
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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By:
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Rena Pederson
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 MediaListeners also enjoyed...




















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Fantastic Read!
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Erin Dion delivers the narrative with charm and brings a lot of character to the story.
Completely Engaging
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Won’t read a better book
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Interesting look back into jewel thefts and detailed dive into histories of many Dallas figures
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No plot.
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TMZ from 1950’s Dallas
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Great read
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Interesting history of Dallas
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Narrator
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However the narration was abysmal. My sister and I would text each other laughing at the way many names, and streets were pronounced. The narrator has a regionally neutral voice with a slight northeastern leaning. The author is a female reporter for the Dallas Morning News circa 1970. The mismatch was jarring.
So read this book! It’s excellent. But please save yourself and skip the audio version. As a side note I’m not a professional narrator but if audible reaches out I will give this book a go. Dallas accent is very specific and not overly full of drawl. It is not so thick that listeners from all over will be unable to understand but it is distinct. The quality of this book deserves a narrator that can tell the story in the right voice.
Also Mr.McConaughey consider making this into a miniseries or movie. Something similar to Bernie but better. Done by a Texan of your caliber this could be a true love letter to the State and Dallas.
Narration should have been a Texas native. Read but don’t listen to this book.
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