The Incredible Theft: Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot #0.35

by Agatha Christie

A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook.

Plans for a secret bomber plane have been stolen from a minister’s house. Poirot is called to discreetly investigate the guests and to locate the plans before they fall into the enemy’s hands…

Genres: Agatha Christie, Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Classics

62 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[EveStar91]

“You see, George, to use the language of the movies, we’ve nothing actually ‘on’ the woman. And we want something! She’s got away with rather more than she should in the past. But she’s been careful—damnably careful. We know what she’s been up to, but we’ve got no definite proof of it. We’ve got to tempt her with something big.”

The Minister Of Arms Lord Mayfield might have tempted fate when he invites Mrs. Vanderlyn, infamous for her contacts in other European countries, over for a dinner party, also attended by another military head. Some plans for a new bomber go missing and Poirot is summoned to discreetly solve the case of The Incredible Theft.

With a plot that is pretty much that of The Submarine Plans, but much better developed here, this novella also has enough page-space for Agatha Christie's strengths - character development and good writing. This is the second novella I read with similar plots to a short story, and there's no doubt that Christie really shines with novels/ novellas.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
[One star for the premise; One star for the characters; 3/4 star for the plot; Half a star for the world-building; 3/4 star for the writing - 4 stars in total.]

[Anne]

The theft of secret bomber plans at a house party means everything needs to be kept hush-hush.
One of Lord Mayfield's guests is widely suspected to be a spy. Unfortunately, it looks like they have quite a tidy alibi for the time the papers went missing.



Enter Poirot, the only man alive who can untangle the mystery of the politician vs. the spy.
There's more going on here than meets the eye but all's well that ends well.
Right?

I read this as part of the short story collection Murder in the Mews.

[Julie]

This year, 2026, marks the celebration of Agatha Christie: 100 years of suspense. This title was available to download from my local library system in celebration. Once I began listening, I recognized this story as one I had read before in an anthology of short stories, still, it was a treat to hear Hugh Fraser's voice again and it is a good mystery.

Favourite quote:

“My Lord,” said Poirot, “If you could not make the best of both worlds, you could not be a politician.”

[Saranya [uni- s.ia.]]

If you're planning a heist, maybe don’t invite a detective whose mustache has more investigative experience than you do :)

Lord Mayfield, a titan of industry with secrets more valuable than his estate’s antique vases, hosts a house party that quickly turns into a game of Clue: blueprints vanish, reputations teeter and everyone seems charmingly suspicious.

Delightful and explosively satisfying :D

[Jack Heath]

4 Stars. One interesting aspect of this 72-page novelette short story is that the process of elimination by which Poirot determines the culprit is closer to the surface than in many of Christie's works. We delve into his thought process. And oops, sometimes one overlooks the obvious - it's not a murder! It's origins go back to 1923 when it appeared in Sketch as The Submarine Plans. Substantially lengthened, with the subject elevated, it was serialized in the Daily Express in 1937 and, later in the same year, collected with three others in Murder in the Mews. A dinner party is being held at the home of Lord Charles Mayfield, First Minister of Armaments in the British Cabinet. Everyone is there, including Air Marshal Sir George Carrington, Lord Mayfield's able secretary, Mr. Carlile, and a Member of Parliament, Mrs. Macatta. But another guest raises eyebrows, the intriguing Mrs. Vanderlyn. Rumours are rife about her consorting with agents of enemy powers. Mayfield likes to take work home and the plans for the new bomber are in the house with her present! Of course, they go missing. The call goes out to Poirot to help bail out the innocent. (Au2020/Jul2026)

[NILTON TEIXEIRA]

Brilliant!

[Susan]

This Poirot short story first appeared as, “The Submarine Plans,” in 1923 and was later expanded. The plans stolen in this story refer to a new bomber and the theft takes place after a dinner party hosted by Lord Mayfield, First Minister of Armaments. Guests include Air Marshal Sir George Carrington, his wife – who has gambling debts – and his son, Reggie. There is also Lord Mayfield’s personal secretary, a female MP and the exotic Mrs Vanderlyn, who is suspected of espionage…

Despite the obvious culprit being Mrs Vanderlyn, Poirot is asked to investigate the extremely sensitive issue of the missing plans. This is Poirot relatively young and vigorous – daintily tripping up the stairs, admiring the pretty young ladies and, of course, solving the mystery with ease. A delightful story for Poirot fans and with an interesting cast of suspects.

[writer...]

New to me story of Poirot investigating a sensitive official war related government issue . Capable but disregarded in his perceptions, Poirot does end in saving the day and maintaining his reputation!

[catherine ♡]

Admittedly the premise does not quite capture my attention, and it sounds a lot like other cases that Poirot has taken on. However, it was actually really interesting to follow his process of elimination as he figured out who WASN’T the culprit in order to figure out who was.

[Vin Vineeta]

Now Lady Vanderlyn is the kind of femme fatale spy I want to read more of 👌🏽

[Jordan Scott]

Only because I guessed the twist on this one which I never do!

[Agla]

Poirot is called to investigate the theft of a plane's plan in a politician's home. A foreign spy is on site for some odd reason. Who took it. Poirot obviously figures it out! A good one.

[Abeer Albossany]

I don't know if I am getting smarter or are the cases getting easier? This one was unique since it was not about murder, but honestly I had it all figured out from the very beginning. Beautiful story indeed.

[James]

Another fun and quirky story by Agatha Christie. In this story, no murder happens, but revolves around a Lord, Evening Soirée and a stolen document. All is rather intriguing, and only one person can figure out what happened! 🤔🙂

[Jan]

An ok short story about Hercule Poirot.

[Charlene]

Not my favorite Agatha Christie work. I think it's actually my least favorite so far. It wasn't all that intriguing to me, and it didn't have as much charm as the others did.

[Jess ☆〜（ゝ。∂）]

I was going to write something potentially funny about how hastings just vanishes in this story with no explanation. but he just shows up in the next one like normal????

anyways both the words coquettish and demurely are used in this. i just thought you should know that. do with that what you will

[Farhana Sufi]

Read before in the Poirot short story collections. Not one of my favourites. But interesting.

[Ziesha Fernandez]

Fun and quirky story. No murder. Theft of documents having national importance. A bit predictable. Overall a nice short read.

[Sarita]

This was a short and sweet mystery of who done it.

*I listened to the audiobook on Scribd.*

[Susy]

3 stars

[selah !]

a great short read! still kept me intrigued given the length

[Richard]

‘The Incredible Theft is a novella by Agatha Christie which was an expansion of The Submarine Plans, an early short story first published in The Sketch in 1923 in the U.K.’

‘In its extended form it was first published as a book in the collection Murder in the Mews in 1937, which consisted of four novella length Poirot stories gathered in one volume.’

It is currently available as an independent ebook.

A story that demonstrates the patience and skill of Hercule Poirot, called in to avoid publicity when plans are stolen which if fall into the hands of a foreign power would damage the U.K.’s effort in a future conflict.

I thought it was revealing that the unorthodox detective is committed to the case despite being woken up in the middle of the night. Despite receiving a mixed reception to his involvement and methods. It was also good to see Poirot’s powers of deduction, as sharp as ever, even when tired and functioning without sleep. I was also amused by his interrogation methods, ability to weave lies into his questioning, his flirting and self-assurance.

You have got to love this character, the more so as you read his various cases.

No body in this mystery, government secrets stolen and foreign agents at work it seems.

Makes for a great read and the motivations revealed appear just a meaningful some hundred years later. Agatha Christie’s world may have changed greatly in the ensuing decades but her eye for social memes remain astute and telling in the character’s manner and desires. These remain relevant and identifiable still for the modern reader.

[a ☕︎]

both an international spy thriller and country house mystery, which is an intriguing combination…! i liked the character of mrs. vanderlyn, who is both a pseudo-bond-girl and the main suspect, but does not appear very much…

[Beka]

A short story that shows off Poirot's mastery of closed room mysteries.

[Bharati]

Agatha Christie. Period.

[Amber Wright]

Clever little mystery. Wished it was longer.

[Donna]

loved it

[Adriana]

Classic Christie story- wide array of characters, easy to follow clues, perfect deduction skills and a twist at the end

[Louise]

One of the best short stories; slightly longer than the others read so far and all the better for it.