Yet another book-length examination of the Gardner Museum heist, this one concentrating on the men of Boston's underworld who may have had a hand in the planning or execution of the theft. A bit repetitive at times, but Kurkjian does bring in some different characters than other books have done, and he is quite critical of how the FBI has handled the investigation (he takes particular exception to their apparent unwillingness to involve local and state law enforcement officials, which does seem like it would have been a useful thing to do).

From this book, given the various scenarios Kurkjian lays out, it seems to me that one danger as more and more time passes is that those who knew at some point where the stolen art was stored have died or soon will ... could these priceless artworks be languishing somewhere, their precise location unknown to anyone alive? Scary thought indeed, and given the great amounts of money being offered for their return (and the fact that the statute of limitations has long passed on the theft), a scenario that seems perhaps more plausible than one would like.

I do agree with Kurkjian that a greater public push for information (as in the successful attempt to nab Whitey Bulger) could prove useful, and I hope that Kurkjian and his fellow reporters will keep following up leads. ( )

The audio for this was good but I kept getting a little confused keeping the different people, gang members, FBI, police, Gardener employees completely straight in my mind as to who was who! I kept feeling that Kurkjiam kept circling back over the same material again and again with only slight alterations from a little different point of view and I was saying in my mind, "you told me that already...." Because I have been to the museum long before the theft it seems very sad that after 25 years the 13 pieces have still not been found. Has everyone died who knows what happened to them? A continuing mystery that just might never be solved. ( )

In March of 1990 two men dressed as police officers knocked on the door of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. An inexperienced security guard allowed them through the door. The two guards on duty were tied up in the basement and the thieves had free reign in the museum. Forty-five minutes later they existed the museum with thirteen works of art valued at $500 million dollars. This is the largest unsolved art theft in history. Mr. Kurkjian’s book is the latest of many books (both fiction and non-fiction) written on the subject over the last 25 years.

In “Master Thieves” the reader is updated on the investigation and introduced to the gangs and organized groups in Boston long rumoured to have been involved in the theft. Mr. Kurkjian uses many of the contacts made during his years as a reporter at the Boston Globe to obtain interviews, gather ideas and offer speculation about who might actually have “pulled the heist”. Mr. Kurkjian does not pull any punches when it comes to his criticism of the FBI investigation. He feels that they dropped the ball in more ways than one; turning down help from local law enforcement agencies who may have had better contacts and informants as well as not following up on substantial and very credible leads which they determined “not useful”. Is he correct in his criticism? He makes a strong case.

As Mr. Kurkjian points out in his afterward, he did not spend a lot of pages discussing the theft itself because most readers will be familiar with the details. Although he always does draw the reader’s attention back to the Gardner robbery, this is definitely a time line of underworld activity in Boston and surrounding areas from the mid 20th century to the present. Interestingly, Mr. Kurkjian, at the end of the book, offers the reader not only a viable motive behind the crime but also does a little finger pointing in the direction of whom he thinks are the most likely suspects.

I have read about and been fascinated by not only the theft but by Isabella Gardner’s life and how the museum came into being so this book was right up my alley of interest. “Master Thieves” is probably not the best book to pick up without at least a little background about the museum and the robbery.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the theft and no one has been arrested nor has anyone had a verifiable sighting of the valuable pieces of art in all that time. It was on my bucket list to see the Gardner Museum and a few years ago I was able to do just that. I found the museum itself rather overwhelming and it truly is a breath stopping moment to walk into the Dutch Room and see the empty frames hanging on the wall. After all the reading, and especially after finishing this book, my personal opinion is that if the paintings have not been destroyed over the past 25 years, they will surface accidentally when all of the key players in the mystery have died and a relative comes across them hidden away in an attic somewhere.

If your interest is piqued a little about the Isabella Stewart Gardner robbery this an excellent website to check out http://www.gardnermuseum.org/resources/theft/.
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Master Thieves is a riveting read about the unsolved 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner art heist. Stephen Kurkjian, a Boston Globe reporter who has been covering this mystery for 20 years, does a step by step investigation of almost all of the major and minor players of this true-crime story. The author lays out the connections between the different factions of the Boston Mob, the risks that Anne Hawley, the director of the museum, took to try to recover the art and the role of the FBI and their missteps and territoriality. Over time he is led to conclusions based on his hard-nosed and dogged search for answers and shares his hypothesis in this compelling book. Time will tell if makes an impact. ( )