It's another Harley Quin's story, in which Mr. Satterthwaite attends the trial of a young man accused of murder. Shortly after the guilty verdict is returned, Satterthwaite runs into Harley Quin. Can they prove the man innocent? Or is he actually a murderer?
The story was first published in book form in the collection The Mysterious Mr Quin, published by Collins in 1930, which altered the title slightly from the original magazine publication's A Sign in the Sky. The collection was dedicated to its eponymous hero and is the only book of Agatha Christie's to be dedicated to a fictional character!
Tommy and Tuppence are sleuthing again after a clever counterfeiter who has been flooding both sides of the Channel with phoney bank notes. This story sees the Beresfords as the Busies, in an Edgar Wallace-type adventure, which parodies Wallace’s slapdash, action-laden thrillers. "We need several hundreds of yards of extra book shelf if Edgar Wallace is to be properly represented" Tuppence says at one point, referring to Wallace’s vast output.
This story was published by Collins in the collection Partners in Crime, 1929, and the title was changed from The Affair of the Forged Notes to The Crackler. It was adapted for radio in 1953, starring Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim. It also featured in the 1983 TV series Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime, with Francesca Annis and James Warwick.
Both stories seem quite fun, don't they? Happy reading, and enjoy!
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