The Saint Goes On

The Saint #14

by Leslie Charteris

1st Ace Charter edition paperback, fine

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Ebooks, Crime

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Born 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."

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three stories from 1934 (The High Fence/The Elusive Ellshaw/The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper) make up this enjoyable collection of Saintly adventures.
Leslie Charteris privides Simon Templar with plenty of amusing dialogue, enabling him to outwit the Ungodly in his own unique style. These (now somewhat ancient) tales never fail to entertain me & they were adapted into thre equally enjoyable TV episodes starring my favourite Simon Templar-the wonderful Roger Moore.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again we get three shorts. The first, “The High Fence” (aka “The Man Who Knew”), is by far the best of the three, seeing Templar and Teal each searching for London's newest, most elusive fence, albeit for somewhat different reasons — including a wonderful scene where a corpse goes missing. The second “The Ellusive Ellshaw” (aka “The Race Train Crime”) again sees them on the same side of an investigation, when someone tries to separately blow up both Templar and Lord Ripwell with identical suitcase bombs. This one is a little over-plotted, but not nearly so much as the final episode “The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper”, which sees Templar (with an extended rôle for Hoppy) called to Penzance to investigate some strange night-time noises under a 16th Century inn, and getting caught up in a rather elaborate jailbreak scheme. Bonus marks for dropping in “zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl”, but not quite enough to rescue it.

[Rick Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 start-to-finish 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.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three more novellas recycled Thriller magazine. But these I think finally mark the official turning point I've been waiting for. Charteris bends his banter to the purpose of the story. It doesn't seem flowery or overworked. Instead, it integrates into both the plot and the character. The character of the Saint, meanwhile, also seems to have matured. In fact, his moderation and moments of restraint makes this version of Charteris hero the closest yet to Roger Moore's portrayal in the TV series. It's no coincidence that the three stories also are among the most memorable of the series' first couple of seasons. Once again, both the Saint and his opponents indulge in masked identities and false fronts, all of which works towards the plot twists at the end being much more effective. Charteris has learned how to conclude his work. It's been worth it to see him evolve from book to book. Now, I'm ready for what everyone claims is Charteris first true hard boiled effort in The Saint in New York. We'll see.

[Paul Magnussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three more engaging stories from the days when the Saint was still firmly based in England, and Holm was where the heart was.

The High Fence is a fast-paced thriller.

In The Elusive Ellshaw (which is more of a mystery story), Mrs Ellshaw reminds once again of the author’s ability to draw characters at once familiar and hilarious, also providing one of Charteris’s few likeable aristocrats.

And The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper brings dear old Hoppy Uniatz to the fore again.

Other old friends include Sam Outrell and (of course) Claud Eustace.

[Joss · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventure I want to keep following.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as a teenager

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in June 2000.

The fourteenth Saint book once more contains three novellas. The High Fence is one of the most entertaining stories Charteris ever wrote, with Simon Templar and Chief Inspector Teal (hampered by a colleague thrust upon him by his superiors) racing each other to unmask the man who has taken control of a large part of London's market for stolen goods.

The other two stories, about murderous attacks on a tycoon and an attempted prison escape, are standard Saint fare, neither among the best nor the worst. The latter story is somewhat marred by rather ponderous humour based on the ide of dim-witted sidekick Hoppy Uniatz in love.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The saint goes on....doesn't he just!!...I think that is the only fault I can find with these books the more I read on..the seemingly never ending patter which although light and fun can grate a tad after a while.
That said these are fun book this is the third of which I have read and this one is a collection of three tales featuring the Saint.
The tales themselves vary but all are frivolous fun and well executed, The character of the Saint does seem to be one that you can't help but feel is worth someone exploring in film or book form again at some point.
There's little doubt as a character the Saint is a hero but unlike a lot of heroes he has his flaws...being not adverse for instance in the first tale of reclaiming some stolen jewels as a form of payment!!

[Avarill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a book that was light and enjoyable reading. The Saint has more than once filled this need.Leslie Charteris creation of a crook who fills his bank balance with his doings against and at the same time along side the criminals of the underworld, saving the unfortunate and innocent like Julie Trafford. Though Mr. Uniatz did it this time in 'The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper'. In each story the Saint's general outlook on life, good or bad, he offers a well meaning amusing, straight forward, light outlook. Some I guess would call it a light hearted sarcasm. And of course Inspector Claude Eustace Teal and his chewing gum can quite honestly be irratating, but I guess Leslie Charteris meant it to be so.

[Arthur Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories were an improvement on some of the others in the series. Leslie Charteris was famous in the 1930s for his creation of Simon Templar, The Saint, but the character compares badly to some modern-day heroes. Charteris over-writes consistently, some of his work could be reduced by as much as 40% by editing without detracting from the storyline. This is a good example of the genre, such as it was at the time the book was written, but the Roger Moore TV series is much more memorable.

[Doug Newdick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Saint book - 3 novellas. From early on in the Saint's career. Not too bad, but again, not one of his best.

[Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still as much in love with him as ever!