Books by Leslie Charteris

Whether he is in Cannes, St Tropez, Nassau or Lucerne, the Saint always finds some action to interest him. In these seven stories Simon faces competition in the jewel thief business, encounters an unpleasant movie mogul, uncovers a Ponzi scheme that isn't what it seems, deals with sabotage in the world of motor racing, finds a missing body, tangles with the Russians and rescues an heiress. Evil flourishes in the sun as well as the shadows, but the Saint always stands ready to prevent it.

In these two novellas, the Saint puts his life on the line to tackle two very different crimimals. In 'The King of the Beggars', he and Hoppy get on the wrong side of a protection racket in Chicago - leading to murder charges, danger and a meeting with the King himself. Back in New York, Simon's sense of fair play is offended by a crooked boxing promoter, setting him off on an investigation which will end in a life-or-death encounter in the boxing ring.

Simon Templar heads to New York - to sip cocktails, listen to jazz, and have a good time. But he has a way of making enemies, and a quiet night in 'Cookie's Cellar' sets him on a trail involving drugs, smuggling, dead bodies, a beautiful singer called Avalon Dexter and finally the loathsome Cookie herself. The battle is on.

In this collection of short stories, the Saint intervenes to teach a motley bag of criminals the error of their ways. Crooked financiers, bookies, fake inventors, dodgy bankers, dealers in pornography, unethical businessmen, murderers, thieves and liars - all will come to regret the day their actions caught the Saint's attention.

Three more stories of Saintly adventure show Simon Templar interpreting the law to his own advantage. In The Simon Templar Foundation, a poisonous legacy from his enemy Rayt Marius gives him the opportunity to make a great deal of money - if he can survive equally great danger. The Higher Finance puts him up against the police, a reclusive millionaire, and the wild beast that roams his mansion at night. And in The Art of Alibi, he faces the most impudent opponent of all: someone who is stealing his symbol, and committing crimes in his name.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.In Paris, a dying man claims his brother can make gold... a secret that men are prepared to kill for. In London, a small-time American criminal sets up a violent gang, only to learn that there are certain things the Saint will not put up with. And in the Scilly Isles, drug-smuggling, drugged beer and a damsel in distress combine to make for a most unusual holiday for Simon Templar. In these three stories, the Saint needs all his wits to survive - and to stay out of jail.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.In these three stories, the Saint finds himself embroiled in further plots and facing new enemies. The Inland Revenue sees him up against the most unyielding opponent ever - the taxman. In The Million Pound Scandal, a good deed leads Simon to uncover a plot to undermine the Italian economy, and in The Melancholy Journey of Mr Teal the Saint's retirement plans are scuppered when a couple of murderous diamond smugglers object to his scheme of taking their loot for his pension.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.Simon Templar finds himself on the side of the righteous for once when he agrees to work with the police. They're after the gang known as the Angels of Doom, who specialise in abetting convicted criminals escape. But Templar finds a kindred spirit in Jill Trelawney, the mastermind behind the gang, and Scotland Yard soon learn that you can't hire a Saint and hope to have things all your own way...

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.In three more classic tales, the Saint continues to push his luck in his own inimitable style. The Story of a Dead Man sees the Saint in a more mundane line of work - running an office and writing letters to the editor - until Inspector Teal comes to investigate the mysterious Mr Vanney and the Saint's real intentions come to light. In The Impossible Crime, a bored Saint tackles a most unlikely mystery: a man who has somehow been shot in a locked room. And in The National Debt Simon Templar stumbles across a remote Welsh inn where a series of strange things is happening . . . another job for the Saint!

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. These three stories find the Saint flushing out swindlers in inimitable style. In The Logical Adventure Templar is on the tail of a famous aviator who has a sideline in drug smuggling and human trafficking. In The Wonderful War the Saint travels to the Central American republic of Pasala to avenge the murder of an oil inspector, which involves instigating revolution. Finally, in The Man Who Could Not Die, the Saint encounters adrenaline junkie Miles Hallin. Hallin claims to be able to cheat death but when one of Templar's friends is killed, the Saint decides to put that to the test.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. After a fruitless chase across Europe on the tail of his enemy Rayt Marius, the Saint returns to London with a price on his head. But adventure is never far from Simon Templar's door, and soon he finds himself rescuing Sonia Delmar, a munitions heiress, from Marius's clutches. Sonia allies with the Saint - in a bid to prevent Marius and his ally Prince Rudolf bringing war and destruction to Europe.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. When the Saint and Patricia Holm stumble upon a government test of a weapon of mass destruction, they realise they've seen something that must be kept away from the wrong hands. But the Saint's nemesis Rayt Marius is already nearby... There is only one way to stop Marius from using the weapon to start a war - kidnapping the scientist who built it. The plot comes to a climax on the banks of the River Thames, and not everyone will survive.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. In these three early adventures, the Saint's reputation starts to rise, as he tackles thieves, smugglers and killers. In The Man Who Was Clever he outwits Edgar Hayn, a drug smuggler who thinks he's smarter than everyone. In The Policeman with Wings he stays one step ahead of Inspector Teal in the hunt for diamonds on Dartmoor and in The Lawless Lady one of the Saint's gang helps him deal with sea-faring swindlers, only to fall in love.

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.

In these three stories, everyone's favourite criminal follows his nose and finds yet more trouble. In The Miracle Tea Party, an attack on Inspector Teal leads Simon to discover a packet of Miracle Tea with truly miraculous properties. In The Invisible Millionaire the Saint and Hoppy agree to meet a woman with information on a major swindle - only to find her dead. And finally, in The Affair of Hogsbotham, Simon is irritated by the self-appointed guardian of the nation's morality Ebenezer Hogsbotham and decides to take him down a peg or two. But though he sets out for some light-hearted fun, he soon stumbles into the middle of a bank-robbing conspiracy . . .

The Saint and Patricia go to visit some friends in Miami - but when they get there they are shocked to learn their friends have disappeared. They move into their friends' house and start to investigate. Things get complicated when a tanker explodes off the Florida coast and a dead British sailor washes up on the shore. Simon suspects a link between the explosion and the disappearance, as well as the activities of shady millionaire Randolph March. There seems to be a Nazi spy ring operating out of Florida...

In this collection of nine short stories the Saint encounters a clever detective who isn't, a well-meaning mayor, a man who likes ants and a producer who turns out, much to the Saint's surprise, to be actually quite smart.