Heist Society (23 page)

While the specific works of art mentioned here are fictional, many of the sad facts of this story are true. During the time before and during the Second World War, the Nazis systematically plundered family treasures across all of Europe.

Historians, activists, and survivors work tirelessly to this day to right those terrible wrongs.

This is a book about family.

My publishing family, Disney-Hyperion, has given me my professional home, and I can’t imagine the last year without the support and guidance of Jennifer Besser and the keen feedback of Emily Schultz.

I’m honored to be a part of the Nelson Literary Agency family, and I’m incredibly grateful to Kristin Nelson and Sara Megibow for all that they do.

As with professional thieves, professional writers and readers are like a family of their own, so I must thank Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Sarah Mlynowski, Maggie Marr, Rose Brock, and, of course, BOB, for their keen eyes and kind words as Kat and her crew evolved from a wild idea and into a full-blown heist society.

And most of all, writing about Kat’s big, loving, and sometimes crazy family has made me realize how lucky I am to have one of my own.