Book Review: The Saint Meets His Match by Leslie Charteris

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I'm slowly reading all the classic “Saint” books in order. It's been a while since I read the last one, because I only recently acquired the next in the series. I save money by buying job lots of books and selling on the duplicates, so I had to wait till a suitable lot appeared on eBay that included this particuler volume. First published in book form in 1931, “The Saint Meets His Match” (originally titled “She Was A Lady”) is the seventh in the series, and the fourth full-length novel. An earlier version was originally serialised in the magazine “Thriller”, but that was featuring a different leading character, and apparently the book version was heavily rewritten. Having been pardoned at the end of “The Avenging Saint”, Simon Templar has given up his original vigilante ways and he also seems to think that his days as an adventurer have come to an end. His relationship with his old nemesis Chief Inspector Teal has mellowed to the point where Teal accepts a dinner invitation from Templar, at which the Saint reminds Teal of a previous offer that had been made, for Simon Templar to join the police as a detective. Teal duly introduces Templar to the Chief Commissioner, who takes him on and assigns him to a case which has been baffling Scotland Yard, and which Simon has already taken an interest in due to newspaper reports. A mysterious gang has been rescuing professional criminals from under the noses of the police, and sending taunting letters signed by “The Angels of Doom”. Information received indicates the leader of the gang to be a young woman called Jill Trelawney, but the police can't prove anything and it's becoming a public embarrassment to them. Using his newfound resources as policeman, but still employing his own unconventional methods, the Saint goes after the Angels of Doom and soon confronts Jill in her fortified London flat. It transpires that Jill is the daughter of a former senior police officer, who died shortly after being forced to resign due to allegations of corruption. Jill is convinced that her father was framed, and has formed the Angels of Doom in order to wreak deadly vengeance against the men she holds responsible, as well as embarrassing Scotland Yard in the process. Jill's so single-minded on this point that she even considers killing the Saint in order to stop him from opposing her. All the same, Simon Templar feels Jill to be a kindred spirit, and he ends up rescuing her from a trap that he himself prepared, and terminating his relationship with the police. Having become partners, Simon is able to persuade Jill that she'll never clear her father's name by killing the men who framed him. Instead, he uses his own methods to help her try to gather evidence against them and let the law hang them. There are three men responsible, two men who are known to Jill and who are rich and powerful, involved in organised crime – and an unknown third party. The structure of the book is episodic, with approximately a third devoted to Simon and Jill taking care of each enemy. I had the identity of the unknown third party figured out half way through, but I was surprised by the identity of “Auntie Ethel” - someone who the Saint has been having private meetings with outside Jill's ken. I really enjoyed this book. There are flaws. Even though Templar's manservant Orace is still working for him, and Teal figures heavily in the plot, Patricia Holm (the Saint's original love interest) isn't mentioned at all. All the same, it has a fast-moving plot with a good mixture of mystery and action. And even the Saint's actions and motivations aren't always completely clear until the end of the book. Out of the first four novels, I would rate it as the second best, after “Meet the Tiger.” Now I've got to find the next one in the series, which is missing from my collection.