Kindle
$7.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$22.49
Paperback
$9.95
Buy new:
$22.49
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$22.49
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 4 left in stock (more on the way).
$$22.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$22.49
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$8.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Shipped fast and reliably through the Amazon Prime program! Book may contain some writing, highlighting, and or cover damage. Shipped fast and reliably through the Amazon Prime program! Book may contain some writing, highlighting, and or cover damage. See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$22.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$22.49
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Scott Von Doviak
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Charlesgate Confidential Hardcover – September 18, 2018

by Scott Von Doviak (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 530 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$22.49","priceAmount":22.49,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"22","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"49","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ZE9HUzjf04hAMpqwrPq5F%2Fq7dNHzB15%2ByUua8cHGlMUzSH0SM10m0MzyplZ8TCgXJhUz8lLUgSeq8VGU3I2B0jz%2B4fhZKNhuMnJjJO2g9ybHlbH%2FlqMZWMEmE5W6pgDUBwNnNwjNw2O6lxDffIkSJA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.99","priceAmount":8.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ZE9HUzjf04hAMpqwrPq5F%2Fq7dNHzB15%2BEWwS228RomVEF7OHFGHOzx4qYYzWsK1lEB2ZeHv28bu8OYJHANT4KzzEuIAzwHT8KwT6QwT%2BA9T8xbu8hXvodPTqn1YpCv2MmX0s9bZAzelef5hweT8DtGhkJDMORRcsXsIcmxAl%2FPwPIdCAy9dPAxE5Iqpm%2FfsB","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

“CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL is terrific” – Stephen King

A sharp and funny tale of a daring art heist gone wrong—inspired by the same real-life, still-unsolved crime depicted in the Netflix hit series “This Is A Robbery.”


A group of criminals in 1946 pull off the heist of the century, stealing a dozen priceless works of art from a Boston museum. But while the thieves get caught, the art is never found. Forty years later, the last surviving thief gets out of jail and goes hunting for the loot, involving some innocent college students in his dangerous plan - and thirty years after that, in the present day, the former college kids, now all grown up, are drawn back into danger as the still-missing art tempts a deadly new generation of treasure hunters. A breathtakingly clever, twist-filled narrative that moves from 1946 to 1988 to 2014 and back again, CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL establishes Scott Von Doviak as a storyteller of the first order, and will leave you guessing until the very last page.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Hard Case Crime
  4. Publication date
    September 18, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    5.85 x 1.19 x 8.76 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9781785657177
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1785657177
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Charlesgate Confidential
$22.49
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
Only 4 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Forever and a Death
$8.77
Get it May 15 - 17
Only 3 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by High Five Distributing, Inc.
+
The Twenty-Year Death (Hard Case Crime)
$16.26
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by UBERTY.LLC and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Charlesgate Confidential is terrific. A fun machine...the white-knuckle kind." - Stephen King
"Impressive debut...inventive chronicle of an audacious Boston art heist and its prolonged aftermath...immensely enjoyable." - Wall Street Journal
"Charlesgate Confidential is a riveting tale, a hard-boiled art heist worthy of Dashiell Hammett in his prime."
- Ernie Cline, author of Ready Player One
"Awildly inventive fantasia spiced with frequent revelations of new crimes and new solutions." - Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Scott Von Doviak's twenty-year pop culture writing career includes a stint as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and an ongoing role as television reviewer for The Onion's AV Club. He is the author of three nonfiction books including the acclaimed HICK FLICKS: THE RISE AND FALL OF REDNECK CINEMA. CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL is his first novel. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1785657178
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hard Case Crime; Mti edition (September 18, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781785657177
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1785657177
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.85 x 1.19 x 8.76 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 530 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Scott Von Doviak

Scott Von Doviak

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Scott Von Doviak's twenty-year pop culture writing career includes three books, a stint as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and a decade as television reviewer for The Onion's AV Club. His debut novel "Charlesgate Confidential" was called "terrific" by Stephen King and named one of the top ten crime novels of 2018 by Tom Nolan of the Wall Street Journal. His 70s-set thriller "Lowdown Road" will be released in July 2023 by Hard Case Crime. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
530 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Dave Wilde
5.0 out of 5 stars Pulp, Mystery, Legend, Spirits, & Baseball
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
Charlesgate Confidential is a tremendous modern-day pulp story that combines fact, fiction, legend, and baseball. Telling the story in three distinct time periods, it tells the story of the Charlesgate, which is probably as well known to many Boston residents as the Green Monster itself.

First built as a turn of the century gilded age upper crust hotel, it later deteriorated into a haven for prostitutes, card sharks, drug addicts, vagabonds, and ghosts. Boston U. turned it into a women’s dorm. It fell into disrepair. Emerson College remodeled it and it was used as a dorm again in the eighties. Later, it went through another metamorphosis becoming exclusive pricey condos. But, through it all, there were legends of ghosts, spirits, and buried treasures.

Three time periods are brilliantly captured from the pulpy crime boss decade of the post-war forties. The tough talking hoods and vengeful robbers. That section focuses on a legendary Boston crime from another era but is worked into the timeframe rather well.

The Eighties dorm era is a terrific contrast and the era is captured quite convincingly. It’s 1986 and, if only we could go back to the years that forever tormented Red Sox fans and that elusive ring, all would be right with the world. But baseball and the chance at a ring in ‘86 was such a part of the fabric of the city that year.

Finally, mystery returns to the great old building in 2014 in yet another sinister homicide. All three time periods are eventually knit together with even a couple of recurring characters.

Easy to read, hard-edged at times, but a whole bundle of fun to read.
14 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Nick Cato
4.0 out of 5 stars An impressive debut
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
1946: a bunch of criminals steal some valuable artwork in Boston and stash it in the basement of a hotel. 1986: Tommy Donnelly, a future best selling crime writer, finds himself obsessed with the 1946 heist, and sets off on his own investigation. 2014: Tommy, now living in Australia, returns to Boston for a college reunion and shares what he has learned about the infamous art theft.

Doviak keeps the pages turning with this triple time-period set up, each era as exciting as the other. With plenty of twists, turns, mob action, double crosses and clever mystery, CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL is an impressive debut novel and a fast read despite its nearly 400 pages.
Helpful
 Report
jason hansa
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good caper novel
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book is great, the author delivers on the premise (a crime of the past ripples forward through time). Fascinating characters, everything just works.
Pulp Noir fiction is usually constrained to the 40s-50s, but this author has learned how to break that mold, and take that genre and take it forward in time. Great stuff, can't wait to read more!
Helpful
 Report
Richard B. Schwartz
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Pleasant Read
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2019
Verified Purchase
First off, let's be sure about genre. This is not a thriller, despite some comments to the contrary. It is, very broadly, a caper novel, but the caper doesn't occur until approximately half-way through the book and the caper itself is generally subordinate to the thoughts and actions of the characters. This is a historical mystery, but not truly 'historical'. The Gardner art thefts occurred in 1990. This book begins in the 1940's and has the theft occurring decades before the actual historical event. The theft is mostly a real-life 'occasion' that enables the story about the Charlesgate building—sometimes a hotel, sometimes a mob hangout and brothel, sometimes a derelict squat, sometimes a college dormitory and now a building housing luxury condos.

The story is told on three time levels: (more or less), 1946-7, 1986, and 2014. Along the way we meet some wiseguy hard cases, some students, some Boston PD detectives, et al. The continuing narrative voice is that of a student who becomes a writer, writing about the building itself and eventually moving to Australia and becoming a successful novelist. In the end the book is something of a love story, with the love of roommates, the love of a building, the love of writing, and the many tangled forms of love between men and women.

The writing is crisp and mature. The (many, many) pages fly by and each piece of the narrative puzzle holds your interest. This is not the kind of book where you tear the pages racing to the end. It is more a comforting and pleasant read. Take it to your favorite reading nook, grab some tea or an adult beverage, and luxuriate. Don't be seduced by the ad hype; this is a solid, lovely read, but not the second coming of Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett.

There are some explicit sexual references and some offstage gore. There is also a running narrative concerning the various miscues and successes of the Boston Red Sox. For some readers that will add a special dimension to the story.

Bottom line: a solid read with interesting historical dimensions.
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
EF Sweetman
4.0 out of 5 stars Ripping crime yarn about the biggest unsoved art heist in America.
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
I remember where I was when the news broke of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist like it was yesterday, and I live outside of Boston, so I have to be honest, I had some doubts when I picked up CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL. Was I ever wrong. Scott Von Doviak took complete charge of the biggest art theft in America and made his own terrific crime story. His characters are real, likeable and unlikeable, and his altered time frame of the heist is seamless in its mirror of the actual robbery. He masterfully moves the story between 1946, 1986, and 2014 beautifully, capturing the time and the feel of each era of Boston-its dirty, back stabbing crime elements, college life in the 1980's, the gentrification of the 21st century. And of course, baseball. I won't give up any spoilers here, just read it--even if you're from Boston, and you're skeptical of a fictional alteration of your history, you won't be disappointed. CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL is fast paced, gripping, and, I could not put it down. My one reservation is that the feeling of rushing to wrap up so many loose tangents in the end, but do not let that deter you. This is an outstanding first novel-he knocked it over the green monstah, and it is absolutely worth your time.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Michael De Micheli
5.0 out of 5 stars Guessing game
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
A really great read, I don't normally like stories with flash backs but I'm glad I made an exception for this one. Story holds your interest from start to finish, never a dull moment.
Report