J. Baker Wood

In the short story Double Sin, J. Baker Wood was an American tourist staying at Charlock Bay. He was a connoisseur and collector of miniatures. Mary Durrant had been on the way to show him a set of valuable miniatures when she reported them stolen. At the same time, Wood reported that an middle-aged woman had come to see him with the miniatures, he had liked them and had paid her for them.

Hastings and Poirot proceeded to interview Wood. Hastings observed that Wood was "a large vulgar man, very much overdressed and wearing a diamond solitaire ring." He had a blustering and noisy nature and was someone Hastings took an immediate dislike to. Poirot, on the other hand, felt more sympathetic to him. Wood was, he told Hastings, a visitor, like him. Poirot had himself been subjected to the strange ways of his adopted country. For example, on the way to Charlock Bay he had to pay same fare for a single journey as for return. Thus Poirot felt he had to protect a fellow visitor.

Portrayals
J. Baker Wood was played by Michael Shannon in the film adaptation of Double Sin in Series 3 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot drama series. There he was portrayed as forthright and plain speaking but not as disagreeable as the Wood in the original story.