What do you think?
Rate this book
The Saint #15
The Saint in New York
In Prohibition-era New York, criminals rule the city: the gangsters do what they like, and pay the judges for the privilege; the few honest cops are helpless; and above them all the Big Fellow pulls the strings. With that many sinners, cleaning up the town will take a Saint...
Simon Templar is a long way from home, and facing great danger from directions both expected and entirely unforeseen. But he promised to do the job; and a saint never goes back on his word.
Simon Templar is a long way from home, and facing great danger from directions both expected and entirely unforeseen. But he promised to do the job; and a saint never goes back on his word.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1934
76 people are currently reading
998 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Charteris
585 books161 followersBorn Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, Leslie Charteris was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
September 23, 2024
I've read this book quite a few times over the years and & it was as enjoyable as ever, especially as I read some of it while on holiday in New York City.
Charteris wrote this way back in the 1930s, but it's as fresh & exhilarating as anything written today. The Saint takes on numerous gangsters in New York City & dispatches them with a smooth mixture of gunplay & humour. What lifts this Saint story above many others is that amidst the action & excitement lies a real emotional depth.
If you're a fan of The Saint then this is a must read, & any new readers who enjoy the book will delight at the final uplifting message that has appeared in the stories of Leslie Charteris for many years....
WATCH FOR THE SIGN OF THE SAINT. HE WILL BE BACK!
Charteris wrote this way back in the 1930s, but it's as fresh & exhilarating as anything written today. The Saint takes on numerous gangsters in New York City & dispatches them with a smooth mixture of gunplay & humour. What lifts this Saint story above many others is that amidst the action & excitement lies a real emotional depth.
If you're a fan of The Saint then this is a must read, & any new readers who enjoy the book will delight at the final uplifting message that has appeared in the stories of Leslie Charteris for many years....
WATCH FOR THE SIGN OF THE SAINT. HE WILL BE BACK!
November 2, 2024
“Even now, half a century later, when I should be old enough to know better, I still cling to that belief. That there will always be a public for the old-style hero, who had a clear idea of justice, and a more than technical approach to love, and the ability to have some fun with his crusades.”
Probably more of a 4 star read but I'm bumping up to 5 stars for exceeded expectations.
Simon Templar, known on the streets as The Saint, comes to New York at the request of a grieving millionaire to rid the city of its corrupt crime bosses. His justice is swift and met at the end of a gun.
I really enjoyed this book. The Saint is James Bond meets Sam Spade. Apparently there was a whole cultural phenomenon around the character, one that seems basically lost to history at this point. (At least, no one my age seems to know much about it.) But I can see the appeal. The Saint might be enigmatic and cool under pressure, but he has emotions. He fully accepts that guts and luck get him out of many of his scrapes. Yet it doesn't feel like deus ex machina. It is part of his brand of dark daring-do.
This story is incredibly accessible. Though written in the 1930s, it engages the reader on multiple levels and by the climax I was truly baffled as to how he would escape the latest trap. I love how characters from the beginning play important roles at the end. No one feels wasted.
I'm looking forward to reading more adventures of The Saint...and finding the 1938 movie.
Probably more of a 4 star read but I'm bumping up to 5 stars for exceeded expectations.
Simon Templar, known on the streets as The Saint, comes to New York at the request of a grieving millionaire to rid the city of its corrupt crime bosses. His justice is swift and met at the end of a gun.
I really enjoyed this book. The Saint is James Bond meets Sam Spade. Apparently there was a whole cultural phenomenon around the character, one that seems basically lost to history at this point. (At least, no one my age seems to know much about it.) But I can see the appeal. The Saint might be enigmatic and cool under pressure, but he has emotions. He fully accepts that guts and luck get him out of many of his scrapes. Yet it doesn't feel like deus ex machina. It is part of his brand of dark daring-do.
This story is incredibly accessible. Though written in the 1930s, it engages the reader on multiple levels and by the climax I was truly baffled as to how he would escape the latest trap. I love how characters from the beginning play important roles at the end. No one feels wasted.
I'm looking forward to reading more adventures of The Saint...and finding the 1938 movie.
February 5, 2019
Warning: this review is completely self-indulgent.
Maybe it was the sheer juxtaposition of watching "Best of the 80s" on VH-1 (ch. 66), then switching to a b-movie mini-festival on TCM (ch. 67), but I got the impression that some of Simon Templar's quips, in 1938, had an 80s cynicism which warmed my Gen-X heart.
This is not the first Saint novel, but it was a 'breakout' hit, and the basis for the first Saint movie.
(There are details about this in the short biography at the end of the book. Apparently the book was already optioned in 1935, but it took a few years to pass the Hays Code.)
I don't remember exactly what line struck me as "80s cool," but here is a sample of Simon Templar's sang froid:
This book was enjoyable, but it was long. It was one of the first books I got on Kindle Unlimited, but before I finished it, I had read one Brett Halliday, two Michael Avalones, one Ray Garton, a collection of essays by Mary McCarthy, and about a hundred graphic novels.
Seeing the movie didn't really spoil the plot. In fact, I'd like to re-watch it, whenever it's on TCM again.
Maybe it was the sheer juxtaposition of watching "Best of the 80s" on VH-1 (ch. 66), then switching to a b-movie mini-festival on TCM (ch. 67), but I got the impression that some of Simon Templar's quips, in 1938, had an 80s cynicism which warmed my Gen-X heart.
This is not the first Saint novel, but it was a 'breakout' hit, and the basis for the first Saint movie.
(There are details about this in the short biography at the end of the book. Apparently the book was already optioned in 1935, but it took a few years to pass the Hays Code.)
I don't remember exactly what line struck me as "80s cool," but here is a sample of Simon Templar's sang froid:
The larger man bulked ponderously round the intervening table and advanced towards him. With the business-like Colt jabbing into the Saint’s middle, he made a quick and efficient search of Simon’s pockets, and found the gun which had belonged to the late lamented Joe. He tossed it back to his companion and put his own weapon away.
“Now, you,” he rasped, “what’s your name?”
“They call me Daffodil,” said the Saint exquisitely. “And what’s yours?”
The big man’s eyebrows drew together, and his eyes hardened malevolently.
“Listen, sucker,” he snarled, “you know who we are.”
“I don’t,” said the Saint calmly. “We haven’t been introduced. I tried a guess, but apparently I was wrong. You might like to tell me.”
“My name’s Kestry,” said the big man grudgingly, “and that’s Detective Bonacci. We’re from headquarters. Satisfied?”
Simon nodded.
This book was enjoyable, but it was long. It was one of the first books I got on Kindle Unlimited, but before I finished it, I had read one Brett Halliday, two Michael Avalones, one Ray Garton, a collection of essays by Mary McCarthy, and about a hundred graphic novels.
Seeing the movie didn't really spoil the plot. In fact, I'd like to re-watch it, whenever it's on TCM again.
April 3, 2018
Απλοικό γράψιμο ή κακή μετάφραση. Σε κάθε περίπτωση διαβάζεται πολύ ευχάριστα, η ιστορία είναι αφελής, ο ήρωας, ο Άγιος, είναι το ανίκητο παλικάρι που καταφέρνει τα πάντα, υπάρχει ο από μηχανής Θεός της ερωτευμένης γυναίκας που θα τον σώσει την κατάλληλη στιγμή, υπάρχει ο μεγάλος κακός που είναι προφανής εξ αρχἤς ή σχεδόν εξ αρχής. Παρόλα αυτά, έχει μια αθωότητα, την αθωότητα της εποχής που γράφτηκε, όταν η Αμερική και όλος ο κόσμος ήταν πολύ πιο απλός, χωρίς κινητά τηλέφωνα, χωρίς ίντερνετ. Εδώ μιλάνε μόνο τα πιστόλια! Και ο άκρατος ηρωισμός.
December 10, 2018
My first "The Saint" book. I loved watching series "The Saint" staring Roger Moore in my childhood. It aired on PTV.
September 26, 2016
Originally published on my blog here in July 2000.
This novel, the first Saint story to be conceived as a novel rather than expanded to that length from work which had already appeared in magazines, established Leslie Charteris as an international bestseller. This is a new Saint, rather more in the line of an American thriller character than he was originally, though still maintaining a trademark line of banter perplexing to his opponents.
The three days covered in the novel's plot do require a particularly tough Simon Templar, as he takes on New York's organised crime single handed. Aiming for "The Big Fellow" who has recently taken over, he is twice 'taken for a ride', kills several hoodlums, baits corrupt politicians, and is enchanted by the mysterious Fay Edwards, mouthpiece of the Big Fellow.
Aside from the excitement of the plot itself, the novel is remarkable for containing one of the earliest direct attacks on Nazism by a popular writer, among the familiar diatribes against corrupt politicians which give his work something of a radical tinge.
This novel, the first Saint story to be conceived as a novel rather than expanded to that length from work which had already appeared in magazines, established Leslie Charteris as an international bestseller. This is a new Saint, rather more in the line of an American thriller character than he was originally, though still maintaining a trademark line of banter perplexing to his opponents.
The three days covered in the novel's plot do require a particularly tough Simon Templar, as he takes on New York's organised crime single handed. Aiming for "The Big Fellow" who has recently taken over, he is twice 'taken for a ride', kills several hoodlums, baits corrupt politicians, and is enchanted by the mysterious Fay Edwards, mouthpiece of the Big Fellow.
Aside from the excitement of the plot itself, the novel is remarkable for containing one of the earliest direct attacks on Nazism by a popular writer, among the familiar diatribes against corrupt politicians which give his work something of a radical tinge.
January 31, 2016
This is Charteris' masterpiece. The Saint emerges in full while retaining the devil-may-care reckless charm that is his signature as surely as his stick figure drawing.
June 25, 2016
The Saint was the most popular character in British thrillers before James Bond. Like Fleming's protagonist, he enjoys the good things in life while showing his dark side. And, like Bond, The Saint has been portrayed on film, radio and television by a gaggle of actors including: George Sanders, Vincent Price, Roger Moore and Val Kilmer. Unlike Bond, The Saint (Simon Templar)has no "license to kill," but he does so while following his own "code."
Charteris, who began writing about him in the 1920's, does not equivocate about Templar being a criminal. Most of the stories are about him righting wrongs perpetrated by other criminals while taking his cut of any money, jewels, etc. that he discovers along the way. Part of Templar's character is his word. Once he gives it, he is on an unalterable path to finishing his commitment. But, he does so with panache. Here is how another character sees him: "No man whom he had ever known could have been so elegantly at ease and at the same time so alert and dangerous. No other man he had know could ever have measured up in his judgment to the stature of devil-may-care confidence that he had demanded in his own mind and set out to find---and Valcross called himself a judge of men." And later, Charteris describes his approach as follows: "He went forth, as he had done so often in the past, with nothing but a sublime faith that the gods of all good buccaneers would provide. And there was the loaded automatic in his pocket, and the ivory-hilted throwing-knife strapped to his hand in cast the gods should overdo their generosity..."
I was not a fan of The Saint, and this is the first of Charteris' books that I have read. I only knew this character from his other media iterations. And, having read this book, those portrayals were all merely caricatures. This Saint was more interesting and the venue, New York City in the early 1930's, equally so. This was a place where skyscrapers were still a new thing, Prohibition had just concluded, the City was spiraling into economic chaos and, crime and corruption ran rampant. We see this all through the eyes of a foreigner, and that makes it all the more interesting. These are dark times and the story is gritty, as Templar, seeks out those who kidnapped and killed a boy.
There is a slight, belated, introduction to romance. And, a few opportunities for The Saint to show his sardonic wit, but most of the book is devoted to his progress in peeling back the layers of corruption in order to find his targets. The process seems to be Charteris' thing as Templar searches for The Big Fellow. This guy is ethereal, and though there is more to the other characters, they are not well filled out. The plot details can often verge on stock, but the surprise ending carries its weight. In employing this genre, Charteris often walks a fine line between repetition that is tedious and repetition that reassures the reader.
All in all, I have no regrets. This was entertaining.
Charteris, who began writing about him in the 1920's, does not equivocate about Templar being a criminal. Most of the stories are about him righting wrongs perpetrated by other criminals while taking his cut of any money, jewels, etc. that he discovers along the way. Part of Templar's character is his word. Once he gives it, he is on an unalterable path to finishing his commitment. But, he does so with panache. Here is how another character sees him: "No man whom he had ever known could have been so elegantly at ease and at the same time so alert and dangerous. No other man he had know could ever have measured up in his judgment to the stature of devil-may-care confidence that he had demanded in his own mind and set out to find---and Valcross called himself a judge of men." And later, Charteris describes his approach as follows: "He went forth, as he had done so often in the past, with nothing but a sublime faith that the gods of all good buccaneers would provide. And there was the loaded automatic in his pocket, and the ivory-hilted throwing-knife strapped to his hand in cast the gods should overdo their generosity..."
I was not a fan of The Saint, and this is the first of Charteris' books that I have read. I only knew this character from his other media iterations. And, having read this book, those portrayals were all merely caricatures. This Saint was more interesting and the venue, New York City in the early 1930's, equally so. This was a place where skyscrapers were still a new thing, Prohibition had just concluded, the City was spiraling into economic chaos and, crime and corruption ran rampant. We see this all through the eyes of a foreigner, and that makes it all the more interesting. These are dark times and the story is gritty, as Templar, seeks out those who kidnapped and killed a boy.
There is a slight, belated, introduction to romance. And, a few opportunities for The Saint to show his sardonic wit, but most of the book is devoted to his progress in peeling back the layers of corruption in order to find his targets. The process seems to be Charteris' thing as Templar searches for The Big Fellow. This guy is ethereal, and though there is more to the other characters, they are not well filled out. The plot details can often verge on stock, but the surprise ending carries its weight. In employing this genre, Charteris often walks a fine line between repetition that is tedious and repetition that reassures the reader.
All in all, I have no regrets. This was entertaining.
February 28, 2020
The Saint In New York, one of the more popular entries in The Saint series, makes for an interesting contrast with the Ian Fleming penned Diamonds Are Forever, the fourth James Bond story. Though the novels cover cities on the opposite ends of the country from one another, Leslie Charteris approached this American metropolis with similar reverence to Fleming without losing sight of the plot or descend into travelogue territory. The Vegas Spangled Mob in the Bond novella were kept so far in the background their presence is rarely felt, while the mob The Saint faces is never presented as anything less than terrifying with an overwhelming grip on the city of New York, though perhaps equally thick intellectually. It's a brisk, yet thrilling read, and a fun clash between a British thief and the American gangster.
October 15, 2012
One of the early Saint novels not written in three novellas. ANd it is a nice take upon the sole adventurer who is up against the whole of New Yorks gangsterdom.
The Saint gets asked to help out in order to break the back of organised crime in a pre-WOII New York. He comes to town and gets to work with a list of people that are big boys in the crime world and pretty quick people start dying. The Saint meets Henry Fernack a police-officer he likes (and will continue to do so in future books and movies) and a young lady who tickles his fancy and apperently he does hers.
In the end the Saint meets the Big Boss and leaves the big Apple having singlehandedly decimated a crime-organisation.
This is a somewhat dated but fun adventure of a darker Saint than before and after. This is perhaps as close at the EON folks got to Charteris' hero while creating their moviehero 007.
A fun book that I have read often and undoubtely will do so again.
The Saint gets asked to help out in order to break the back of organised crime in a pre-WOII New York. He comes to town and gets to work with a list of people that are big boys in the crime world and pretty quick people start dying. The Saint meets Henry Fernack a police-officer he likes (and will continue to do so in future books and movies) and a young lady who tickles his fancy and apperently he does hers.
In the end the Saint meets the Big Boss and leaves the big Apple having singlehandedly decimated a crime-organisation.
This is a somewhat dated but fun adventure of a darker Saint than before and after. This is perhaps as close at the EON folks got to Charteris' hero while creating their moviehero 007.
A fun book that I have read often and undoubtely will do so again.
November 20, 2010
The first SAINT book I read and a huge improvement over those written earlier. Charteris was not a BLACK MASK writer, but mastered that very readable style early. He was too prone to remind readers how fabulous Simon Templar was every three pages, which is tedious. His plots were absurd. By the time he wrote THE SAINT IN NEW YORK, he still had his pulpy style but had reduced the number of fabulous reminders to a bearable level, and his plotting had improved. I won’t kid anyone and claim this is actually a good book, but there is a LOT of fun to be had in the reading. It also makes interesting study for writers and would-be writers as to what Charteris did to make the book so readable.
December 31, 2019
A "Simon Templar" drinking game: take a shot every time Chartertis lovingly describes the Saint's (beautiful, gay, clear, mocking) blue eyes, his (lithe, athletic, muscular, immaculate) body, and his (reckless, piratical, devil-may-care) attitude. You'll be hammered within the first two chapters. This novel is a fun, rollicking tale, surprisingly violent and hard-boiled. The depiction of criminal gangs, crooked cops and corrupt politicians in post-prohibition New York makes for a fascinating time capsule.
July 20, 2010
From 1933, a harder edged Saint than the later books, Simon Templar is in New York earning $1,000,000 by tracking down and killing underworld figures that killed his employer's son a few years before.
Along the way, he rescues a six year old girl kidnapped because her millionaire father had refused to pay protection, prevents her from being killed, and tracks down the "big Guy" behind it all.
Along the way, he rescues a six year old girl kidnapped because her millionaire father had refused to pay protection, prevents her from being killed, and tracks down the "big Guy" behind it all.
August 20, 2025
I've never read a Saint novel before, but I reckon they've dated slightly better than Fleming's early Bond books have. As a character, the Saint is on the verge of being too competent (like Reacher, but better dressed and with less muscles) but the sense of jeopardy escalates as this novel proceeds, leading to an effective twist climax. You can feel the Roger Moore smugness in the character, but it never gets too annoying.
Charteris has a good eye for detail, although his sentences do tend to lose themselves in their own complexity at times (then again, the same can be said for Dickens, Hardy et al.). Occasionally the authorial voice butts in to lecture the reader on contemporary mores, but this can be entertaining in itself - particularly when he goes off on a rant about the irony of postwar antisemitism, proving that the more things change...
I wouldn't rush out to read more of the Saint's adventures, but if I came across another nice old copy in a charity shop (as I did this lovely 1964 edition) I'd pick it up in an instant.
Charteris has a good eye for detail, although his sentences do tend to lose themselves in their own complexity at times (then again, the same can be said for Dickens, Hardy et al.). Occasionally the authorial voice butts in to lecture the reader on contemporary mores, but this can be entertaining in itself - particularly when he goes off on a rant about the irony of postwar antisemitism, proving that the more things change...
I wouldn't rush out to read more of the Saint's adventures, but if I came across another nice old copy in a charity shop (as I did this lovely 1964 edition) I'd pick it up in an instant.
December 21, 2023
Visit JetBlackDragonfly (The Man Who Read Too Much) at www.edenthompson.ca/blog
Simon Templar, a.k.a The Saint is one of the original gentlemen detectives. Created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 in Meet The Tiger, and followed by Enter The Saint in 1930, the Saint character would appear in nearly 100 novels. These inspired the classic 1962-1969 British TV series, and some of those scripts were then published as Saint novels themselves, written by Charteris and others.
Simon Templar is an anti-hero patterned after Robin Hood. Wealthy and charming, he moves equally through high society and gangster's dives, so elegantly at ease and at the same time so alert and dangerous. In the tower suite of the Waldorf Astoria, he confers with his client, the wealthy William Valcross about the job of revenge on the men who killed his son. "You might do it son, you might clean up this rotten mess of crooks and grafters that's organizing itself to become the biggest thing this city of mine has ever had to fight." For the criminal underground has corrupted all levels of city government from leaders, to politicians and even police commissioners.
Valcross has tempted the Saint to New York with the fee of one million dollars (in 1935, no less) - to which Simon replies "I'd do it for nothing. When do we go?" With cool precision, the Saint begins to infiltrate darker side of New York from crooked gambling houses and dive bars, to the hideouts of the protected leaders. Armed with a list of names from the lowest rung to the "Big Fellow" himself, he is as quick with a quip as he is often brutal when dispatching the goons. As at ease winning $20,000 at a ritzy gambling club as he is escaping out a window after a shootout in a dockside mob den, the Saint is always one step ahead of the plot and plays by his own rules. There is also a side case of extortion and kidnapping wrapped up in the plot, cleanly revealed along the way.
That isn't to say it is all smooth sailing, the outbursts of violence and tension are often surprising, moving the tone from witty to deadly serious in a sentence. At one point, the Saint is captured and driven miles out into the New Jersey night to be killed without any sign of escape of reprieve. Knowing it's just a novel, I puzzle, how on earth is he going to get out of this one? And then, a truly surprising twist!
This was my first Saint novel, and my idea of him from the movies starring George Sanders was that of a gentleman, with an eye for the ladies and a clever comment. That he is, but at the heart of it, the Saint is in the end a mercenary, hired to do outlaw's work.
"Death," said the Saint, in a voice of terrible softness. "Death is my racket."
The Saint In New York, first published in 1935, is the 15th title in the series and is felt to be the most popular ~ the first Saint movie was based on it. It was a bestseller and established Charteris as a celebrity in the US. Still exciting and complex to read today, it is an enduring classic of crime detection. Very enjoyable!
Simon Templar, a.k.a The Saint is one of the original gentlemen detectives. Created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 in Meet The Tiger, and followed by Enter The Saint in 1930, the Saint character would appear in nearly 100 novels. These inspired the classic 1962-1969 British TV series, and some of those scripts were then published as Saint novels themselves, written by Charteris and others.
Simon Templar is an anti-hero patterned after Robin Hood. Wealthy and charming, he moves equally through high society and gangster's dives, so elegantly at ease and at the same time so alert and dangerous. In the tower suite of the Waldorf Astoria, he confers with his client, the wealthy William Valcross about the job of revenge on the men who killed his son. "You might do it son, you might clean up this rotten mess of crooks and grafters that's organizing itself to become the biggest thing this city of mine has ever had to fight." For the criminal underground has corrupted all levels of city government from leaders, to politicians and even police commissioners.
Valcross has tempted the Saint to New York with the fee of one million dollars (in 1935, no less) - to which Simon replies "I'd do it for nothing. When do we go?" With cool precision, the Saint begins to infiltrate darker side of New York from crooked gambling houses and dive bars, to the hideouts of the protected leaders. Armed with a list of names from the lowest rung to the "Big Fellow" himself, he is as quick with a quip as he is often brutal when dispatching the goons. As at ease winning $20,000 at a ritzy gambling club as he is escaping out a window after a shootout in a dockside mob den, the Saint is always one step ahead of the plot and plays by his own rules. There is also a side case of extortion and kidnapping wrapped up in the plot, cleanly revealed along the way.
That isn't to say it is all smooth sailing, the outbursts of violence and tension are often surprising, moving the tone from witty to deadly serious in a sentence. At one point, the Saint is captured and driven miles out into the New Jersey night to be killed without any sign of escape of reprieve. Knowing it's just a novel, I puzzle, how on earth is he going to get out of this one? And then, a truly surprising twist!
This was my first Saint novel, and my idea of him from the movies starring George Sanders was that of a gentleman, with an eye for the ladies and a clever comment. That he is, but at the heart of it, the Saint is in the end a mercenary, hired to do outlaw's work.
"Death," said the Saint, in a voice of terrible softness. "Death is my racket."
The Saint In New York, first published in 1935, is the 15th title in the series and is felt to be the most popular ~ the first Saint movie was based on it. It was a bestseller and established Charteris as a celebrity in the US. Still exciting and complex to read today, it is an enduring classic of crime detection. Very enjoyable!
November 19, 2019
Simon Templar comes to New York and works his form of justice on a group of gangsters at the behest of millionaire Bill Valcross. The gang killed Valcross's son and he wants Simon to get vengeance for him. The Saint is more than willing and sets out on a series of classic adventures with his usual style.
Leslie Charteris may have written this thriller in 1933 but his timeless hero could step right out of the pages of this book and make himself right at home. A great story with plenty of exciting twists and good period dialogue. It's no surprise that The Saint has remained popular as long as he has.
Leslie Charteris may have written this thriller in 1933 but his timeless hero could step right out of the pages of this book and make himself right at home. A great story with plenty of exciting twists and good period dialogue. It's no surprise that The Saint has remained popular as long as he has.
September 1, 2018
This is the book that put Leslie Charteris on the map and made best-sellers of all the previous Saint books in retrospect.
Set shortly after the repeal of Prohibition, this tale of revenge is one of the grimmest, and the certainly the most violent, of all the Saint stories, so that when it was filmed, it was considerably toned down (and all hint of corruption in the New York judiciary removed, of course).
Nevertheless, most Saint fans, including myself, seem to regard it as one of the best. To take just one example: as a synopsis of all the previous Saint books — vital, if new readers are to understand the story — the prologue (which takes the form of a letter to the NYPD from Simon’s old adversary Chief Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard) is one of the most skillful things I’ve seen.
Charteris knew New York well, along with its denizens and their culture and language. The characters are drawn with great verve, especially Inspector John Fernack, the various members of the gangland hierarchy, and the mysterious Fay Edwards, who falls in love with Simon at the same time as she is helping him to kill just about everyone she knows.
Above all, Charteris shows himself once again a first-rate story-teller. Gripping from start to finish.
Set shortly after the repeal of Prohibition, this tale of revenge is one of the grimmest, and the certainly the most violent, of all the Saint stories, so that when it was filmed, it was considerably toned down (and all hint of corruption in the New York judiciary removed, of course).
Nevertheless, most Saint fans, including myself, seem to regard it as one of the best. To take just one example: as a synopsis of all the previous Saint books — vital, if new readers are to understand the story — the prologue (which takes the form of a letter to the NYPD from Simon’s old adversary Chief Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard) is one of the most skillful things I’ve seen.
Charteris knew New York well, along with its denizens and their culture and language. The characters are drawn with great verve, especially Inspector John Fernack, the various members of the gangland hierarchy, and the mysterious Fay Edwards, who falls in love with Simon at the same time as she is helping him to kill just about everyone she knows.
Above all, Charteris shows himself once again a first-rate story-teller. Gripping from start to finish.
September 3, 2014
Thoroughly Entertaining Saint Story.
Set in the days just after prohibition as criminal gangs look to switch their activities from bootlegging to kidnapping, 'The Saint in New York' puts Simon Templar up against New York's worst. The Saint books always offer breezy wit and charm - this is no exception. There is also a certain element of grit here too though: a police detective offers a justification for brutality in a corrupt system. When first published it must have had an element of reportage of real world events about it as well as the wish fulfillment that one man might, with a little luck, clear up the whole mess. Little wonder it was a great hit with the public both sides of the Atlantic.
This is good quality, easy to read, superior entertainment.
Set in the days just after prohibition as criminal gangs look to switch their activities from bootlegging to kidnapping, 'The Saint in New York' puts Simon Templar up against New York's worst. The Saint books always offer breezy wit and charm - this is no exception. There is also a certain element of grit here too though: a police detective offers a justification for brutality in a corrupt system. When first published it must have had an element of reportage of real world events about it as well as the wish fulfillment that one man might, with a little luck, clear up the whole mess. Little wonder it was a great hit with the public both sides of the Atlantic.
This is good quality, easy to read, superior entertainment.
May 5, 2018
The Saint is a pretty durable character, in every sense of the phrase. This book feels like a slice of history where organized crime in New York City controls the city and most of the government. Oh, wait... Maybe not so 'historical' after all.
October 11, 2024
Ο Άγιος στη Νέα Υόρκη κοντεύει τα 90 χρόνια από την πρώτη κυκλοφορία του. Έχει μεταφερθεί ήδη από το 1938 στον κινηματογράφο κι από τότε ακολούθησε πλήθος άλλων μεταφορών είτε στην μεγάλη είτε στη μικρή οθόνη. Όχι ότι όλες οι προσπάθειες ήταν καλές, για να είμαστε ειλικρινείς, αλλά τον Roger Moore μπορείς να τον φανταστείς ως Άγιο (από το 1962 ως το 1969).
Το βιβλίο του Leslie Charteris (ψευδώνυμο του Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin) λοιπόν έρχεται από το 1935 και το δείχνει. Έχει την στόφα του παλιού, έχει το κλασικό γκανγκστερικό ύφος και αισθητική. Και μας έχει αφήσει και το εμβληματικό σχεδιάκι του Αγίου. Για την ακρίβεια, ο Άγιος στη Νέα Υόρκη είναι η πρώτη μου επαφή με την λογοτεχνική υπόσταση του Αγίου, καθώς ό,τι άλλο το ήξερα από την μεταφορά του στην ποπ κουλτούρα.
Το βιβλίο έχει πιστολίδι, ηρωικές μάχες και ο Άγιος τα βάζει με όλους και όλα. Ως άλλος Τζέιμς Μποντ αποδεικνύεται εξαιρετικός στο να διεκπεραιώνει κάθε του αποστολή. Έχει επίσης έναν ρομαντισμό μιας εποχής που τέτοιες ιστορίες ήταν γοητευτικές. Μάλιστα, υποθέτω ότι περιγράφει ακραία βία δεδομένης της εποχής στην οποία κυκλοφόρησε.
Ωστόσο, υπάρχει και η άλλη όψη. Ο άτρωτος τιμωρός που κινεί γη και ουρανό, που τα βάζει ολομόναχος με το οργανωμένο έγκλημα, που δέχεται καταιγισμό πυρών από (ατζαμήδες μαφιόζους, κατά πως φαίνεται, αφού κανείς δεν τον πετυχαίνει) δεν ήταν ποτέ του γούστου μου. Πρόσθεσε σε όλα αυτά και μια ερωτευμένη γυναίκα που συντρέχει, όταν χρειαστεί, κι έναν υφέρποντα ερωτισμό. Κι εδώ υπάρχει επίσης ένα επαναλαμβανόμενο μοτίβο: ο Άγιος μπλέκει σε μια αποστολή, στριμώχνεται, καταδιώκεται, μάχεται, γλιτώνει και προχωρά στον επόμενο στόχο.
Ο Charteris υπηρετεί το είδος εξαιρετικά, για να μην πω το πάει κι ένα βήμα μπροστά. Η γλώσσα είναι ρέουσα και ο ρυθμός σταθερός κι ανεβασμένος. Αλλά η θέση μου για το συγκεκριμένο είδος συ��οψίζεται στη φράση not my cup of tea.
Το βιβλίο του Leslie Charteris (ψευδώνυμο του Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin) λοιπόν έρχεται από το 1935 και το δείχνει. Έχει την στόφα του παλιού, έχει το κλασικό γκανγκστερικό ύφος και αισθητική. Και μας έχει αφήσει και το εμβληματικό σχεδιάκι του Αγίου. Για την ακρίβεια, ο Άγιος στη Νέα Υόρκη είναι η πρώτη μου επαφή με την λογοτεχνική υπόσταση του Αγίου, καθώς ό,τι άλλο το ήξερα από την μεταφορά του στην ποπ κουλτούρα.
Το βιβλίο έχει πιστολίδι, ηρωικές μάχες και ο Άγιος τα βάζει με όλους και όλα. Ως άλλος Τζέιμς Μποντ αποδεικνύεται εξαιρετικός στο να διεκπεραιώνει κάθε του αποστολή. Έχει επίσης έναν ρομαντισμό μιας εποχής που τέτοιες ιστορίες ήταν γοητευτικές. Μάλιστα, υποθέτω ότι περιγράφει ακραία βία δεδομένης της εποχής στην οποία κυκλοφόρησε.
Ωστόσο, υπάρχει και η άλλη όψη. Ο άτρωτος τιμωρός που κινεί γη και ουρανό, που τα βάζει ολομόναχος με το οργανωμένο έγκλημα, που δέχεται καταιγισμό πυρών από (ατζαμήδες μαφιόζους, κατά πως φαίνεται, αφού κανείς δεν τον πετυχαίνει) δεν ήταν ποτέ του γούστου μου. Πρόσθεσε σε όλα αυτά και μια ερωτευμένη γυναίκα που συντρέχει, όταν χρειαστεί, κι έναν υφέρποντα ερωτισμό. Κι εδώ υπάρχει επίσης ένα επαναλαμβανόμενο μοτίβο: ο Άγιος μπλέκει σε μια αποστολή, στριμώχνεται, καταδιώκεται, μάχεται, γλιτώνει και προχωρά στον επόμενο στόχο.
Ο Charteris υπηρετεί το είδος εξαιρετικά, για να μην πω το πάει κι ένα βήμα μπροστά. Η γλώσσα είναι ρέουσα και ο ρυθμός σταθερός κι ανεβασμένος. Αλλά η θέση μου για το συγκεκριμένο είδος συ��οψίζεται στη φράση not my cup of tea.
March 22, 2025
In leading up to The Saint in New York, the criticism I looked over mostly promised that this book was the major turn in Charteris' career. This was the book where he went fully hard-boiled and brought a gritty if often melancholy tone to a tale of violence, corruption, greed, and also honor and triumph. The critics were/are correct. The book is all that. It is hard-boiled. And it's not. Yes, it's filled with hard-boiled dialog, graphic murders (although nothing compared to the pornographic violence of contemporary murder fiction), and with a bleak cityscape that often blends into a mood of dispair.
But New York also maintains Simon Templar's florid narration, with its often flowery and jaunty, wry attitude. This style dominated earlier Saint volumes. As such, they sometimes seem overwrought and distracting, making for the work of youthful writer still floundering in the wonder of his own ability to pump out banter and frivolity at a record pace. Here, in New York, things have changed. The florid prose bends to the will of the stripped down narrative. For it is that, too. The storyline is as pure and efficient as anything Charteris has until this time produced. But what this all does is make for a remarkable mixture. The prose is far from that of the masters of the hard-boiled crime story, the likes of James M. Cain and Dashiell Hammett. No, it's not even close. And especially when the Saint is still prone to soliloquy, he's more Thomas Wolfe than Raymond Chandler. But he's good. And this novel became a bestseller. Deservedly so.
But New York also maintains Simon Templar's florid narration, with its often flowery and jaunty, wry attitude. This style dominated earlier Saint volumes. As such, they sometimes seem overwrought and distracting, making for the work of youthful writer still floundering in the wonder of his own ability to pump out banter and frivolity at a record pace. Here, in New York, things have changed. The florid prose bends to the will of the stripped down narrative. For it is that, too. The storyline is as pure and efficient as anything Charteris has until this time produced. But what this all does is make for a remarkable mixture. The prose is far from that of the masters of the hard-boiled crime story, the likes of James M. Cain and Dashiell Hammett. No, it's not even close. And especially when the Saint is still prone to soliloquy, he's more Thomas Wolfe than Raymond Chandler. But he's good. And this novel became a bestseller. Deservedly so.
May 14, 2025
I read the edition published in 1989 by International Polygonics, Ltd. The book was first published in 1934 (or '35?) and I sense the text remained the same in the edition I read. The introduction, by William Ruehlmann, who wrote THE SAINT WITH A GUN, is one of the many reasons this is a particularly nice edition. The cover art by Roger Roth shows the Saint clutching a gun and a blonde as a car appears to speed toward them. The Chrysler Building is shown in the background and this would make a fantastic poster. True Pop Art. The ISBN (for this 1989 paperback, at least) is: 0-930330-97-8.
The temptation is to quote one of Leslie Charteris's comically awkward but well-observed descriptions of heightened danger. He takes the long route every time, but after you get through a scene, the picture of lightning speed movement stays with you. There are asides about political dynamics; in fact, miniature essays on societal inertia. Charteris would understand the 21st century very well. He even talks about actual crime a little, in a passage about Al Capone and the use of the Hot Box.
You know how Roger Moore makes corny little jokes to irritate his captors in any given SAINT episode (and into his incarnation as 007)? Those are here, in the mid-1930s. Charteris created, essentially, a superhero in Simon Templar.
I imagine Charteris knew his limits. He could never have written like Dashiell Hammett, because he wants to give us Robin Hood. But the landmarks are the same. THE SAINT IN NEW YORK is like a very grim comic book. I liked it very much.
The temptation is to quote one of Leslie Charteris's comically awkward but well-observed descriptions of heightened danger. He takes the long route every time, but after you get through a scene, the picture of lightning speed movement stays with you. There are asides about political dynamics; in fact, miniature essays on societal inertia. Charteris would understand the 21st century very well. He even talks about actual crime a little, in a passage about Al Capone and the use of the Hot Box.
You know how Roger Moore makes corny little jokes to irritate his captors in any given SAINT episode (and into his incarnation as 007)? Those are here, in the mid-1930s. Charteris created, essentially, a superhero in Simon Templar.
I imagine Charteris knew his limits. He could never have written like Dashiell Hammett, because he wants to give us Robin Hood. But the landmarks are the same. THE SAINT IN NEW YORK is like a very grim comic book. I liked it very much.
June 2, 2017
In The Three Musketeers, Milady is held prisoner by an incorruptible guard. You know she's going to corrupt him, and although it takes her about six chapters to do it, you relish every word, every web of deceit she spins. In The Saint in New York, Simon Templar is taken for a ride by mobsters, and it takes about a chapter to reach that particular climax, and you find yourself skimming pages, waiting for him to turn the tables. You do want to know how he's going to pull it off, but you'd rather that Leslie Charteris cut to the end of the chase. That's the difference between a great storyteller and a good one.
But Charteris is a good one, and the Saint is a good character, and the florid overwriting of the pre-Hammett, pre-Leonard detective novelist has a charm of its own, and I very much enjoyed this book.
Of the crime novelists of that era, I'd still give the nod to Earl Derr Biggers, who is way underrated, and Charlie Chan. Interestingly enough, Derr Biggers was a Caucasian writing about a Chinese protagonist, and Charteris was half-Chinese writing about a Caucasian protagonist. Which says something about cultural appropriation, but I'm not sure what.
But Charteris is a good one, and the Saint is a good character, and the florid overwriting of the pre-Hammett, pre-Leonard detective novelist has a charm of its own, and I very much enjoyed this book.
Of the crime novelists of that era, I'd still give the nod to Earl Derr Biggers, who is way underrated, and Charlie Chan. Interestingly enough, Derr Biggers was a Caucasian writing about a Chinese protagonist, and Charteris was half-Chinese writing about a Caucasian protagonist. Which says something about cultural appropriation, but I'm not sure what.
February 9, 2025
English review below the Greek one...
3+/5
Ένας παράνομος εκδικητής, γκάγκστερ, πιστολίδια, καταδιώξεις, υπερβολικός αριθμός πτωμάτων κάθε λίγες σελίδες, μία μοιραία γυναίκα που φυσικά ερωτεύεται τον πρωταγωνιστή από το πουθενά, ατάκες που πάνε σύννεφο, κλισεδούρες και μηδενική αληθοφάνεια συνθέτουν τον Άγιο στη Νέα Υόρκη.
Αν είστε στην κατάλληλη διάθεση περνάτε ευχάριστα μερικές ώρες με το βιβλίο. Αν όχι, με σοβαρά κριτήρια, το βιβλίο είναι γελοίο στην υπερβολή του, τα στερεότυπα και τις προκαταλήψεις της εποχής και την απίστευτη πλοκή του. Εσείς αποφασίζετε...
3+/5
An illegal avenger, gangsters, guns, chases, an excessive number of corpses every few pages, a femme fatale who of course falls in love with the protagonist out of nowhere, rants, puns, cliches and zero plausibility, all these elements make up The Saint in New York.
If you are in the right mood, you can spend a few pleasant hours reading the book. If not, by serious criteria, the book is ridiculous in its exaggeration, the prejudices and stereotypes of the era and the unbelievable plot. Up to you...
3+/5
3+/5
Ένας παράνομος εκδικητής, γκάγκστερ, πιστολίδια, καταδιώξεις, υπερβολικός αριθμός πτωμάτων κάθε λίγες σελίδες, μία μοιραία γυναίκα που φυσικά ερωτεύεται τον πρωταγωνιστή από το πουθενά, ατάκες που πάνε σύννεφο, κλισεδούρες και μηδενική αληθοφάνεια συνθέτουν τον Άγιο στη Νέα Υόρκη.
Αν είστε στην κατάλληλη διάθεση περνάτε ευχάριστα μερικές ώρες με το βιβλίο. Αν όχι, με σοβαρά κριτήρια, το βιβλίο είναι γελοίο στην υπερβολή του, τα στερεότυπα και τις προκαταλήψεις της εποχής και την απίστευτη πλοκή του. Εσείς αποφασίζετε...
3+/5
An illegal avenger, gangsters, guns, chases, an excessive number of corpses every few pages, a femme fatale who of course falls in love with the protagonist out of nowhere, rants, puns, cliches and zero plausibility, all these elements make up The Saint in New York.
If you are in the right mood, you can spend a few pleasant hours reading the book. If not, by serious criteria, the book is ridiculous in its exaggeration, the prejudices and stereotypes of the era and the unbelievable plot. Up to you...
3+/5
March 1, 2021
There are some slow parts here, and the author takes his time in places where maybe keeping the action moving would have been better. It takes a turn from pulp adventure to darker noir there in the middle, and is better for it as the protagonist struggles with the specter of defeat.
Having just watched Perry Mason on HBO the thought strikes me that kidnapping children from well off white families was a actually a thing that happened with some regularity, and everytime we see the cops on TV handle those cases its a throw back to another time that is long gone.
It's funny how the dysfunctions of another age, organized crime, kidnaping, cops beating confessions out of people, can be more entertaining than our own dysfunctions, but only when seen from some distance away.
Having just watched Perry Mason on HBO the thought strikes me that kidnapping children from well off white families was a actually a thing that happened with some regularity, and everytime we see the cops on TV handle those cases its a throw back to another time that is long gone.
It's funny how the dysfunctions of another age, organized crime, kidnaping, cops beating confessions out of people, can be more entertaining than our own dysfunctions, but only when seen from some distance away.
December 20, 2025
This read was prompted by an episode of Corner Gas - I knew that The Saint film (1997) that I've loved for 30 years was based on an earlier TV series starring Roger Moore, but I didn't know that there were nearly 50 Saint novels & novellas written from the 1920s - 1970s that followed Simon Templar's exploits through prohibition, WWII, and the cold war, not to mention numerous films, television series, and comic strips.
It took some used to getting comfortable with an assassin Saint, but the story is well written and the lack of real information about the New York mafia in 1935 feels quaint.
It took some used to getting comfortable with an assassin Saint, but the story is well written and the lack of real information about the New York mafia in 1935 feels quaint.
April 11, 2020
I love this book and have read it many times over the years. I first read it when I was about 12 years old, and knowing the character only from tv, I was a little horrified by the extreme violence but I loved it just the same. I enjoy Charteris's somewhat ridiculous discriptive language as much as I enjoy the story and the characters. All of the pre-WWII Saint books are great, but this is by far the best one and a great place to start if you don't know the character. As The Saint likes to say, bring on the "Battle, murder and sudden death!"
January 1, 2021
This was even better than The Saint's Getaway, my previously-favorite Saint novel. It was action-packed and fun, and starts with a bunch of weird questions that only really get resolved at the very end. The epilogue was really satisfying.
It's a bit violent, but at least it's a book so I could imagine it without the Hollywood levels of blood & gore. I'd really like to check out the 1938 film adaptation now.
It's a bit violent, but at least it's a book so I could imagine it without the Hollywood levels of blood & gore. I'd really like to check out the 1938 film adaptation now.
August 13, 2018
A really well written and fast paced Saint book. Everything happened in three days. I also like that in this Saint series, at the end of each book is a section called "About the Author". It gave a very good history of Leslie Charteris and how the Saint series came about and how it progressed into different medias and ultimately became an industry of its own.
January 3, 2025
Fast-paced, brutally romantic (not in a good way).
Go for a ride? May be one of the first fictional(?) depictions of a "rubout" in the Hackensack Meadowlands (before the Skyway; they take a ferry over to Jersey).
Plot is not the point. I knew whodidit by halfway but the reveal kept me taut.
Pat Holm appears on the last page.
Go for a ride? May be one of the first fictional(?) depictions of a "rubout" in the Hackensack Meadowlands (before the Skyway; they take a ferry over to Jersey).
Plot is not the point. I knew whodidit by halfway but the reveal kept me taut.
Pat Holm appears on the last page.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews