A necklace composed of dozens of pearls and one giant pearl. Estimated value in today’s currency: a whopping $18 million. A gentleman thief, Joseph Grizzard (“The King of Fences”), who heads a gang of thieves in post-Edwardian London. And the methodically minded Alfred Ward, a Scotland Yard detective, one of the agency’s first.
That is the necklace in question and those are the two opposing main characters in Memphian Molly Caldwell Crosby’s latest book, The Great Pearl Heist: London’s Greatest Thief and Scotland Yard’s Hunt for the World’s Most Valuable Necklace (Berkley Books).
