The Ace of Knaves

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The Ace of Knaves also The Saint in Action
Early 1980s reprint edition, with alternate title
Author	Leslie Charteris
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	The Saint
Genre(s)	Mystery, Novellas
Publisher	Hodder and Stoughton
Publication date	1937
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	Saint Overboard
Followed by	Thieves' Picnic

The Ace of Knaves is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1937 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States by The Crime Club. This book continues the adventures of Charteris' creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. Later editions of the book were retitled The Saint in Action. The adventures in this book mark the return of Templar's longtime girlfriend and partner Patricia Holm and his nemesis, Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal since The Saint Goes On.

[edit] Stories

The book consisted of the following stories:

1. The Spanish War - A 10 pound debt turns into a mystery involving $30,000 in bearer bonds, a dead body, and a connection to the (then-current) Spanish Civil War.
2. The Unlicensed Victuallers - When Templar and his crew pursue a liquor-smuggling racket, their mission becomes complicated when they discover a beautiful blonde is somehow caught up in it and Templar becomes concerned that she is somehow connected to a murder.
3. The Beauty Specialist - The Saint is suspected of being "The Z-Man", a mysterious figure who is blackmailing a trio of movie starlets. It's up to Simon and Patricia Holm to protect the women until the blackmailer's real identity is revealed.

v • d • e The Saint, created by Leslie Charteris Characters Simon Templar | Patricia Holm | Claud Eustace Teal | Hoppy Uniatz | Roger Conway Books by Leslie Charteris Meet - The Tiger! (1928) | Enter the Saint (1930) | The Last Hero (1930) | Knight Templar (1930) | Featuring the Saint (UK only – 1931) | Alias the Saint (UK only – 1931) | Wanted for Murder (US only – 1931) | She Was a Lady (1931) | The Holy Terror (1932) | Getaway (1932) | Once More the Saint (1933) | The Brighter Buccaneer (1933) | The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal (1934) | Boodle (1934) | The Saint Goes On (1934) | The Saint in New York (1935) | Saint Overboard (1936) | The Ace of Knaves (1937) | Thieves' Picnic (1937) | Prelude for War (1938) | Follow the Saint (1938) | The Happy Highwayman (1939) | The Saint in Miami (1940) | The Saint Goes West (1942) | The Saint Steps In (1942) | The Saint on Guard (1944) | The Saint Sees it Through (1946) | Call for the Saint (1948) | Saint Errant (1948) | The Saint in Europe (1953) | The Saint on the Spanish Main (1955) | The Saint Around the World (1956) | Thanks to the Saint (1957) | Señor Saint (1958) | The Saint to the Rescue (1959) | Trust the Saint (1962) | The Saint in the Sun (1963) Collaborations (credited to Charteris) Vendetta for the Saint (1964) | The Saint on TV (1968) | The Saint Returns (1968) | The Saint and the Fiction Makers (1968) | The Saint Abroad (1969) | The Saint in Pursuit (1970) | The Saint and the People Importers (1971) | Catch the Saint (1975) | The Saint and the Hapsburg Necklace (1976) | Send for the Saint (1977) | The Saint in Trouble (1978) | The Saint and the Templar Treasure (1979) | Count on the Saint (1980) | Salvage for the Saint (1983) Books by Burl Barer The Saint (film novelization) (1997) | Capture the Saint (1997) Unpublished works Bet on the Saint (1968) | The Saint's Lady (1979) Theatrical films The Saint in New York (1938) | The Saint Strikes Back (1939) | The Saint in London (1939) | The Saint's Double Trouble (1940) | The Saint Takes Over (1940) | The Saint in Palm Springs (1941) | The Saint's Vacation (1941) | The Saint Meets the Tiger (1943) | The Saint's Girl Friday (1953) | Le Saint mène la danse (1960) | Le Saint prend l'affut (1966) | The Saint (1997) Made-for-TV films The Fiction Makers (1968) | Vendetta for the Saint (1969) | The Saint and the Brave Goose (1983) | The Saint in Manhattan (1987) Television series The Saint (1962 – 1969) | Return of the Saint (1978 – 1979) | Mystery Wheel of Adventure (1989) The Saint Actors Louis Hayward | George Sanders | Hugh Sinclair | Félix Marten | Jean Marais | Roger Moore | Ian Ogilvy | Andrew Clarke | Simon Dutton | Val Kilmer Related articles Daredevil (1929) (Teal's first appearance) | S.W.O.R.D. (fictional organization)