Bad Luck Bank Robbers

Grace Barker is a Canadian author based in Campbellford, Ontario.^[1] She was supported by former police officer Clive Naismith of Trent Valley Archives during the research of the book.^[2]

Barker previously wrote Timber Empire: The Exploits of the Entrepreneurial Boyds, a historical account of lumber baron Mossom Boyd and his family.^[3][4]

The book documents the Havelock Bank Robbery of the Toronto Dominion Bank in 1961 and the police chase of the robbers.^[1][5] The book describes the two years of planning that went into the robbery, learning the patterns of the staff and the timing of the managers vacation.^[6] It details the limited capacity of the local police force.^[6] It also talks about the errors made by the robbers, how the local butcher spotted their vehicle and the series of unlucky events that slowed their escape, including a bulldozer blocking road an the breakdown of another vehicle on a single lane road.^[6] The book describes how the delays allowed the police to catch up with the robbers, the subsequent gun fight and then the robbers escape into the Ontario wilderness.^[6] It details the police-led search, the capture and then the trail of four of the robbers, and the death in custody of the fifth.^[6] The book ends by discussing the mystery of the missing $230,000.^[6]

Kelsey Powell writing for Kawartha Now praised the author's evidence gathering and described the book as a "must read" for history fans.^[7]

The book inspired a play by the same name that premiered at the 4th Line Theatre in 2016.^[8]

• Official website
• Bank robbery mystery still captures the imagination, John Campbell, Trent Hills Independent, September 15, 2015