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Fans of Netflix’s series Heist and of thriller and mystery novels will enjoy reading about these true crime heists.
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Johnson
What do hundreds of rare and antique birds, fly fishing, and an American flautist have to do with each other? In The Feather Thief, the answer is everything. Johnson eloquently and engagingly presents the theft of nearly 300 rare birds from a British museum by a visiting American flautist (and the ensuing investigation) with the history of the birds, the museum, and the Victorian pastime of salmon fly-tying. This is a work that will appeal to history lovers, true crime detectives, and birders alike.
The Pierre Hotel Affair: How Eight Gentlemen Thieves Orchestrated the Largest Jewel Heist in History by Daniel Simone and Nick Sacco
In 1972 New York City, eight tuxedo clad men lay siege to the Pierre Hotel while holding staff and guests hostage for two hours in order to commit a robbery of the vault that allows them to get away with $28 million in jewels. Officially unsolved, this robbery and its aftermath have all the makings of a fictional crime thriller -- mobsters, betrayal, police corruption, and a love story -- but it all actually happened.
The Last Good Heist: The Inside Story of the Biggest Single Payday in the Criminal History of the Northeast by Tim White
The Last Good Heist tells the nearly forgotten story of one of the largest robberies in history. In 1975 in Providence, RI, 148 safe deposit boxes at a storage facility were emptied by eight thieves. The stolen contents -- jewels, cash, gold, and rare coins and stamps -- have an estimated worth of $140 million. The twist is that the contents belonged to local organized crime figures.
Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World's Greatest Art Heist by Stephen Kurkjian
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery is one of the most famous unsolved art thefts in history. Journalist Kurkjian has been investigating the case for twenty years and has assisted the FBI with leads over the years. Here he pulls together everything he has learned and the conclusions he has drawn about who must have been behind this 1990 heist.
The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece by Edward Dolnick
With the world’s eyes on Norway as the Winter Olympics began in 1994, four men broke into the National Gallery in Oslo and stole Munch’s The Scream, leaving behind a note thanking the museum for having terrible security. The police quickly brought in outside help in the form of Charlie Hill, an undercover Scotland Yard agent, who eventually found the painting and the thieves.
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About the Author:
Melissa is an adult services librarian and a freelance copy editor. She spends the majority of her waking hours reading romance, cozy mysteries, urban fantasy, and history. She also enjoys traveling and the theater.