The King of Diamonds

The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief

By: Rena Pederson

Narrated by: Erin Dion

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 Media

Won’t read a better book

I could not put it down. Don’t have to live in Dallas to love it.

Interesting look back into jewel thefts and detailed dive into histories of many Dallas figures

Enjoyed the audible version more than the hard copy. Had to switch to Audible midstream because it seemed to go off on tangents, and I would lose interest in reading it. Mostly enjoyed the history of old Dallas families and other individuals and places. Also enjoyed the stories of the jewel thefts, but the author’s investigation is slow and meandering and certainly doesn’t read like fiction. It’s interesting but not gripping. For sure. Extremely annoying that the narrator mispronounced two key family names. Repeatedly. She also mispronounced the name of a social club but it is mentioned less than a handful of times. Surely someone could have told her how to pronounce all of these!

No plot.

This is a rambling, at times disconnected, story telling of various colorful figures in Dallas past.

Completely Engaging

Rena Pederson shares a fascinating story, that has been meticulously researched, in an inviting and casual manner. I was unfamiliar with the legend of “the King of Diamonds” before listening to this audio book. Quickly, it became a “real page turner!”

Erin Dion delivers the narrative with charm and brings a lot of character to the story.

Fantastic Read!

Fantastically written and narrated! And full of so much history! As a Dallasite, I appreciated all of the history and familiar names.