The Saint was the title of a mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 novel by Burl Barer

Burl Barer

Burl Barer is an American author and literary historian. He is best known for his fiction and non-fiction writings about the character Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint".-The Saint:...

 published by Pocket Books

Pocket Books

Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...

 in 1997. It was based upon the screenplay for the film The Saint

The Saint (film)

The Saint is a 1997 film based on the character of Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 for a series of books published as "The Saint." The film stars Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue and Rade Šerbedžija...

, which in turn was loosely based upon the character Simon Templar

Simon Templar

Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...

, created by Leslie Charteris

Leslie Charteris

Leslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...

. Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer

Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...

 portrayed Templar and is pictured on the book's front cover.

This was the first book featuring Templar since Salvage for the Saint

Salvage for the Saint

Salvage for the Saint is the title of a 1983 mystery novel featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The novel was written by Peter Bloxsom based on the two-part Return of the Saint episode, "Collision Course" by John Kruse, but per the custom at this time, the author credit on...

ended the original series of books (which began in 1928) in 1983. It is also the first Saint story to be published since Charteris' death in 1993 and the first to not be published by either Hodder & Stoughton

Hodder & Stoughton

Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...

 (UK) or The Crime Club

The Crime Club

The Crime Club was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series.Many classic and popular works of detective and mystery fiction had their first U.S. editions published via the Crime Club, including all 50 books of The Saint by Leslie Charteris...

 (US).

Barer wrote the book based upon the screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh

Jonathan Hensleigh

Jonathan Blair Hensleigh is an American screenwriter and film director, working primarily in the action/adventure genre of films.-Early life:...

 and Wesley Strick

Wesley Strick

Wesley Strick is an American screenwriter who has written such films as the comic-horror hit Arachnophobia, the Martin Scorsese remake of Cape Fear and the videogame adaptation Doom.-Life and career:...

. Barer himself is a longtime fan of the Saint books and in 1993 had published a comprehensive study on the many literary, radio, and television stories featuring the character of Simon Templar. Ironically, Barer uses as a framing sequence around his historical work then-current plans to launch a new film series based upon the Saint; these plans ultimately failed and the 1997 film resulted.

The film only loosely adapted the Simon Templar character, making many wholesale changes to the concept of The Saint and Templar; Barer nonetheless incorporated elements from Charteris into his manuscript, including characters from past Saint books such as Roger Conway. Barer would go on to write an original Saint novel (more closely related to the character) entitled Capture the Saint

Capture the Saint

Capture the Saint is the title of a 1997 mystery novel by Burl Barer, featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint" who was created by Leslie Charteris in 1928....

, which was also published in 1997.