The Great Pearl Heist: London’s Greatest Thief and Scotland Yard’s Hunt for the World’s Most Valuable N ecklace
Molly Caldwell Crosby once again brings forgotten history to vivid life in an absorbing account of crime and deduction in the early days of the twentieth century. . . .
In the summer of 1913, under the cover of London’s perpetual smoggy dusk, two brilliant minds are pitted against each other—a celebrated gentleman thief and a talented Scotland Yard detective—in the greatest jewel heist of the new century. An exquisite strand of pale pink pearls, worth more than the Hope Diamond, has been bought by a Hatton Garden broker. Word of the “Mona Lisa of Pearls” spreads around the world, captivating jewelers as well as thieves. In transit to London from Paris, the necklace vanishes without a trace.
Joseph Grizzard, “the King of Fences,” is the charming leader of a vast gang of thieves in London’s East End. Grizzard grew up on the streets of Whitechapel during the terror of Jack the Ripper to rise to the top of the criminal world. Wealthy, married, a father, Grizzard still cannot resist the sport of crime, and the pearl necklace proves an irresistible challenge.
Inspector Alfred Ward patrols the city’s dark, befogged streets before joining the brand-new division of the Metropolitan Police known as “detectives.” Ward earns his stripes catching some of the great murderers of Victorian London and, at the height of his career, is asked to turn his forensic talents to finding the missing pearls and the thief who stole them.
In the spirit of The Great Train Robbery and the tales of Sherlock Holmes, this is the true story of a psychological cat-and-mouse game set against the backdrop of London’s golden Edwardian era. Thoroughly researched, compellingly colorful, The Great Pearl Heist is a gripping narrative account of this little-known, yet extraordinary crime.
INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS
Five Stars,
âThere are plenty of people who like gems with a historyâ¦â,
Perhaps my expectations were too high or maybe the heist was just so brilliantly simplistic but this book didnât end as a high grade narrative and I donât know if I would recommend it to others; it was honestly an okay title and even a little forgettable. For audio books I try to rate by how well they kept me alert (or excited to hear more) and unfortunately this one had me dangerously very close to begin to nod off at one point. This book also seemed to force colorful background images in awkwardly throughout the chapters and these didnât add anything satisfying to my imagination as I listened. Iâm also sad to say, I think there may have not been enough of the pearl heistâs case to make a complete book and some rough spots were cut to fill in the gaps. I will say one or two polished filler topics caught my full attention (early forensics, fingerprinting, con tactics and of course the descriptions of the 61 perfect pearls) but the rest not so much and I canât recommend this for night-time listeners even if they love all that sparkles in history books and enjoy a good cat-and-mouse story of true crime.