Wednesday, May 05, 2021

The Chase of the Gold Plate by Jacques Futrelle

First Line: Cardinal Richelieu and the Mikado stepped out on a narrow balcony overlooking the entrance to Seven Oaks, lighted their cigarettes and stood idly watching the throng as it poured up the wide marble steps.
 
It's the talk of the town: twelve solid gold plates were stolen during a high society masquerade ball, and it looks as though the thief was one of the guests who was daringly dressed as a burglar. He made his escape with the loot along with a masked girl in a stolen car, and now it's up to the police to find the thief and return the plates to the owner.
 
~
 
At first glance, this story written in 1906 looked to be right up my alley. I was in the mood for a good heist story, and this looked to be just the thing. The deciding factor was learning that the author went down on the Titanic. Be still, my soft heart!
 
Jacques Futrelle did have a knack for writing some memorable phrases. Two that caught my eye were a character wanting to "climb down someone's throat and open an umbrella", which brings a vivid mental picture to mind. A minor character declared the other in no uncertain terms: "Well, there ain't no serious trouble in this world till you marry a man that beats you." A lot of truth in that one, if you stop to think about it.
 
All in all, I discovered that The Chase of the Gold Plate was not the heist story for me. The writing was too dated, and although I liked Hutchinson Hatch the reporter, the other two main characters didn't cut the mustard. Detective Mallory, the "Supreme Police Intelligence of the Metropolitan District" who has a "No. 11 shoe and a No. 6 hat" pitted his skills against Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen, "the Thinking Machine." Bah. There was much too much exposition, and between that and the one-dimensional characters, the theft fell flat. Onward! 

The Chase of the Gold Plate by Jacques Futrelle
eISBN: 9781504021142
Open Road Integrated Media © 2015
Originally published in 1906.
eBook, 105 pages

Novella
Rating: C-
Source: Purchased from Amazon.

6 comments:

  1. I don't know reading it, but the "climb down someone's throat and open an umbrella" would make it almost worth it!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, that one phrase makes up for a lot in this story!

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  2. Oh, sorry to hear this, Cathy. It is disappointing when you get all hopeful for a book and it just...doesn't happen. Still, the premise sounds interesting, and that factoid about the Titanic is fascinating. Oh, well, as you say, onward!

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    Replies
    1. At least I have that handy phrase about the umbrella now!

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  3. This didn't appeal to me, but now I really know not to bother with this book.

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    Replies
    1. To be honest, I didn't think this was your type of book anyway, Kathy.

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