The incredible memoir of the world's most notorious jewel thief, Doris Payne; shocking, entertaining, hilarious and affecting, this is the true crime autobiography you cannot miss.

"Doris Payne is an unapologetic badass." - Tessa Thompson, Actress

Growing up during the Depression in the segregated coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, the bright and willful Doris Payne dreamed big. Fascinated by the ?ne clothes, jewels, and lifestyles shown in magazines, she imagined a new world for herself, one in which she was not limited by the expectations that others imposed on her and where her beloved mother was free from her father's abuse.

After the owner of a local store threw her out when a white customer arrived, Doris vowed that neither her race nor gender would hold her back. She was going to control her own life and make her own money.

Using her Southern charm and quick wit, she began shoplifting small pieces of jewellery from local stores, and over the course of six decades, grew her talents with each heist. As a world-class expert jewel thief, she daringly pulled off numerous diamond robberies, using nuns and various ruses to help her avoid arrest while her Jewish boyfriend fenced the stolen gems. A rip-roaringly fun and exciting tale, Diamond Doris is the portrait of a captivating antihero who experienced life to the fullest-on her own terms.

This astonishing memoir by a daring and prolific African American jewel thief reads like a thrilling caper novel, even as it reveals hard truths. . . . At the core of this incredible tale, a sassy catch me-if-you-can told from a Black female's perspective, is a defiant and relentless woman who will do anything to go against what is dictated by her skin colour and socioeconomic status.