It’s time to shine a light on some overseas crime novels. While putting this column together, I scrapped the original three, due to how poorly they have aged. I’ll just say this: I got halfway through one and still had no idea what had happened in any of the short stories. So checking through my archives, I found three others, which all feature some rakish Brits, all of whom seem to be influenced by the character of the third book.
THE TOFF ON THE FARM by John Creasey — There is one thing you have to hand to Creasey: He was super-prolific. The man had four long-running series — take that, slowpoke writers. The Toff (aka Richard Rollison) comes off like another British figure, The Saint, except he does not have the crime background of Simon Templar. Also, the Toff has a trophy room in his home with a memento from every case or adventure he has been associated with. The series goes well into 60 books, so that has to be one monster of a room.
The Toff is told about a small English farm for sale, and the owners are inundated with people who want their hands on this property, each offering more than the previous offer. The farm owners claim that the ad was a mistake and don’t want to sell. But things go really bad really quick in this 1958 book, with bodies piling up and a mysterious American named The Texan prowling around.
The Texan seems to have someone working on the inside, so he is always one step ahead of the Toff. But the Toff seems like a super-sleuth — you know, where the hero comes off that he knows it all, right from the start. It’s fine for some to have a hero like this, but also it can be frustrating. I mean, that is the basic gist of the story; not much happens until the big reveal about why everyone wants to get their hands on this farm. That is the point where the book seems to enter one of Creasey’s other series: the Department Z books. It seems something dangerous is what everyone is after, with a deadly outcome if not handled correctly.
Creasey’s writing is really relaxed with his creation. It just flows along like a lazy river. Even when the action heats, it just slowly goes with the flow. That is not a bad thing at all for people who want some lighthearted fare. It’s a fun little read, but don’t go in expecting some major set pieces of action — just a very relaxed British affair that makes you want to delve into more of the adventures of this bon vivant.
THE SIN WITHIN HER SMILE by Jonathan Gash — Coming toward the end of the Lovejoy books, this is 1993 entry is #17 out of 24. It is not for newbies or even folks who might have only read one or two of the series before this, like I had, since it is more like an episode of SEINFELD than a true mystery. I don’t mean this as a slight, but you really need to focus while reading this one, since there is so much slang and art history thrown about, it will turn off a few readers. Sure, it’s still the misogynistic Lovejoy people have come to expect, but the story just sort of rambles to a finish.
It starts all nice enough with Lovejoy being auctioned off as a slave for a day for charity. He is bought by a very rich couple, but it’s never made clear what they want from him, except that it’s his art expertise they plan on the majority of use for their own nefarious ideas. In this world, it seems you can’t throw a stone without hitting a thief or counterfeiter of art.
Then it turns into TRAVELS WITH CHARLY, with Lovejoy and crew embarking off to Wales. The story follows Lovejoy and a group of mental patients on their way to a new hospital by use of horse-drawn carts. In their travels, Lovejoy has to deal with these people who all have quirks and foibles, be it a little bit of shoplifting or women who constantly like to take off their clothes. I really wish I was making this up, but again, this is definitely not going to be making any to-be-read lists anytime soon.
Even if you are a huge Lovejoy fan, you are really going to have to make an effort through it, since you will need a crib sheet to keep every character straight and a flowchart that keeps the plot relevant. Stick with the earlier novels in the series, since their casts never swell to the numbers this one does, and also, they are much easier to follow. I’m still trying to piece together what exactly happened in this one. From what I gather, not a whole heck of a lot, which is a shame, since Gash is such an enjoyable read and Lovejoy just the type of character that you would love to revisit.
THE SAINT ON THE SPANISH MAIN by Leslie Charteris — As I’m slowly making progress through the 800-page THE BEST OF THE SAINT: VOLUME ONE collection (it’s awesome so far), I figured I would tackle one of the short story collections. From 1955, this is one of the travelogue ones in that all the stories this time take place in the fun and sun of the Islands. Each story takes place at a separate location, none of which really goes into travel-guide material. They are mostly set there just so The Saint’s vacations can all be interrupted by others.
For me, The Saint is easier digested in short-story or novella form than my previous attempts at the novels. All seven of the stories here are pure fun, starting off with “The Effete Angler,” which deals with a paranoid fisherman with a bodyguard, with The Saint wondering why someone who does deep-sea fishing would not have the correct equipment, and stumbles upon a scheme that he will certainly benefit from. “The Arrow of God” comes off like a super-short Agatha Christie novel, with a truly loathsome individual killed by a beach umbrella. Was it an act of nature or one of the fellow guests, who all had reasons to kill the man? That Saint figures it out right away and makes short work of the case.
“The Unkind Philanthropist” is a humorous tale in which The Saint thinks a man named Tristan Brown is too good to be true. He is a lawyer looking to give away money for a foundation, with one woman determined to get her claws into this gimmick. “The Old Treasure Story” is the story of a woman finally acting on a family legend of a sunken ship with a vast amount of treasure. The Saint is always one to help a damsel in distress, especially if there is a payoff. The final story deals with a man who should know better than to get involved in the world of voodoo, in “The Questing Tycoon.” Have people not seen THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW?
For those interested in The Saint, I could not suggest a better introduction, since these stories are just short enough to give a taste of this interesting character.
Next time: Duty now for the future, aka my apologies to Douglas Adams. —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF LESLIE CHARTERIS:
• THE SAINT IN THE SUN by Leslie Charteris
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF JOHN CREASEY:
• THE BLACK SPIDERS by John Creasey
• THE DEPTHS by John Creasey
• GIDEON’S FOG by John Creasey
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF JONATHAN GASH:
• SPEND GAME by Jonathan Gash
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I had to work myself up from the Saint short stories to the novels myself.
I haven’t read this one but I’ve read a few of the other Lovejoy books. This one sounds par for the course. Lovejoy is a riot and the books are very funny but the plots all ramble along and never seem to amount to much of anything.