Bøger af Leslie Charteris

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.

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 this collection of six stories, the fireworks go off with a bang. There's a murky tale of blackmail at a candy convention; a chance to turn the tables on an unscrupulous real-estate broker; a confidence trickster with a keen grasp of maths; a scientific invention that is too good to be true; some respectable ladies with a secret to be kept; and a criminal lawyer who's perhaps too close to the criminals he represents. Simon Templar doesn't mean to start trouble, but how can he help responding to it when it falls into his lap?

In these six stories, the Saint encounters monsters of both the human and the animal variety: unscrupulous fraudsters in Hamburg; a confrontation with a rhino; perfect murders in Paris; a temperance leader deserving to be taken down a peg or two; a thief duping tourists in Sweden; and the hunt for the most famous monster of them all on the shores of Loch Ness. You can trust the Saint to deal with anything life throws at him with charm, imagination and steely determination...

The Saint has become better known - but that just increases the number of people who seek out his help. In these nine short stories Simon has a chance to show off his skills: he matches his wits against confidence tricksters, objects to a hanging, gets the better of a patent pill millionaire, solves a locked-room murder in a secret laboratory, goes fishing, turns journalist and ends the book with a bang - literally!

The Saint is a traditionalist - he knows what a good pirate story needs. Gold, hidden treasure, smugglers, dastardly villains and damsels in distress. From Bimini to Nassau, via Jamaica and Haiti, the Saint travels the Caribbean - interrupting his holidays to settle disputes, solve murders, overthrow governments, and hunt for treasure. Wherever he lands, you can be sure that the Ungodly will get what's coming to them.

The female of the species is supposed to be deadlier than the male... Simon Templar is about to find out if that's true. In this collection of stories, the Saint encounters nine fascinating women. Whether they need help, to be avenged, or to brought to justice, the Saint handles their cases with panache and in his usual gentlemanly style.

Simon Templar never goes anywhere with the intention of getting into trouble, but trouble seems to like following him. In seven adventures round Europe, he discovers dead bodies, missing jewels, kidnappers and swindlers galore. He was meant to be on holiday - but when push comes to shove, he'll make sure that justice is done. 'The character of Simon Templar forms the perfect literary bridge between John Buchan's Richard Hannay and Ian Fleming's James Bond.' Mike Ripley

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.

When a shipment of iridium is stolen the Saint hatches a scheme to recover the goods - but then one of his prime leads is murdered and he's framed for the crime. He escapes to Galveston in Texas in pursuit of a man who has been sabotaging weapons factories, only for him to turn up burnt to a crisp. The Saint has to contend with the local police, a trio of mysterious men and a beautiful Russian in his attempt to get to the bottom of what is going on.

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.

The Saint is in Washington DC when a young woman asks for his help. Her father, a noted scientist, has invented a new form of synthetic rubber. But he has disappeared, and she is under threat. She turns to Simon Templar, who soon finds himself involved in war time intrigue.

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.

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...

The Saint's holiday in Tenerife comes to a dramatic end when he rescues an elderly Dutch diamond cutter and his daughter from a vicious attack. It seems the old man is a reluctant member of a jewel-smuggling gang, and naturally Simon offers to help him out for just a small share of the boodle. But things get complicated when the Saint learns the old man had a lottery ticket worth $2 million - which has now gone missing. As the plot gets more complex, Simon struggles to play a winning hand.

The Saint never asks for adventures, but they will keep happening to him, and these three classic stories force him into action once more. In The Spanish Civil War, a 10 debt leads to a dead body, a large quantity of bearers' bonds, and another tussle with Inspector Teal. The Unlicensed Victuallers sees Simon get involved with liquor smuggling in Dorset and a dangerous femme fatale; while The Beauty Specialist entangles him with film stars and movie moguls, and a particularly unpleasant blackmailer...

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.

How could the Saint possibly resist the chance of a treasure hunt? When his sailing trip along the French coast is interrupted by gunfire and shouting, naturally he gets curious. The cause of the commotion is a group of men pursuing a young woman - and once Simon steps in to help the damsel in distress, he soon finds himself on the trail of a group of modern-day pirates - and searching for a huge amount of gold.

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.

In these three classic stories, the Saint investigates crimes that have left the police confounded. In The High Fence, he hunts down a villain who somehow manages to kill people just before they can reveal his identity; The Elusive Ellshaw sees him on the track of a man meant to have died a year before; and a letter calling for help sends him to a sleepy seaside pub disturbed by mysterious underground rumblings in The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper. One thing is sure: despite death threats, gunfire and kidnapping, the Saint will go on until his curiosity is satisfied.

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.The Saint is on holiday in Austria with Patricia and his friend Monty, fully intending to give up crime and lead a respectable life. All his good intentions come to nothing, though, when he sees a man being attacked by thugs and feels obliged to intervene. The stranger seems remarkably ungrateful, and soon they learn why: he is a thief, with a prize that men will kill for. Before the day is out, the Saint and his friends find themselves in a race against time, Prince Rudolf and the police to retain ownership of the priceless jewels.

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 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.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. 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.