The Great Pearl Heist
London's Greatest Thief and Scotland Yard's Hunt for the World's Most Valuable Necklace
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Narrated by:
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Michael Page
About this listen
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, and 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.
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Before the Five Families who so notoriously dominated U.S. organized crime for a bloody half-century, there was the one-fingered, surpassingly cunning Giuseppe Morello and his murderous coterie of brothers. Born into a life of poverty in rural Sicily, Morello became an American nightmare, pioneering the bizarre initiation rituals, imaginative protection rackets, influential underworld reigns, and Mafia wars later popularized by countless books, television shows, and movies.
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The truth about the origins of the American mafia
- By J. Sovar on 01-09-13
By: Mike Dash
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The Devil's Gentleman
- Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the Twentieth Century
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The wayward son of a revered Civil War general, Roland Molineux enjoyed good looks, status, and fortune - hardly the qualities of a prime suspect in a series of shocking, merciless cyanide killings. Molineux's subsequent indictment for murder led to two explosive trials and a sex-infused scandal that shocked the nation. Bringing to life Manhattan's Gilded Age, Schechter captures all the colors of the tumultuous legal proceedings.
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A Book Without an Accompanying Wiki Page Is Always A Treat
- By Carolina on 02-27-17
By: Harold Schechter
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Midnight in Peking
- How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China
- By: Paul French
- Narrated by: Erik Singer
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Peking in 1937 is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, opulence and opium dens, rumors and superstition. The Japanese are encircling the city, and the discovery of Pamela Werner's body sends a shiver through already nervous Peking. Is it the work of a madman? One of the ruthless Japanese soldiers now surrounding the city? With the suspect list growing and clues sparse, two detectives - one British and one Chinese - race against the clock to solve the crime before the Japanese invade and Peking as they know it is gone forever.
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When history can be stranger than fiction
- By Jeremy on 01-04-13
By: Paul French
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Death in the City of Light
- The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris
- By: David King
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Death in the City of Light is the gripping, true story of a brutal serial killer who unleashed his own reign of terror in Nazi-Occupied Paris. As decapitated heads and dismembered body parts surfaced in the Seine, Commissaire Georges-Victor Massu, head of the Brigade Criminelle, was tasked with tracking down the elusive murderer in a twilight world of Gestapo, gangsters, resistance fighters, pimps, prostitutes, spies, and other shadowy figures of the Parisian underworld. The main suspect was Dr. Marcel Petiot, a handsome, charming physician with remarkable charisma.
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Too many facts too little story
- By Caitanya on 09-27-11
By: David King
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Satan's Circus
- Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century
- By: Mike Dash
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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They called it Satan's Circus, a square mile of Midtown Manhattan where vice ruled, sin flourished, and depravity danced in every doorway. At the turn of the 20th century, murder was so common in the vice district that few people were surprised when the loudmouthed owner of a shabby casino was gunned down on the steps of its best hotel.
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New York, N.Y
- By Robert on 07-11-07
By: Mike Dash
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American Lightning
- Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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It was an explosion that reverberated across the country—and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come.
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very interesting popular history
- By D. Littman on 11-28-08
By: Howard Blum
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The Great Train Robbery
- By: Michael Crichton
- Narrated by: Michael Kitchen
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In teeming Victorian London, where lavish wealth and appalling poverty live side by side, Edward Pierce charms the most prominent of the well-to-do as he cunningly orchestrates the crime of the century. Who would suspect that a gentleman of breeding could mastermind the daring theft of a fortune in gold? Who could predict the consequences of making the extraordinary robbery aboard the pride of England's industrial era, the mighty steam locomotive?
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An unusual but rewarding listen
- By Matthew on 11-21-15
By: Michael Crichton
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Provenance
- How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art
- By: Laney Salisbury, Aly Sujo
- Narrated by: Marty Peterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is a tautly paced investigation of one the 20th century's most audacious art frauds, which generated hundreds of forgeries - many of them still hanging in prominent museums and private collections today. Provenance is the extraordinary narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate deceptions in art history.
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Fabulous story, terrible narration almost ruined
- By Sharonia on 02-24-13
By: Laney Salisbury, and others
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Incendiary
- The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber, and the Invention of Criminal Profiling
- By: Michael Cannell
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Long before the specter of terrorism haunted the public imagination, a serial bomber stalked the streets of 1950s New York. The race to catch him would give birth to a new science called criminal profiling. Grand Central, Penn Station, Radio City Music Hall - for almost two decades, no place was safe from the man who signed his anonymous letters "FP" and left his lethal devices in phone booths, storage lockers, even tucked into the plush seats of movie theaters.
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16 Years NYC Held Hostage
- By in1ear (John Row) on 04-27-17
By: Michael Cannell
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Get Capone
- The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Jonathan Eig blows the lid off the Al Capone story. Based on never-before-seen government documents and newly discovered letters written by Al Capone himself, Get Capone presents America's greatest gangster as you’ve never seen him before.
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Get this book
- By Jonathan on 05-13-10
By: Jonathan Eig
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Nothing Ventured
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: George Blagden
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father’s dismay, that rather than become a lawyer like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister, Grace, he will join London’s Metropolitan Police Force. After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard’s arts and antiquities squad.
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A very pleasant surprise!!
- By Wayne on 09-05-19
By: Jeffrey Archer
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A Beautiful Blue Death
- Charles Lenox Mysteries Series #1
- By: Charles Finch
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison.
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I like cozy
- By Sheryl on 05-21-12
By: Charles Finch
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The City of Falling Angels
- By: John Berendt
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil returns to give us an intimate look at the "magic, mystery, and decadence" of the city of Venice and its inhabitants.
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Do Yourself a Favor and Skip This Book!
- By AUDIBLE on 10-08-05
By: John Berendt
What listeners say about The Great Pearl Heist
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kathy
- 07-06-13
Great find!
This one should be a movie! Clever cops, handsome robbers, evolving forensic science, LOTS of money in the mix! A fantastic story delightful told. And it really happened!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Garry
- 12-05-12
A good listen
What did you love best about The Great Pearl Heist?
The cast of characters and the history of how London was at that time, how crime was tackled in a time before forensics, fingerprinting was still very new. It all seemed just a little more gentlemanly.
What other book might you compare The Great Pearl Heist to and why?
Diamond Geezers. Although a modern true crime story Diamond Geezer is comparable for their characters and how a crime fixated people.
What does Michael Page bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
A good reader, spoke fluently and with no trouble with some of the foreign names.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I suppose the most extreme reaction was to how 'foreigners' were treated differently in crime than those born English.
Any additional comments?
Enjoyable
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4 people found this helpful
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- Enrique
- 03-04-13
Fast, easy and enjoyable!
What made the experience of listening to The Great Pearl Heist the most enjoyable?
The story is very good, the jounalism done for this book is amazing
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Pearl Heist?
Everytime Grizzard Was interacting Was memorable
Did Michael Page do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
Yes, his voice had a different tone on each character
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The Mermaid tears
Any additional comments?
Please send my regards to Molly Caldwell
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2 people found this helpful
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- Beaver State
- 08-27-14
great find
What made the experience of listening to The Great Pearl Heist the most enjoyable?
I love real crime and this had both sides. the begin of the heist to the end.
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- Rodney
- 12-18-12
Entertaining Read
I never knew nothing about this subject matter before I listened to this audiobook, but the cops and robbers / detectives and criminals storyline kept my interest the entire time. The fact this is a true story is why it's interesting and why it's not super action packed all the time. The book has plenty of tension and suspense and never gets boring, credit the author and reader for getting me to listen to a book about a pearl necklace.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Andy
- 01-01-13
detective work in the pre-digital era
Interesting story about the planning, execution and finding the bad guys involved in the heist. However, there were so many individuals involved in the crime and the detective work, that I lost track of the good guys vs. the bad guys. Nonetheless, the book solidly illuminated how crimes were planned, carried out and solved in the early 20th century.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Robyn
- 03-30-14
ripping yarn
The official outline of this book's content is accurate, so there is no point in my reiterating any of the material there. But I would add that the book held my interest throughout with unexpected twists and turns in the committing of the crime and the ups and downs of the police investigation. Additional interest and context are provided by lively portrayals of the main characters as well as vivid depictions of Edwardian London, the jewelry trade and the market for pearls, early policing, and society across the rich-poor spectrum. It is very well written, and Michael Page's voice, accent, pace, and general presentation are perfect for this book.
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2 people found this helpful