The thrilling story of a brazen, uncatchable jewel thief who roamed the homes of Dallas high society--and a window into the dark secrets lurking beneath the surface of the Swinging Sixties.

As a string of high profile jewel thefts went unsolved during the Swinging Sixties, the press dubbed the elusive thief the King of Diamonds because he eluded police and the FBI for more than a decade.
Like Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, the King was so bold that he tip-toed into the homes of millionaires while they were watching television, or hosting parties. He hid in their closets. And dared to smoke a cigarette while they were sleeping not far away. Rena Pederson, then a young reporter withUPI, started following the elusive thief while she managed the night desk.

With gymnastic skill, this thief climbed trees or crawled across rooftops to get into sprawling mansions. He took jewels from heiresses, oil kings, corporate CEOs. These were not just some of the richest people in Texas; they were some of the richest people of their time. Scotland Yard and Interpol were on the look-out. But the thief was never caught and the jewels never recovered.

To follow the tracks of the thief, Rena has interviewed more than two hundred people, from veteran cops to strippers. She went to pawn shops, Las Vegas casinos, and a Mafia hangout--and discovered that beneath the glittering façade of Dallas debutante parties was a world of sex trafficking, illegal gambling, and political graft. When one of the leading suspects was found dead in highly unusual circumstances, the story darkened. High society crashed head-first into Mickey Spillane.

The odd psychological aspects of the The King of Diamonds give us different kind of crime story. Detectives were stumped: Why did the thief break into houses when his targets were inside, increasing the risk of being captured? Why did he hide in their closets? Many times, he was so close he could hear their breathing as they slept. As one socialite put it, It was a very peculiar business.

A captivating Jazz Age true-crime caper about the greatest jewel thief who ever lived (Life Magazine), Arthur Barry, who charmed everyone from Rockefellers to members of the royal family while simultaneously planning and executing the most audacious and lucrative heists of the 1920s.

A master of narrative nonfiction. In this mesmerizing tale about a Jazz Age gentlemanly thief, Jobb has found his own perfect jewel.
―DAVID GRANN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

An enthrallingly propulsive, unpredictably twisty biography of one of the most fascinating criminals of the 20th Century. I was hooked from the very first heist.
―MICHAEL FINKEL, New York Times bestselling author of The Art Thief and The Stranger in the Woods

Catch Me If You Can meets The Great Gatsby meets the hit Netflix series Lupin in this captivating true-crime caper. A skilled con artist and perhaps one of the most charming, audacious burglars in history, Arthur Barry slipped in and out of the bedrooms of New York's wealthiest residents, even as his victims slept only inches away. He befriended luminaries such as the Prince of Wales and Harry Houdini and became a folk hero, touted in the press as the greatest jewel thief who ever lived and an Aristocrat of Crime. In a span of seven years, Barry stole diamonds, pearls, and other gems worth almost $60 million today. Among his victims were a Rockefeller, an heiress to the Woolworth department store fortune, an oil magnate, Wall Street bigwigs, a top executive of automotive giant General Motors, and a famous polo player. Dean Jobb--hailed by Esquire magazine as a master of narrative nonfiction--once again delivers a stylishly told high-speed ride.

A Gentleman and a Thief is also a love story. Barry confessed to dozens of burglaries to protect his wife, Anna Blake (and was the prime suspect in scores of others). Sentenced to a twenty-five year term, he staged a dramatic prison break when Anna became seriously ill so they could be together for a few more years as fugitives. With dozens of historic images, A Gentleman and a Thief is page-turning, escapist, and sparkling with insight into our fascination with jewel heists and the suave, clever criminals who pull them off.

In the ... spirit of Ocean's 8, The Heist, and Thelma & Louise, a ... memoir [from] the world's most notorious jewel thief--a woman who defied society's prejudices and norms to carve her own path, stealing from elite jewelers to live her dreams--Publisher description.

Behind Bars is filled with stories both ancient and urgent of what happens when alcohol meets crime, from illicit stills in the Scottish Highlands to moonshine in the USA, rum smuggled by Caribbean pirates to the roaring times of Prohibition, current-day gangs selling millions of dollars' worth of fake Bordeaux, and the often-unsolved cases of people walking into a liquor store, stealing whiskey bottles worth tens of thousands of dollars, and walking out, never to be seen again.

Award-winning travel and drinks writer Mike Gerrard takes readers on a centuries-long journey highlighting the most bizarre - and expensive - alcohol-related crimes all while revealing the inside world of spirits, how they have been distilled, legislated, imbibed, and infused into our culture for hundreds of years. Featuring colorful tangents and detailed appendices, Behind Bars will whet the whistle of any curious reader. Spanning the stories of ancient wine swindlers in Pompeii to the modern radiocarbon-dating techniques used by today's cutting-edge scientists to investigate suspect bottles of expensive alcohol, from million-dollar robberies of wine cellars buried deep underground to whiskey rings surrounding the highest reaches of the Presidency, Gerrard smartly and swiftly reveals that the link between alcohol and crime is a never-ending story.

A well-written, engaging detective story (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a rogue who trades in rare birds and their eggs--and the wildlife detective determined to stop him.On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain's Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside were fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs snatched from a remote cliffside in Wales. So begins a vivid tale of obsession and international derring-do (Publishers Weekly), following the parallel lives of a globe-trotting smuggler who spent two decades capturing endangered raptors worth millions of dollars as race champions--and Detective Andy McWilliam of the United Kingdom's National Wildlife Crime Unit, who's hell bent on protecting the world's birds of prey. Masterfully constructed (The New York Times) and entertaining and illuminating (The Washington Post), The Falcon Thief will whisk you away from the volcanoes of Patagonia to Zimbabwe's Matobo National Park, and from the frigid tundra near the Arctic Circle to luxurious aviaries in the deserts of Dubai, all in pursuit of a man who is reckless, arrogant, and gripped by a destructive compulsion to make the most beautiful creatures in nature his own. It's a story that's part true-crime narrative, part epic adventure--and wholly unputdownable until the very last page.

An intriguing investigation into over 50 elusive artworks that were stolen and never recovered.

Mona Lisa, Starry Night, Birth of Venus. People travel for hundreds of miles to observe these breathtaking paintings with their own eyes. Now discover the artworks that nobody can ever see... and the fascinating stories behind their disappearance.

In this collection of daring heist stories, read about:

• Michelangelo's Mask of a Faun
• Caravaggio's Nativity
• Rembrandt's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
• Cézanne's View of Auvers-sur-Oise
• Van Gogh'sThe Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring

With meticulous research and engaging storytelling, this book uncovers the mysteries surrounding the thefts of these valuable artworks and many more.

Each fated work will be discussed to reveal why it, and the artist who made it, was significant. Gain a deeper appreciation for these artists, and the lasting impact they've had on the art world.

This book also answers key questions about each missing piece, including:

• Why and how was it stolen?
• What attempts have been made to recover it?
• Leads, red herrings, and suspects.

Whether you're passionate about art or drawn to the thrill of solving mysteries, this book offers a compelling narrative that will keep you engaged from cover to cover. It's a must-read for anyone curious about the intersection of art, crime, and history.

Tells the story with the gripping pace of a true-crime 'Ocean's Eleven.'
The New York Post

The Antwerp Diamond Center was one of the most secure buildings in the world. With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds stored in its subterranean vault, it had to be. Located in the heart of Belgium's ultra-secure Antwerp Diamond District, it benefited from two police stations, armed patrols, extensive video surveillance, and vehicle barriers securing an area where 80 percent of the world's diamonds traded hands.

But on February 15, 2003, a band of skilled Italian thieves - fronted by the charming Leonardo Notarbartolo, who spent over two years clandestinely casing the building - subverted every one of the Diamond Center's defenses and made off with a record amount of loot. Experts estimate they got away with nearly half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash and other valuables. They'd pulled off the biggest heist in history--everybody loves diamonds and they now had more than any thief before them.

The robbers did it with stealth and smarts; no one was hurt or even threatened during what was quickly labeled the largest diamond heist in history. The bandits - members of a group of professional thieves known as The School of Turin - used cunning in lieu of violence, successfully evading security cameras, thwarting an array of electronic sensors, and penetrating a vault protected by a double-locked foot-thick steel door.

Even when the police zeroed in on who committed the crime, how it was done remained a mystery, like something out of a heist movie or TV show.

Flawless is a fast-paced global scavenger hunt uncovering the truth behind the daring Valentine's Day weekend heist. Tracking clues, sources, and documents throughout Europe - from seedy cafés in Turin, Italy to sleek diamond offices in Antwerp, Belgium - authors Scott Selby and Greg Campbell retrace Notarbartolo's careful discovery of the building's security flaws. They recreate the heist and its aftermath - detailing how the thieves brilliantly neutralized each element of the security protecting the Diamond Center's vault while inviting the readers into the secretive world of diamonds and diamond dealing.

The result is a thrilling ride through the better-than-fiction heist of the century.

Like a diamond, this true-life caper is clear, colorful, and brilliant.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Fans of caper books and movies will be in seventh heaven.
Booklist (starred review)

Train robberies, stage-coach holdups, posses, breakouts and shoot-em-ups step out of the darker pages of Michigan's past and spring to life in Tom Carr's MI Bad: Robbers, Cutthroats and Thieves in Michigan's Past and Present.

The Great Lakes State has seen more than its share of sensational crimes in the last couple of centuries. MI Bad shines a searchlight on several of the most jaw-dropping capers and rogues, including:

- A couple of 1880s prostitution procurers who roll drunken lumberjacks for their wages in a whorehouse and bury bodies in shallow graves. The two die drunk and destitute in a freezing shack.

- Baby Face Nelson gets his big-time career start -- with an actual baby -- in a bank holdup in Depression-era Grand Haven.

- A 1970s, cinema-esque escape from Jackson State Prison that falls apart quickly once outside the razor wire.

- Train robbing brothers who get away with fortunes all over the Midwest, until one of them puts a bullet in the head of a well-liked Grand Rapids cop.

- A 1960s cop and a 2010s fifth-grade teacher break bad.

- Huge posses of armed Michiganders rush out to help -- and sometimes hinder -- a bank stickup.

- A 19th Century U.P. boomtown finally has enough of a brothel owner beating the women he holds captive.

- Plus many more blood-and-money tales of Wolverine-state intrigue, suspense or just plain awfulness.

MI Bad is author Tom Carr's follow-up to his successful, Michigan historical true crime debut, Blood on the Mitten: Infamous Michigan Murders, 1700s-Present, also published by Mission Point Press/Chandler Lake Books.

The Incredible True Story of the Most Hunted Man in Pacific Coast History--and the Woman He Loved

Before the 1920s found their roar, a charismatic gambling addict named Roy Gardner dominated news headlines with daring train robberies and escapes from incarceration. Nicknamed the Smiling Bandit, Gardner spilled no blood--except his own--as he cut a felonious path across the western United States, as the country hobbled through a recession in the aftermath of the First World War.

Once imprisoned for the long term in federal prisons, including Alcatraz, the most notorious prison's second-most-notorious inmate won over some unlikely champions. Both Gardner's wife, Dollie, and a police officer who once arrested him launched extensive campaigns for Gardner's release on the vaudeville circuit, claiming a brain operation would cure his lawless ways. Was Gardner a good man who made bad decisions as the victim of injury and circumstance? Or was his charming personality merely the poker face of a scoundrel?

Richly researched, drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts, Alcatraz Ghost Story explores the life of Roy Gardner in the context of his great love story and the larger backdrop of drug addiction, incarceration, and the racial and labor violence of the 1920s and 1930s.

I never legislated, I never enforced, and I never obeyed any laws! Laws dictated by the interests of a handful of rulers. I came across their laws everywhere, but I never found justice. I'll remain with the unique ones; the uncatchables. Those that consciously chose to lead their lives normally, reacting to an abnormal world...

A Normal Life is the autobiography of Vassilis Palaiokostas, known to some as the 'Greek Robin Hood', to others as 'The Uncatchable'. His is a life of kidnappings and robberies. A life lived in defiance of the police and of the state. For decades it has been a life lived as a fugitive. It is a life led extraordinarily. He has become a modern folk hero of sorts, earning millions in robbed banks and kidnapped CEOs whilst distributing his gains to those who need it most. He is most famous for not only one but two helicopter escapes from the Korydallos Prison in Athens.

Vassilis Palaiokostas is hated by the authorities, deemed a terrorist, his freedom a continued insult to the Greek state. Now, translated to English for the first time, Palaiokostas tells his story in his own words. He does not justify his actions, but elaborates his motivations and dreams and their totality.

A Normal Life is a gripping account of life on the run and in prison, of car chases, prison life, daring escapades and the camaraderie of bandit life. It is also the story of his motivations.

He is still free.

The thrilling story of a brazen, uncatchable jewel thief who roamed the homes of Dallas high society--and a window into the dark secrets lurking beneath the surface of the Swinging Sixties.

As a string of high profile jewel thefts went unsolved during the Swinging Sixties, the press dubbed the elusive thief the King of Diamonds because he eluded police and the FBI for more than a decade.
Like Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, the King was so bold that he tip-toed into the homes of millionaires while they were watching television, or hosting parties. He hid in their closets. And dared to smoke a cigarette while they were sleeping not far away. Rena Pederson, then a young reporter withUPI, started following the elusive thief while she managed the night desk.

With gymnastic skill, this thief climbed trees or crawled across rooftops to get into sprawling mansions. He took jewels from heiresses, oil kings, corporate CEOs. These were not just some of the richest people in Texas; they were some of the richest people of their time. Scotland Yard and Interpol were on the look-out. But the thief was never caught and the jewels never recovered.

To follow the tracks of the thief, Rena has interviewed more than two hundred people, from veteran cops to strippers. She went to pawn shops, Las Vegas casinos, and a Mafia hangout--and discovered that beneath the glittering façade of Dallas debutante parties was a world of sex trafficking, illegal gambling, and political graft. When one of the leading suspects was found dead in highly unusual circumstances, the story darkened. High society crashed head-first into Mickey Spillane.

The odd psychological aspects of the The King of Diamonds give us different kind of crime story. Detectives were stumped: Why did the thief break into houses when his targets were inside, increasing the risk of being captured? Why did he hide in their closets? Many times, he was so close he could hear their breathing as they slept. As one socialite put it, It was a very peculiar business.

A captivating Jazz Age true-crime caper about the greatest jewel thief who ever lived (Life Magazine), Arthur Barry, who charmed everyone from Rockefellers to members of the royal family while simultaneously planning and executing the most audacious and lucrative heists of the 1920s.

A master of narrative nonfiction. In this mesmerizing tale about a Jazz Age gentlemanly thief, Jobb has found his own perfect jewel.
―DAVID GRANN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

An enthrallingly propulsive, unpredictably twisty biography of one of the most fascinating criminals of the 20th Century. I was hooked from the very first heist.
―MICHAEL FINKEL, New York Times bestselling author of The Art Thief and The Stranger in the Woods

Catch Me If You Can meets The Great Gatsby meets the hit Netflix series Lupin in this captivating true-crime caper. A skilled con artist and perhaps one of the most charming, audacious burglars in history, Arthur Barry slipped in and out of the bedrooms of New York's wealthiest residents, even as his victims slept only inches away. He befriended luminaries such as the Prince of Wales and Harry Houdini and became a folk hero, touted in the press as the greatest jewel thief who ever lived and an Aristocrat of Crime. In a span of seven years, Barry stole diamonds, pearls, and other gems worth almost $60 million today. Among his victims were a Rockefeller, an heiress to the Woolworth department store fortune, an oil magnate, Wall Street bigwigs, a top executive of automotive giant General Motors, and a famous polo player. Dean Jobb--hailed by Esquire magazine as a master of narrative nonfiction--once again delivers a stylishly told high-speed ride.

A Gentleman and a Thief is also a love story. Barry confessed to dozens of burglaries to protect his wife, Anna Blake (and was the prime suspect in scores of others). Sentenced to a twenty-five year term, he staged a dramatic prison break when Anna became seriously ill so they could be together for a few more years as fugitives. With dozens of historic images, A Gentleman and a Thief is page-turning, escapist, and sparkling with insight into our fascination with jewel heists and the suave, clever criminals who pull them off.

A Daily Mail Book of the Week

Prolific armed robber. Close ally of Joey Pyle. Friend and fellow inmate of the Kray twins. Last man to stand trial with a Kray brother. First prisoner in the notorious Belmarsh Unit ... Welcome to Ronnie Field's world.

From his abusive childhood, his inevitable journey into crime and his role in the dangerous underworld of south London's gangland through to his eventful spells in many of Britain's most secure jails, Ronnie Field is ready to recount his incredible story for the very first time. It's a new take on the criminal fraternity of the 1970s and 80s from one of the last men standing.

A raw, honest and sometimes humorous portrayal of a life in the fast lane of organised crime, Nefarious is a reflection on a bygone era from which there are few regrets. Though some things are best laid to rest...

Mr. Amelinckx is an adroit storyteller and thorough researcher, and in Satellite Boy he has written a good, engrossing yarn. --The Wall Street Journal

Spanning the underworld haunts of Montreal to Havana and Miami in the early days of the Cold War, Satellite Boy reveals the unlikely connection between an audacious bank heist and the other Space Race that gave birth to the modern communication age

On April 6, 1965, Georges Lemay was relaxing on his yacht in a south Florida marina following one of the largest and most daring bank heists in Canadian history. For four years, the roguishly handsome criminal mastermind hid in plain sight, eluding capture and the combined efforts of the FBI, Interpol, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His future appeared secure.

What Lemay didn't know was that less than two hundred miles away at Cape Canaveral, a brilliant engineer named Harold Rosen was about to usher in the age of global live television with the launch of the world's first twenty-four-hour commercial communications satellite. Rosen's extraordinary accomplishment would not only derail Lemay's cushy life but change the world forever.

Brimming with criminal panache and technological intrigue, and set against a turbulent and iconic period that includes the moon landing and the civil rights movement, Satellite Boy tells the largely forgotten, high-stakes story of the two equally driven men who inadvertently launched the modern era.

Before he became Count Dante, The Deadliest Man Alive . . .

Before he began training Blacks and women in mixed martial arts and incited the deadly Dojo War in Chicago. Before he started wearing a cape, carrying a gold cane, and walking his pet lion around the Loop on a leash . . . Before he was-or was not - entangled with the Mob . . . Before he did-or did not-help organize Chicago's record-setting Purolator Heist, from which $1.5 million was never recovered . . . Before he got hooked on cocaine, became even more bizarre, and died mysteriously . . .

He was John Keehan, a doctor's kid from a good family, with a weakness for the girl next door. A certified beautician who owned a hair salon and coiffed the hair of Playboy Bunnies, nobody from high school ever expected he'd end up inside the pages of millions of comic books, selling the infamous secrets to the Dim Mak, The Death Touch, bringing mixed martial arts to the masses.

Kentucky is known primarily for horse racing, bourbon and fried chicken, but the Dark and Bloody Ground has a mysterious side as well. Kentuckians talk about their own Hillbilly Beast, believed to have frightened campers at Mammoth Cave National Park. The gnarled and twisted Witches' Tree is a favorite on Louisville ghost tours. Kentucky's UFO incidents--like Thomas Mantell's mysterious plane crash, the Hopkinsville alien attack and the Paintsville train-UFO crash--are as puzzling and frightening now as they were when they happened. Folklore writer Alan Brown chronicles these strange stories and others that are very much a part of the unique culture of Kentucky.

The extraordinarily captivating memoir of the remarkable jewel thief who robbed the rich and the famous while maintaining an outwardly conventional life--an astonishing and completely true story, the like of which has never before been told . . . or lived.

Bill Mason is arguably the greatest jewel thief who ever lived. During a thirty-year career he charmed his way into the inner circles of high society and stole more than $35 million worth of fabulous jewels from such celebrities as Robert Goulet, Armand Hammer, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, Truman Capote, Margaux Hemingway and Johnny Weissmuller--he even hit the Mafia. Along the way he seduced a high-profile Midwest socialite into leaving her prominent industrialist husband, nearly died after being shot during a robbery, tricked both Christie's and Sotheby's into fencing stolen goods for him and was a fugitive for five years and the object of a nationwide manhunt. Yet despite the best efforts of law enforcement authorities from several states as well as the federal government, he spent less than three years total in prison.

Shadowy, elusive and intensely private, Mason has been the subject of many magazine and newspaper features, but no journalist has ever come close to knowing the facts. Now, in his own words and with no holds barred, he reveals everything, and the real story is far more incredible than any of the reporters, detectives or FBI agents who pursued Mason ever imagined. Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief, expertly co-written by bestselling author Lee Gruenfeld, is a unique true-crime confessional.

Marie Grossman seems to have it all: a devoted husband, two wonderful children, and a professional career.

But all of that changes when she drives her car into the darkened parking lot of a fast food restaurant. After Marie lowers her car window to place an order at the drive-thru, a man suddenly appears and places a gun at her temple. What follows is every woman's worst nightmare.

The Edge of Malice is a true account of one woman's quest for justice after a violent crime shatters her life.

When the legal system fails to extinguish her unrelenting anger and fear, she looks elsewhere for closure.

In the end, Marie's journey for inner peace is as improbable as it is transformative.

Marie Grossman seems to have it all: a devoted husband, two wonderful children, and a professional career.

But all of that changes when she drives her car into the darkened parking lot of a fast food restaurant. After Marie lowers her car window to place an order at the drive-thru, a man suddenly appears and places a gun at her temple. What follows is every woman's worst nightmare.

The Edge of Malice is a true account of one woman's quest for justice after a violent crime shatters her life.

When the legal system fails to extinguish her unrelenting anger and fear, she looks elsewhere for closure.

In the end, Marie's journey for inner peace is as improbable as it is transformative.

Soon to be a Major Motion Picture

In the ebullient spirit of Ocean's 8, The Heist, and Thelma & Louise, a sensational and entertaining memoir of the world's most notorious jewel thief--a woman who defied society's prejudices and norms to carve her own path, stealing from elite jewelers to live her dreams.

Growing up during the Depression in the segregated coal town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, Doris Payne was told her dreams were unattainable for poor black girls like her. Surrounded by people who sought to limit her potential, Doris vowed to turn the tables after the owner of a jewelry store threw her out when a white customer arrived. Neither racism nor poverty would hold her back; she would get what she wanted and help her mother escape an abusive relationship.

Using her southern charm, quick wit, and fascination with magic as her tools, Payne began shoplifting small pieces of jewelry from local stores. Over the course of six decades, her talents grew with each heist. Becoming an expert world-class jewel thief, she daringly pulled off numerous diamond robberies and her boyfriend fenced the stolen gems to Hollywood celebrities.

Doris's criminal exploits went unsolved well into the 1970s--partly because the stores did not want to admit that they were duped by a black woman. Eventually realizing Doris was using him, her boyfriend turned her in. She was arrested after stealing a diamond ring in Monte Carlo that was valued at more than half a million dollars. But even prison couldn't contain this larger-than-life personality who cleverly used nuns as well as various ruses to help her break out. With her arrest in 2013 in San Diego, Doris's fame skyrocketed when media coverage of her astonishing escapades exploded.

Today, at eighty-seven, Doris, as bold and vibrant as ever, lives in Atlanta, and is celebrated for her glamorous legacy. She sums up her adventurous career best: It beat being a teacher or a maid. A rip-roaringly fun and exciting story as captivating and audacious as Catch Me if You Can and Can You Ever Forgive Me?--Diamond Doris is the portrait of a captivating anti-hero who refused to be defined by the prejudices and mores of a hypocritical society.