Book Review: Alias The Saint by Leslie Charteris

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In my quest to read all the Saint books in order, I've come to the sixth volume - “Alias The Saint.” This book is a collection of three short stories, originally published in magazines before being collected together in 1931. The paperback edition I bought is from the 60s and starts with a short introduction by the author confirming that he hadn't done anything to try to update the stories, so they're still firmly set in the world of the 1930s. Reviewing each story in order: The Story of a Dead Man This story has a good build up, in that the reader isn't given much information about what's going on. It starts with Chief Inspector Teal, the Saint's Scotland Yard nemesis, greeting a career burglar called Long Harry on his release from jail. Teal is looking for a mysterious character called Connell, who hasn't been heard from for a couple of years – roughly the amount of time that Long Harry has been in jail. Teal thinks that Long Harry might be able to help him find Connell, but Long Harry doesn't know anything. He'd like to find Connell himself, though, as Long Harry claims that it was Connell who framed him. Mr Teal is also investigating a firm called Vanney's Ltd, which appears to be some kind of investment firm and has three company officers listed – an Australian immigrant called James Vanney, a crooked lawyer called Malcolm Standish and Sebastian Tombs, who no-one seems to know anything about. Teal correctly deduces that Sebastian Tombs is none other than Simon Templar. Templar is obviously running some kind of con, but he's not sharing what he knows with Teal. Also involved is Pamela Marlowe, working at the firm as a secretary, but unaware of the exact nature of the company's activities. The Saint's main love interest Patricia Holm is mentioned as being still with him, although this doesn't stop Templar from flirting shamelessly with Pamela. There's a lot of build-up in this story. A lot is told from Teal's point of view, and he is arguably the real hero of this story. With his sleepy demeanour concealing a brilliant mind and an exhaustive knowledge of the London underworld, Teal remains my favourite supporting character from this series. Templar's plan, and underlying motivation, is a mystery to the reader, which keeps things fun. And there is a dramatic ending, with several characters facing imminent death, but exactly what is going on is never fully spelled out. 6/10. The Impossible Crime This is a story set in London, but concerning American gangsters. At the start of the story, the American gangster Farnberg is visiting Friste, who runs an import business in London. Friste imports illegal drugs among other things. Farnberg has accompanied the latest shipment of drugs, but he's also in Britain looking for the Saint, who he blames for Farnberg being arrested and imprisoned several years previously in America. Simon Templar arrives on the scene with the main intent of eliminating Friste, and is surprised by the presence of Farnberg, barely getting away with his life. A couple of weeks later, Templar is visited by Chief Inspector Teal, who asks him for help with a problem he has. Friste has been found shot dead in his office with the doors locked from the inside and no sign of a weapon. Teal is stumped and hopes that Simon's unconventional mind can find a solution. This strikes me as unrealistic. It seems to me that Teal's professional pride would prevent him seeking advice from a know criminal like the Saint. However, this doesn't affect the story very much. Also in town is Duncarry, an American detective who Templar had previously met (and been chased by) in America. Duncarry is looking for Farnberg, who escaped from jail and is thought to be in Europe, and Farnberg is after the Saint. Under suspicion for murdering Friste is Charles Barringer, a young man who is in love with Eileen Wiltham, who is the daughter of Sir Enoch Wiltham – a wealthy businessman who is himself interested in striking a deal with Farnberg to smuggle some alcoholic beverages into America (this having been written at the time of Prohibition). Friste was Charles' rival for the affections of Eileen. What follows is a fast-moving plot involving kidnapping and sudden violence, in which Detective Duncarry helps the Saint in his quest to eliminate Farnberg and rescue a damsel in distress without themselves being arrested by Teal. As usual with a Saint story, the baddies get what they deserve in the end. The Saint also supplies a solution to the locked room mystery, but unfortunately the author couldn't resist inserting an extra twist which undermined the whole thing. It's still an entertaining read though. Patricia Holm appears in this story, briefly, but doesn't have a lot to do. Duncarry, an Amerian cop with a flexible approach to the law and a lack of discipline when it comes to alchohol, is a fun supporting character. Teal doesn't have as much to do as in the previous story, but he's as entertaining as ever. 6/10. The National Debt I saw the TV episode that was adapted from this story a few months ago, but there were so many changes made that it didn't spoil it for me. The story starts with Professor Raxel and his two colleagues Marring and Crantor hatching a plan to blackmail a chemist called Betty Tregarth into doing some unspecified (but criminal) work for them, which they hope will make them rich. Shortly later, the Saint – who has somehow found out that this gang are up to no good – arrives at an isolated inn on the coast, where the gang is hiding out, and where they are forcing Betty to work for them. Going under an assumed name and implying that he's a police detective (with colleagues who know his whereabouts), Simon checks into the inn against the wishes of the management and starts observing activities there while at the same time putting psychological pressure on the bad guys. They don't dare kill him to start with, because they think that will cause the police to descend on them. This story seems to take place shortly after the previous one, because the Saint's American friend Detective Duncarry arrives shortly thereafter, posing as a criminal on the run. Not association directly with the Saint, Duncarry tries to infiltrate the gang to observe them, without much success. Simon investigates and finds the locked room that Betty is using as a laboratory, and tries to persuade her to tell him what's going on, but she's too afraid to confide in him. As the time to implement their plan draws nearer, the gang makes attempts on the Saint's life – unsuccessful, naturally. When the plan is revealed, it's quite a clever one involving both murder and a major robbery. The Saint is able to defeat the bad guys with the backing of Inspector Teal, who seems to regard him as an unconventional but sometimes useful ally. This is probably the best story of the three. Not a lot of action going on, but it's nice to read about two ruthless factions trying to outsmart and intimidate each other. 7/10. Overall, this is a decent anthology. Not a classic, but well worth a read if you're a Saint fan.