True Crime Files: Heist at the Museum

Subity, Sam. True Crime Files: Heist at the Museum

October 6, 2026 by Sourcebooks Explore

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Charlie's father is a professional gemologist who works at the American Museum of Natural History in 1964. After the death of his mother, Charlie spends a lot of time wandering around the museum with his younger sister Julie while their father is busy working. At one point, Charlie hears several men talking about stealing some of the jewels that are on display, including the Star of India. Charlie shares these concerns with Mr. Hoffman, the security guard, but no one is too worried. Mr. Hoffman doesn't try to completely disregard Charlie's information, and lets him know that rainy nights are often preferred for breaking and entering. When the weather turns, Charlie sneaks out of his bed and goes to the museum in the middle of the night. He sees the men, who are trying to cut through the glass. They managed to evade the security sweep, and Charlie doesn't see how he can stop them! He tries to find something in the men's coat pockets, but can only locate a hotel matchbook. The men smash the glass and get away with the jewels. Charlie goes after them, rappelling down the side of the building on a rope and almost falling to his death. One of the thieves, Murf the Surf, saves him. Charlie passes out and is found on the floor the next morning by Mr. Hoffman. The police finally listen to him, and the thieves are apprehended because a hotel clerk also had suspicions. THe most valuable jewels were recovered, but not all of them were!

Strengths: Middle school students often ask for true crime books, but I don't like giving them anything too gory; art and jewel thievery is perfect! I appreciated that the end of the book included information about how bad security was back in the day, biographies of the thieves, details about the jewels, synopses of other major museum heists, and a timeline of events of 1964. Including fictional middle grade characters in historical events is not without precedence; London's Search and Rescue: Pentagon Escape has a character visiting his father at work on 9/11. This is a nicely short book, and would be a good inclusion for a middle school or elementary library. 

Weaknesses: Given the title, I thought this would be a nonfiction book, but the focus on Charlie's involvement made it fictional. A nonfiction account from the point of view of Murf the Surf would have been interesting. It was completely unnecessary to the story for Charlie's mother to have passed away. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who have enjoyed Tom Sullivan's The 500 Million Dollar Heist or Marino's Escape From Alcatraz.