Diamond Fever!, Steve Sheinkin
Diamond Fever!, Steve Sheinkin
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

Diamond Fever!
A True Crime Story in the Wild West

Author: Steve Sheinkin

Narrator: James Fouhey

Unabridged: 3 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/12/2026


Synopsis

A fun, high-stakes true crime story story set in the Wild West. Perfect for fans of MONA LISA VANISHES!

"Steve Sheinkin is more than an author―he’s a time traveler whose deep research and fabulous writing whisk readers on thrilling rides through history. Kids will be transfixed by this unbelievable-but-true story of Gilded Age diamond hunters, swindlers, and train robbers. It is one of my absolute favorites!" ―Lauren Tarshis, bestselling author of the I SURVIVED series

"A rollicking―and well-researched―adventure story... A sparkling accomplishment. " ― Kirkus, starred review

Late one night two travel-weary miners, Philip Arnold and John Slack, show up at a businessman’s office in San Francisco. The miners seem nervous. They’ve got something that needs to be locked in a safe overnight. What is it? Well, that really has to stay secret, but it’s…

DIAMONDS! And lots of them.

Had these two miners just discovered America’s first diamond mine? Well, this is the Gold Rush era after all. Plenty of people are striking it rich. Anything is possible.

When word of the find hits the streets, diamond fever sweeps the country. Wealthy investors are desperate to elbow Arnold and Slack aside and seize control―but can they persuade the miners to reveal the location of their bonanza? At the same time, thousands of prospectors fan out across the mountains and deserts of the West―will one of them find the site before greedy bankers grab everything for themselves?

In this high-stakes Western adventure, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Steve Sheinkin tells the true story of the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872, a rollicking tale of heists and hijinks, scams and scoundrels―and the last-minute triumph of a most unlikely hero.

About The Author

Steve Sheinkin is an acclaimed author whose accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal and honor, and three National Book Award finalist honors. His fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories include Impossible Escape, Fallout, Undefeated, Born to Fly, The Port Chicago 50, and Bomb. Sheinkin lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children. stevesheinkin.com


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ilse on February 17, 2026

Follow a motley crew of shady characters -- swindlers, grifters, and spin doctors -- on this fantastic adventure-heist-detective story, with a hint of The Amazing Race and Survivor during the Gilded Age about 15 years after the Gold Rush. Full of twists, political bribes, showdowns, and little-known......more

Goodreads review by Melissa on April 25, 2026

Sheinkin has done it again, delivering a beautifully-written, fast-paced, cinematic true story packed with fascinating historic details. Gold fever had ebbed, fortunes had been made, and San Francisco was a boom town in 1870 when two small-time miners stepped into the office of an investor, needing......more

Goodreads review by Lynn on March 05, 2026

I loved reading about this little know historical nugget about 1870 America. The events that unfolded in this book is now known as the Great Diamond Hoax. With gold fever in the air, it was just a matter of time when the possibility of finding other precious stones can be found in wild untamed Ameri......more

Goodreads review by Literacious (Laura) on May 09, 2026

I found this book fascinating! I was not familiar with the diamond fever that swept across the Wild West and Steve Sheinkin brought this real-life adventure to life just like a Wild West film! The entire story is absolutely bananas and you'd almost believe that it's the work of fiction, except for t......more

Goodreads review by Alicia on April 12, 2026

An exploration of a true crime story that didn't involve dead bodies but gold out west in a true wild west story that intersperses comics with the full story introducing readers to a cast of upstanding an not-so-upstanding citizens out to make a buck in the west and mining diamonds. It's a neat stor......more