Author Ralph Pezzullo Releases 'The Great Chinese Art Heist'

New York Times Bestselling Author Ralph Pezzullo Unveils a Riveting Tale of Art, Empire, and International Intrigue in “The Great Chinese Art Heist” July 15.

LOS ANGELES, CA, CA, UNITED STATES, July 7, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Ralph Pezzullo returns with a gripping investigation into a series of sophisticated museum heists targeting priceless Chinese antiquities, crimes that echo across centuries and continents.

In "The Great Chinese Art Heist", Pezzullo uncovers a shadowy network of high-stakes thefts that have rocked the global art world over the past decade. It began on the night of August 6, 2010, at Sweden’s Drottningholm Palace, the official residence of the royal family, when thieves made off with ancient Chinese treasures. Similar audacious burglaries soon followed in France, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere across Europe.

Perhaps most dramatically, masked intruders descended from a glass ceiling into the Kode Museum in Bergen, Norway, just blocks from police headquarters, vanishing with relics whose origins trace back to China’s fabled Old Summer Palace, looted by British and French troops during the Second Opium War in 1860.

Blending investigative journalism with historical narrative, Pezzullo takes readers on a sweeping journey from colonial-era conflicts to modern-day criminal syndicates. He masterfully links these recent thefts to the legacy of imperial plunder and examines how stolen art continues to fuel billion-dollar black markets involving billionaire collectors, triad gangs, drug cartels, and global financial institutions.

Rich with expert insight and firsthand accounts from museum officials, law enforcement, cultural historians, and art crime specialists, "The Great Chinese Art Heist" delves into enduring questions of cultural patrimony and who has the right to own the past. In the words of art critic Holland Cotter: “The history of art is, in large part, a theft of history.”

With sharp analysis and vivid storytelling, Pezzullo offers a timely, thought-provoking exploration of how stolen treasures, and unresolved histories, continue to shape international relations today.

"The Great Chinese Art Heist" is published by Pegasus Crime and distributed through Simon & Schuster on hardcover on July 15, 2025.

About the Author:

Ralph Pezzullo is a New York Times bestselling author and the host of the popular podcast Heroes Behind Headlines. After receiving a master's degree in international Affairs, he worked on Capitol Hill and later as a correspondent for Associated Press covering assignments in Latin America, and creating relationships with other diplomats, CIA agents, and military attaches across the world. His more than thirty books include Jawbreaker (with Gary Berntsen), Zero Footprint, Left of Boom, Ghost, and his memoir Saigon, which was recently published in Vietnamese.

Early Praise for The Great Chinese Art Heist:

“In this fascinating true crime narrative, Pezzullo traces a string of contemporary art thefts to historical injustices. As Pezzullo entertains theories about who might be behind the thefts, he fashions an enthralling history of Chinese relations with the West from the 19th century to the present, covering the Opium Wars, Europe’s tense interactions with Chinese immigrants, and China’s eventual rise as a trade superpower. Pezzullo offers a stimulating and entertaining look at their broader context. It’s a treat for history buffs and caper fans alike.” —Publishers Weekly

“Beginning in Stockholm in 2010 and repeated in other European cities in subsequent years, a series of daring museum heists exclusively targeted Chinese antiquities. Finding clues in the Opium Wars, Pezzullo situates the heists within the ‘deep, unhealed cultural wound’ that began China’s century of humiliation and continues to propel its politics.” —Booklist

"The Great Chinese Art Heist is a timely investigation into the most important issue facing major museums today: the lingering effects of the taking of cultural artifacts during the colonial period. Ralph Pezzullo deftly tells a largely untold story that combines the complex issues of restitution with the drama of a true crime novel.” - Anthony M. Amore, author of The Woman Who Stole Vermeer and The Rembrandt Heist

Liz Rodriguez
EMR Media
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