The Last Job

February 25, 2019
Former New York Times London correspondent Bilefsky makes good use of his access to the Scotland Yarders investigating “the biggest burglary in English history” to recreate a daring theft carried out by five thieves, who ended their retirement from a life of crime in 2015 by breaking into safety-deposit boxes. Hatton Garden Safe Deposit stored “hundreds of millions of pounds in diamonds, sapphires, gold bars, rare coins and cash” for the many jewelers who worked in that area of London. The gang, led by septuagenarian Brian Reader, planned their break-in to coincide with a three-day weekend; after casing the vault storing the safety-deposit boxes, the criminals were able to figure out what they needed to drill through its walls. Over the course of two days, the gang managed to loot about $19 million in cash and jewels, despite a close call when an alarm went off and led to a check by a security guard, who saw nothing amiss—and no police response. That choice proved highly embarrassing to Scotland Yard after the megatheft was discovered, though the criminals were apprehended fairly quickly, due to a series of missteps. Bilefsky provides just the right amount of detail in this real-life page-turner. Agent: Todd Shushter, Aevitas Creative Managment.