Diamond Doris by Doris Payne with Zelda Lockhart

Diamond Doris by Doris Payne with Zelda Lockhart. Amistad (HarperCollins), 2019.  Nonfiction, memoir.

By far, the most interesting person scheduled to sign advanced copies of books at the Summer, 2019 American Library Association meeting in Washington, D.C. was Doris Payne. Never heard of her? A beautiful, dark skinned woman who dresses well, Doris was raised in poverty in West Virginia. She decided to escape that lifestyle and crafted a new lifestyle for herself. She did not leave behind the smart mouth or cigarettes however. Doris became an international jewel thief. Subtitled, "The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief", this book tells how Doris learned to walk into jewelry stores, confuse or distract the people working there, cleverly take precious jewelry, and then escape. Well, for years, anyway. Doris learns how to connect with others to resell her hauls. For years, she travels the world plying her trade. When she does get caught, she decides to tell the world exactly how her amazing life came to be...readers can decide how much of what Doris tells us is the whole truth and what is not.  Now in her 80's, living in Atlanta, Georgia, Doris Payne's story is to soon be a major motion picture.