Three novellas showing the Saint at his best. By 1933 he had become slightly less bloodthirsty and settled into a relationship with Patricia Holm, by whom he is aided and abetted here, but he remains definitely on the wrong side of the law. Two of the stories involve his old adversary Inspector Charles Eustace Teal, hence the alternate name. Very little detection but an entertaining read, especially the Saint's doggerel and his author's fulminations against the burgeoning British nanny state. Charteris is sadly underrated these days.
The Gold Standard
The Saint stumbles on a murder in Paris and connects it up with the disappearance of the murdered man's brother in London. A worthy adversary, who remains anonymous to the end, captures Patricia, but the Saint is on his trail and the showdown reveals a dastardly plot to subvert the British economy.
The Man from St. Louis
A US gangster moves to London to cool off and starts to build a gang there. The Saint intervenes for his own pleasure and profit.
The Death Penalty
Two crime bosses meet in the Scilly Isles -- one of them the colourful Abdul Osman with whom the Saint has already had an encounter. Unfortunately for him, the Saint is there too. Attempts are made to eliminate him but in the end it is the gangsters who are eliminated.
Jon.
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