Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief

I didn't think I would find this very interesting but I couldn't put it down.

Unlike conventional accounts of talented criminals, this book takes us farther into the mind of a fascinating man, examining his development and motivations and giving us exciting, often moving gimpses into what life is like during those times when he is not out stealing fabulous jewels. We hear about people being "on the lam" for long periods of time, but rarely get to know what it really means to be hiding in plain sight. To me, that was almost as interesting as the actual robberies, and those were incredible. My highest recommendation to all readers.

Highly recommended. Can't tell if the penetrating insights into the development of an enormously talented criminal are his or his co-writer's, but for sure Lee Gruenfield has brought all his thriller-writing skills to bear on this amazing tale. Should go down as a classic in the "true crime" genre.

I was absolutely mesmorized by the accounting of this man's career in crime. I feel like I was on a journey with this man as his travails unfolded. As I read the book, I could easily imagine someone wanting to make a movie of this incredible story. I heartily recommend this book,which kept me spellbound to the end.

I had a strong interest in this book since I lived in Florida during the time Bill Mason was generating the most headlines. I wasn't disappointed - Mason and Gruenfeld paint a wonderful portrait of a time and place some readers might consider outlandish. The internal problems of the police, the outsized cocaine fueled personalities of the local attorneys, the party atmosphere - all is laid out exactly like I recall. I can't speak to the accuracy of the crimes themselves, but they seem very feasible. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book, aside from a look at the Lauderdale version of criminal justice, is his honest exploration of the damage he did to his family. While Mr. Mason may seem occasionally proud of his skill at crime (and really, how enjoyable would a book of shame be?) he is almost brutal in recounting his failure as a father and husband. Like any other addict, he could swear he'd quit, but he'd never keep his word. And, like many an addict's wife, his own inadvertantly enabled him to continue breaking and entering by her unconditional love. This book has Hollywood all over it - I hope the film is a tenth as interesting and entertaining as the book!

I loved this book - I went into it already to be prejudiced, after all a jewel thief, what possibly would I like about Bill Mason, well just about everything. It's a deeply probing, honest inventory of himself, he doesn't glamorize his life of crime, make excuses for it and if anything again and again shares his regret over the people that were hurt mostly his loved ones, not to mention some of the victims. But the book reads like a Harlan Coben, you start it and you don't want to stop reading it. I was reading two other books at the same time, my usual way of reading, but the other two had to go by the wayside while I devoured every page of this book. It was excellently written, an amazing story and in the end it's as much about a good man and the people that he loves so much as it was about the sometimes funny, sometimes scary, always fascinating career of this master jewel thief.