Thanks to NetGalley & Bloomsbury Academic for an eARC of this book. The following review is my honest reflection on the text provided.

The Accidental Picasso Thief tells the wild, real-life story of a Picasso painting—Portrait of a Woman and a Musketeer—that vanished in 1969, and the accidental, awkward, sometimes thrilling involvement of the Rummel family. It’s co-authored by Whit Rummel Jr., who lived the events, and art crime expert Noah Charney, and told from Whit’s perspective. That personal touch shapes much of the narrative—sometimes for better, sometimes not as much.

The book opens with deep dives into family history: Whit, his brother Bill, and their father, whose personalities and dynamics play a major role in how the story unfolds. While I understand how essential this background becomes—seeing how an ordinary family gets swept into extraordinary events—at times I wished for a sharper focus on the heist itself, the world of Picasso, and the art’s cultural value. Some of the anecdotes, especially in the first part, felt unnecessary, and the pacing occasionally lags.

Still, for me, the heart of the book is the family’s wild attempt to pull off a “reverse heist” and return the famous painting, all while dodging both the Boston mob and the FBI. These sections are vivid, suspenseful, and often funny. The father’s dedication to his sons, the looming threat of organized crime, and the art world’s backstage dealings (especially those involving Kahnweiler and Luntz) kept me glued.

Bottom line:
A fascinating, personal peek into art crime history, blending true-crime tension with family drama. If you love stories about unlikely people tangled up in world-famous mysteries, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here—but I do wish it lingered more on the art and the heist.

3.75–4 stars ⭐