When we think of high-value art heists, we envision clever, high-tech capers with a gang of thieves running multiple cons (such as the Ocean’s movies or The Italian Job). In 2017, while writing the first Karina Cardinal mystery, Isabella’s Painting, Ellen Butler interviewed an FBI agent who worked on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum case, and she came away with an eye-opening account of the underground art world. Fascinated, Butler delved further, spending hours researching dozens of the most notorious robberies in history, only to reveal that success in this field is through brute force or dumb luck. Rarely do they include a charming set of thieves stealing for a higher cause, or intricate con jobs with fancy computer hacking, but more often the benefit of poor security measures and situations where outside distractions are at play. To our great luck, Butler will join us to share the secrets of ten of the most infamous art heists in history, including some you know and others you may not from The Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum and The Scream, by Edvard Munch to “The Green Vault” jewelry heist and a movie-worthy theft, from the National Fine Arts Museum in Paraguay.
About Ellen Butler
Ellen Butler is the bestselling author of the Karina Cardinal mystery series. Her experiences working on Capitol Hill and at a medical association in Washington, D.C. inspired the mystery-action series. Multiple books in the series have hit #1 on Amazon bestseller lists in the US and abroad. Book critics call the Karina Cardinal mysteries, “intelligent escapism” and “unputdownable adventures that will take readers on an electrifying yet light-hearted and humorous journey.” Butler is also the author of the award-winning historical suspense novel, The Brass Compass. The Brass Compass has won multiple awards for historical fiction including: 2022 Speak Up Talk Radio Firebird Book Award, 2018 IndieReader Discovery Award, 2019 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner. Butler started writing in the romance genre and won the The Romance Reviews Readers’ Choice Award 2015 with her novel Planning for Love. Her 12th book, Operation Blackbird, a Cold War Spy novel, was published in October 2022.
Butler is a hybrid author—both traditionally and indie published and regularly attends events to share her writing and publishing experiences through workshops, presentations, and panel sessions. Ellen holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Policy, and her history includes a long list of writing for dry, but illuminating, professional newsletters and windy papers on public policy. Butler is also a member of International Thriller Writers, Office of Strategic Services Society, Virginia Writers Club, and Sisters in Crime.
When she’s not writing Butler enjoys reading, spending time with her family, working on home improvement projects, and attending car shows. Butler has a passion for classic cars, especially the bright colors of the 1950s vehicles replete with fins and bulbous lights.
