The King of Diamonds
The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief
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Narrated by:
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Erin Dion
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Written by:
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Rena Pederson
About this listen
As a string of high-profile jewel thefts went unsolved during the Swinging Sixties, the press dubbed the elusive thief the King of Diamonds. 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 home, hiding in their closets and daring to smoke while they were sleeping.
Rena Pederson, then a young reporter with UPI, started following the elusive thief while she managed the night desk. With gymnastic skill, he climbed trees and crawled across rooftops to take jewels from heiresses, oil kings, corporate CEOs—some of the richest people of their time. Scotland Yard and Interpol were on the look-out, but the thief was never caught nor the jewels recovered.
To follow the tracks of the thief, Rena has interviewed more than two hundred people, from 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 a 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? As one socialite put it, “It was a very peculiar business.”
©2024 Rena Pederson (P)2024 Dreamscape MediaYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about The King of Diamonds
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- Balognes
- 2024-09-13
BRUTAL
Boring details that are completely irrelevant. I couldn’t get through this book and stopped reading.
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- Xero Hax
- 2024-09-01
Goes on and on about irrelevant details
The headline speaks for itself. There is an incredible amount of time spent on things like Dallas party culture, the estates of the rich, etc., but not in a way that adds anything to the story.
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- Donna Daman
- 2024-08-29
Wayyyyy too long
All I wanted to know was who was the diamond thief….could have been cut in half easily
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