's stepfather, Seldon, accumulated a fortune (1 million pounds) in illicit drug money in New York. He has passed on, and the money was never found. Marion claims to have stashed it somewhere, but will not touch it on principle. She worked as secretary to Arnold Bracebridge, but quit after his repeated advances to her. She lives at Sancreed Manor, and there is a mysterious horseman, called The White Rider, who rides about at night in the vicinity.

Bill Kennedy is sent by Scotland Yard to investigate, and attempt to locate the money. He is accompanied by James Haddon of the New York City police.

Soon after their arrival, Bracebridge is found murdered in an abandoned cottage in the woods, and The White Rider had been seen nearby. Where is the 1 million pounds, and who is the White Rider?

Review:

Definitely this is a "first draft" of the Saint series, with our adventurer-on-the-edge-of-the-law Simon (hmm, even the same name) Lestrange. All the elements are present: fast cars of fictional makes, wild chases, a beautiful damsel in distress, booty to be had by bopping the ungodly.

A bit hard to follow who is speaking at times, with many references to a "Steven" who is never quite identified - he seems to be only a figure of speech.

A bit rough and repetitive in places, but quite a fun read knowing it was one of the two predecessor novels of the Saint series. Just remember this was 1928 when standards were a little different.

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Call for the Saint by Leslie Charteris (1948)

 

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). 

This title consists of two stories, The King of the Beggars and The Masked Angel.

---

The King of the Beggars

Major characters:

Monica Varing, actress

Junior, a thug

Fingers Shultz, a thug

Sammy de Leg, old pal of Hoppy's

Frankie Weiss, the in-between

The King of the Beggars

Mrs. Laura Wingate, a society dame

Stephen Elliott, philanthropist

Detective Lieutenant Alvin Kearney

Simon Templar

Hoppy Uniatz

Locale: Chicago

Synopsis: The Saint stumbles upon a protection racket being worked in Chicago. The King of the Beggars extorts protection money from street beggars. The Saint and actress Monica Varing team up, in disguise, to infiltrate the organization and unmask the King. No middle class here, we alternate between the alleys and high society parties. Good account of the dirty Chicago of the 1930's.

---

The Masked Angel

Major characters:

Dr. Spangler

Torpedo Smith, a prizefighter

Barrelhouse Bilinski, a.k.a The Masked Angel, a prizefighter

Michael Grady, manager of the Manhattan Arena

Connie Grady, his daughter

Steve Nelson, Connie's finace

Whitey Mullins, old pal of Hoppy Uniatz, works at the Arena

Karl, a thug

Simon Templar

Hoppy Uniatz

Inspector John Henry Fernack

Locale: New York City

Synopsis: The Saint attends a fight in which The Masked Angel knocks out Torpedo Smith, for good - he is dead, but the actual cause is not known. The Angel wins every fight, even those he was not favored. The Saint is suspicious that Dr. Spangler has done something to give the Angel an unfair advantage. The Saint takes away the Angel's gloves for examination. The Masked Angel is to fight Steve Nelson next for the championship, but Steve meets his end, and The Saint substitutes for him in the ring.

Review: Unlike many adventures based on sports, even those who do not follow prizefighting can follow the action in this account. The Saint is in good form as he chases down the mystery of what happened to Torpedo Smith. Much attention is given to following the trail of a handgun - which had not been used, so why bother? And we always look forward to Patricia Holm, but she makes only a cameo appearance.

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The Saint Goes On by Leslie Charteris (1934)

 

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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). 

This book consists of three novellas.

The High Fence - Chief Inspector Teal has a new protege: recent graduate and know-it-all Junior Inspector Desmond Pryke - whose academic experience (only) about police methods annoys both Teal and Simon Templar. Jewel thief Johnny Anworth sends off a jewel grab to a fence only known as the “High Fence”, and is promptly picked up. He is poisoned while in his holding cell and dies. Teal next finds thief Sunny Jim Fasson, and while apprehending him, Fasson is shot before Teal’s eyes. When Teal returns from trying to chase the killer, Fasson’s body is gone - with Simon Templar sitting in the spot. Teal and The Saint team up to identify and bring the High Fence to justice. Patricia Holm has a cameo appearance.

The Elusive Ellshaw - Florence Ellshaw appeals to The Saint to help bring her husband home. He ran off a year ago, and she has recently found where he is staying. The Saint looks him up, and Florence is found dead in the Thames, and a bomb placed in Simon’s apartment. Inspector Teal is interested - an identical bomb was found in the home of Lord Ripwell. Teal and Simon take a look around and find Ellshaw on the grounds; but no connection between Ellshaw and Ripwell is evident. 

The Frightened Innkeeper - Simon receives a letter from innkeeper’s niece Julia Trafford, appealing for help as her uncle is acting strangely and there seem to be intruders about their inn. Simon and Hoppy Uniatz check in to the inn to observe and figure out what the bad guys are up to.

Review: The novella length fits The Saint well, and fits a bedtime reading schedule well also. In High Fence and Elusive Ellshaw, Simon and Teal team up to good effect. Patricia Holm has a brief appearance in High Fence.  Hoppy Uniatz is at his best in Frightened Innkeeper, which takes a surprise turn - all evidence pointed to a seaside smuggling ring, but that is not what occurs. 

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The Last Hero by Leslie Charteris (1930)

 

dustjackets.com

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
• Patricia Holm, his girlfriend
• Roger Conway
• Norman Kent
• Hoppy Uniatz
• Professor K. B. Vargan, inventor of the death ray
• Dr. Rayt Marius, evil master criminal
• Golter, an anarchist

Locale: England

Synopsis: Simon Templar and Patricia Holm are out driving one night, and their attention is drawn to flashes of light from an isolated house. They investigate to find Professor K. B. Vargan demonstrating his new invention,  a death ray, to some government officials. Simon is concerned that once the military has it, war is inevitable; so plans to destroy it. Meanwhile evil Dr. Rayt Marius has decided to grab it for his own purposes. The action quickly comes to a standoff: The Saint is holding Professor Vargan, and Rayt Marius is holding Patricia Holm; and neither one will back down.

Review: An early Charteris thriller, with an edgier, more violent Saint than in later writings. Many of the Saint quotations come from this book. I enjoyed when Charteris waxes poetical about Patricia Holm, and also the Hirondel!  A good insight into the mood of Britain in the runup to World War II.

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