From June 2000, this is a book that succeeds in three directions at once, and makes it all look effortless. I give Max Allan Collins all the credit I can for the fine job he did here.

First and most obviously, the story is set on that final voyage of the great dirigible Hindenburg in May 1937. Collins provides fascinating details about every aspect of the ship and life for passengers aboard it, as well as the frightening political nightmare gathering steam in Germany at that time, and the famous tragedy that occurred as the ship came in at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Everything not only has the ring of authenticity, it's presented with a clarity and artfulness that makes the historical part enjoyable to breeze through. I've seen serious history books on the tragedy that were not as well researched and were so clumsily written as well that they defied being read, like an outdated chemistry text.

Then, Collins also tells a neat murder mystery that doesn't actually contradict anything known to experts and in fact provides a completely plausible explanation. As a thriller, it's just right; the mysterious disappearance of a Nazi undercover spy while in flight, the possibility of a bomb being on board, the motley cast of suspects (all but two being actual people who were in fact on that airship), and the final rush of revelations as the reader hurries to keep up with the amateur detective trying to solve two murders and prevent an imminent disaster. Again, very well done and if this had been a book about a fictional Zeppelin under threat, it still would have been rewarding.

But the best part, the reason I snatched up this book when I saw it as if life itself depended on reading it, is that Collins has deftly inserted Leslie Charteris into the story. Yes, the author of the Saint stories. Actually, Charteris and his wife Pauline had been on the maiden flight of the Hindenburg a year earlier but (luckily for all of us who love the Saintly chronicles) he was not on its doomed last cruise.

In an afterword called "A Tip of the Halo" (you rascal), Collins tells how thoroughly he researched the author. Much of the dialogue and thoughts given to Charteris in this book are lifted from his own writings. They all have that unmistakable impudence and incisiveness that marked Charteris' early writings. (When asked by an official if he is a Communist or anarchist, he blithely replies "Are there any other choices?" In fact, he is awfully flippant to the Nazis in this book.)

As interesting as it is to learn many facts about Charteris, from that his brother was a priest to the fact he wore a monocle to avoid the indignity of eyeglasses, it's even more satisfying to get a convincing feel for what the man himself was like. So much of the Saint is a slight extension of Charteris himself. It becomes understandable why the author was so pleased describing how very handsome and impeccably dressed his hero was, how quickly and clearly his mind worked, how devastating he was to the ladies. Charteris was essentially describing himself and having a fine time doing so.

There is also a line that goes far toward explaining the enigmatic partnership of Simon Templar and Patricia Holm. At this point, Leslie Charteris is getting a divorce from Pauline (he has wistful little pangs occasionally when reminded of her and of their daughter). He explains that they have parted amicably, in a civilized way. "She abided my wandering eye longer than most women would. The fault was mine, entirely."

So if this represents the author`s actual feelings, it seems likely that his alter ego on the printed page lived much the same way. And it also clarifies why Patricia Holm began to drift out of the Saint stories and eventually disappeared, leaving the isolated and slightly melancholy Simon Templar of the later years to travel about the world by himself.

I usually just jot down my reactions to stories, but here I strongly recommend buying a copy of THE HINDENBURG MURDERS if you're a fan of Leslie Charteris and the Saint; if you love a solid, well told mystery; or if you're interested in history and would like to know more about a dramatic disaster that pretty much ended the reign of lighter than air craft.

And if Max Allan Collins is thinking of writing a further book in this series and wants to pick a famous author of adventure stories who was very much like his fictional hero and who could have solved a crime against a catastrophic backdrop, let me suggest one name. Ian Fleming!