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The King of Diamonds: The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief
Hardcover
Publisher Price: $28.95
ISBN13: 9781639366057
Publisher: Pegasus Crime
Published: Apr 9 2024
Pages: 416
Weight: 1.30
Height: 1.50 Width: 6.30 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
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.
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.
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