Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Simone's less than compelling account of a daring 1972 robbery of Manhattan's Pierre Hotel reads like fiction, and in the absence of any explanation of his sources and methods for recreating events from more than 40 years ago, he inevitably invites skepticism about the truth of his story. In particular, Simone (The Lufthansa Heist) presents lines of dialogue-including from background characters whose words would not have had lingering relevance even at the time-as if they are accurately represented word for word. More significantly, he does nothing to support his hard-to-believe representation that legendary Manhattan DA Frank Hogan not only assigned the high-profile prosecution to a relative novice but eventually agreed to a sweetheart plea bargain for those who were arrested, a deal that encompassed the theft of millions of dollars in jewels and granted "unconditional immunity for any known or unknown crimes they may have committed, abetted, conspired, or implicated in." Coauthor Sacco, the only surviving participant in the robbery, weighs in only intermittently, in asides that add little to the narrative. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Simone (coauthor, The Lufthansa Heist), along with lone surviving thief Sacco, tells the story of the robbery at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan in 1972 that netted nearly $28 million in cash, bonds, and jewelry. These thieves were very conscientious and actually called 911 to have an ambulance show up during the robbery to save a hostage from having a heart attack, although none of the emergency crews noticed an actual robbery taking place. The oddities of the theft itself, which were numerous, along with the nearly instantaneous betrayal afterward, leading to murdering one another, bribing a judge, and heading to Europe, make this a fantastic concept for a book. Simone's narrative nonfiction work, though, is decimated by the strange, invented dialog that pulls the reader away from the story line. To make matters worse, much of the dialog is inappropriately sexual and misogynistic. Nearly all references to women relegate them to a figure with "cans" or "meaty thighs" wanting to have sex with the men of the story. Verdict For fans of real-life burglary stories, jewel heists, and true crime addicts.-Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
