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"The Million Dollar Bond Robbery"
by
Agatha Christie
vintage mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Dreamscape Media on January 1, 2019 and has 26 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Secret Adversary, The Unexpected Guest, Partners in Crime, Three Blind Mice and Other Stories, The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories, Passenger to Frankfurt, The Murder at the Vicarage, "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook”, “The Submarine Plans”, “The Double Clue”
A short story, number 22, in the Hercule Poirot vintage mystery series and revolving around a brilliant, if he says so himself, Belgian detective. The focus is on a transatlantic robbery. This short story originally appeared in the May 2, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.
My Take
It’s a not-quite classic locked-room mystery and Poirot is so very clever in his deductions.
Christie uses the unreliable narrator point-of-view from the judgmental and inexperienced Hastings’ perspective.
Yes, it’s a very short story, but no less clever and complete.
There is a teeny bit of action in that Poirot and Hastings do visit the bank and meet with the fiancée, but it’s mostly the little grey cells that work here.
The Story
A packet containing a million dollars’ worth of bank bonds is stolen while in Philip Ridgeway’s custody aboard the Olympia.
While the trunk containing the packet displays marks of being forced, it was, nevertheless, unlocked with a key that could not possibly exist.
The Characters
Hercule Poirot is a private detective living in England. Captain Hastings is his roommate.
Miss Esmée Farquhar is engaged to Philip Ridgeway, a trusted bank manager.
Mr Vavasour, the joint general manager of the London and Scottish Bank, is Ridgeway’s uncle. Mr Shaw is the other joint general manager.
Inspector McNeil of Scotland Yard is in charge of the case.
The Olympia and the Gigantic are rival ships. Mr Ventnor was a reclusive passenger aboard the Olympia.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a black and pale gray pin-striped (on the diagonal) background. At the top is a pale gold border that ends in a reverse arc on either end in a double border filled with tiny white rectangles encasing the author’s name in a fancy serif in gold with a white embossing. Below it is another pale gold line that runs from edge to edge. Below that is a pale gold circle with Poirot’s black bowler hat and mustache centered within. White rectangles surround the circle with a pale gold border encasing the rectangles. Another pair of pale gold horizontal rules are below this. The top line has angled gold rays springing up with the first three words of the title, in white, between the pair of lines. The last two words of the title, in white again, is below the second rule. Below that is another pair of gold lines with more white rectangles between them.
The title is what it is, “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery”.
