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Golden Boy: A Murder Among the Manhattan Elite Kindle Edition

by John Glatt (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 1,347 ratings

In Golden Boy, New York Times bestselling author John Glatt tells the true story of Thomas Gilbert Jr., the handsome and charming New York socialite accused of murdering his father, a Manhattan millionaire and hedge fund founder.

By all accounts, Thomas Gilbert Jr. led a charmed life. The son of a wealthy financier, he grew up surrounded by a loving family and all the luxury an Upper East Side childhood could provide: education at the elite Buckley School and Deerfield Academy, summers in a sprawling seaside mansion in the Hamptons. With his striking good lucks, he moved with ease through glittering social circles and followed in his father’s footsteps to Princeton.

But Tommy always felt different. The cracks in his façade began to show in warning signs of OCD, increasing paranoia, and—most troubling—an inexplicable hatred of his father. As his parents begged him to seek psychiatric help, Tommy pushed back by self-medicating with drugs and escalating violence. When a fire destroyed his former best friend’s Hamptons home, Tommy was the prime suspect—but he was never charged. Just months later, he arrived at his parents’ apartment, calmly asked his mother to leave, and shot his father point-blank in the head.

Journalist John Glatt takes an in-depth look at the devastating crime that rocked Manhattan’s upper class. With exclusive access to sources close to Tommy, including his own mother, Glatt constructs the agonizing spiral of mental illness that led Thomas Gilbert Jr. to the ultimate unspeakable act.

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  1. Print length
    311 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  4. Accessibility
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  5. Publication date
    July 20, 2021
  6. File size
    18.3 MB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Piercing … add this one to your beach bag.” –People Magazine

“An in-depth look at an act that shocked the city’s elite.” –New York Post, “Best Books of 2021”

“Glatt is a balanced narrator of this story; though it would be easy to dismiss Gilbert as a privileged man-child protected by wealth and connections, the author also examines how complicated mental illness diagnoses can be, even for people with access to doctors and treatments….A tragic character study at the intersection of wealth, privilege, and mental illness, told with empathy.” ― Library Journal

“True crime fans will find this a compelling read.” ―Booklist

"Glatt shares alarming revelations about the state of the mental health system, where psychiatrists are largely powerless to intervene even when they see serious psychological issues that could result in harm to the patient or others. This is must reading for true crime enthusiasts who prize depth over salaciousness." --Publishers Weekly

"Glatt expertly interweaves the issues of mental health and privilege... by thorough investigative research and empathy for all involved, [he] has managed to present these complicated matters in an intriguing, enthralling narrative." --Criminal Element

About the Author

Shaun Grindell, actor and Earphones Award-winning narrator, was born and raised in Southampton, England. His training includes the Calland School of Speech and Drama and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in London. He has been seen on stage in London and Las Vegas.



John Glatt is an English-born investigative journalist and the bestselling author of many true crime books, including Lost and Found, Playing with Fire, and Cradle of Death. He has appeared frequently on television, including on Dateline NBC, A Current Affair, Fox News, and BBC World News. John and his wife, Gail, divide their time between New York City, the Catskill Mountains, and London.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08FZ8W12F
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 20, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 18.3 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 311 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250271037
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 1,347 ratings

About the author

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John Glatt

John Glatt

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John Glatt is an investigative journalist with more than thirty-five years experience. In the last thirty years he has written 25 true crime books and 5 biographies. With more than a two million books currently in print all over the world, Glatt is acknowledged to be one of the best true crime writers working today.

A native of London, England, Glatt left school at sixteen and worked in a variety of jobs - including tea boy and messenger - before joining a small weekly newspaper outside London, where he honed his keen news sense. Over the next few years he freelanced for many national English newspapers, including The Daily Express, The Sunday People, The Daily Mail and Woman Magazine.

In 1981 he moved to New York, working on staff for News Limited, as well as freelancing for Newsweek, Omni, the New York Post, the Australian, Modern Business and other newspapers and magazines worldwide.

His first book Rage & Roll: Bill Graham and the Selling of Rock, was published in 1993 to critical acclaim. Two years later he wrote Lost in Hollywood: The Fast Times and Short Life of River Phoenix, a well received biography on the tragic movie star. His next book, The Chieftains: An Authorized Biography, which was published in 1997, saw him nominated for a 2000 Grammy in the spoken word category. In 1998 wrote the well-received The Ruling House of Monaco: The Story of a Tragic Dynasty, uncovering many new revelations about the Grimaldis.

In 1998 he wrote his first true crime book, For I Have Sinned: True Stories of Clergy Who Kill. A year later he followed it up with Evil Twins, an anthology of twins that kill. And since then he has written a True Crime book a year for St. Martin's Press True Crime Library, establishing him as a master of the genre.

Over the years, Glatt has appeared on scores of television and radio programs all over the world, including ABC 20/20, Dateline NBC, Fox News, Discovery ID, BBC World, and A&E Biography.

He and his jewelry designer wife Gail live in the Catskill Mountains.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
1,347 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book fascinating and well-written, with one noting it's very well researched. The story quality receives positive feedback, with customers describing it as an amazing sad tale.

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ReadabilityWriting qualityStory quality
23 customers mention "Readability"22 positive1 negative

Customers find the book fascinating and very intriguing, with one customer noting it is well researched.

"This book was very well researched and I enjoyed it immensely. I am going to read more of Glatt”s work." Read more

"This book was very good. Not in an entertaining kind of way...." Read more

"John Glatt has written a comprehensive, well researched story of the Tom Gilbert murder by his son...." Read more

"...It is a excellent book to read. So i thought i would try this one." Read more

10 customers mention "Writing quality"7 positive3 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book.

"This book was well-written but was disturbing on a number of levels. Thomas Gilbert Jr. came from some a privileged background...." Read more

"This was a pretty well written book. Tommy seems like he was a brilliant boy who grew into severe mental illness...." Read more

"Too much detail Couldn’t wait to get to the end. Long and drawn out. Skimmed through to get to the end" Read more

"Well written. Made me..." Read more

8 customers mention "Story quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story of the book, describing it as an amazing sad tale, with one customer noting it was told in a factual manner.

"He takes what should be a good story and gets bogged down once legal proceedings start...." Read more

"I was enthralled with the story. The story was told in a factual manner. There is no over-dramatization...." Read more

"What an amazing sad story. The particulars pointed out in this story are so very telling...." Read more

"...Overall, a very sad story indeed. Not sorry I read it" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Ria
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lovec
    Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2025
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    Loved
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  • Anna V. Carroll
    4.0 out of 5 stars They Shoudda Called Dr. Phil!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2021
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    This book will sell a million copies just for the face on the cover! Tommy Gilbert, Jr. is one handsome guy. He was a good time who was had by all. Or many.

    John Glatt owes Graydon Carter of AIR MAIL a huge thank you for publishing excerpts of this book in a recent issue. I would never have known about it had I not read it on Carter's site.

    Yes, living in Manhattan, I knew about this story. Who didn't? His super handsome face was front page on all the local NYC papers and TV news. We couldn't get enough of the senseless murder of a father by a son. Sadly, much of what we have already read is covered in this book.This book is for readers outside NY State where children aren't as entitled, spoiled & enabled by their parents.

    Golden Boy reads like an episode of The Dr. Phil Show where he spotlights kids who are driving their parents up the wall and turning them into drug addicts and alcoholics trying to understand why the once adorable tots are now raging teens.

    Tom's parents, Shelley and Tom, Sr. come off as clueless and talk a lot about getting Tommy real help with his mental health issues but, in reality, only throw money at the problem. Then, it's way too late when Tommy puts a Glock to his father's head and pulls the trigger while mom is out getting her son a sandwich and a Coke. She returns to her expensive apartment to find her son gone and her husband lying on the floor dead. During the 9-1-1 call she mentions to the Dispatcher that her son just killed her husband. And, when the NYPD take her to the church where her daughter is for Sunday services, she rushes to the front of the church screaming, "Tommy just shot and killed your dad!" Needless to say, chaos ensues and the fragile daughter becomes hysterical and has to be taken from the church by the Cops. There is nothing subtle about this family, it appears.

    While I never heard of the Gilbert family, certain Upper East Side (The rich section of NYC) certainly have. The Wall Street crowd know who they are. To my knowledge, they don't appear to be PAGE SIX material. If son Tom did not have such a crippling mental illness, perhaps he would be quite the catch. Over six feet tall, muscular, grad of Princeton and other posh schools, he had a super bright future ahead of him. His grandfather & father were greatly respected and very successful in their fields of finance. High hopes for son, Tommy. Only one problem: Tommy didn't want to get a job and work for a living. Why should he when his parents paid his rent, shrink bills, traffic tickets, lawyers, trips to the Caribbean, fun in the Hamptons. When his dad cut his allowance (Tom was 30 at the time of the murder) a 100 dollars or so, it was the match to the fuse. His friends and girlfriends watched him come unglued but could not stop this runaway train. No one was surprised when Tommy offed his dad. Sadly.

    The book skims his life at the end with as much personal detail as Glatt could muster from trial transcripts and interviews with various people in Tom's life at the time. When he had a falling out with a previous friend and burned down his family's 200 year old home, that should have been sufficient to have Tommy bundled off to a private mental asylum. The former friend and his family could not prove it was Tommy who burned the home to the ground. Really?! If they had pressed charges and had him arrested his father would not be dead and this book would not be necessary.

    Twenty years ago this book would be a must-read. That said, there are so many men and women who are murdering their wives and children, wiping out entire families, that this murder doesn't really cause much more than a ripple on the pond. Of course if this son was a household name and part of a distinguished old family it would have been a tsunami of gossip.

    The trial is covered extensively as Tom plays mind games with the judge and jury. One day he attends the trial, other days he refuses to leave his cell. In the end, who cares? I certainly don't. This story is going to end with a guilty verdict. Period. And it does. Tommy will be in his 60's when he is released. I will be long gone.

    What the book does NOT tell you is what, exactly, caused Thomas Gilbert, Jr.'s severe mental illness. Drugs? Heredity? A football injury to his head? We are left dangling looking for closure but we don't get it. Mr. Glatt was unable to access Tommy's charts in prison.

    His mother and sister can't visit him because the prison is in upstate NY and too far to travel to at his mother's age. She did make the trip but Tom refused to see her. He has no visitors although one of his former girlfriends keeps in touch.

    As I read the Epilogue, I felt no emotion for any of the main characters. His mother and father were weak and unable to cope with their child's deterioration. Tommy does not elicit one iota of sympathy. This is a story about shallow, typical Ivy League parents who can't seem to cope with adversity. I would have liked more photos of the family. It isn't slap-dash quality, but it could have been much stronger in many ways. I am sure Mr. Glatt will make a fortune off the book and surely a movie can't be far behind.
    45 people found this helpful
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  • Deannie20
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2021
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    This book was well-written but was disturbing on a number of levels. Thomas Gilbert Jr. came from some a privileged background. When he was a minor his parents received information, from their friends, about troubling behavior their son was exhibiting. The family had tons of money and could have helped their son but living amongst the monied they chose to ignore this information. As he got older the problems got more serious and he was now an adult and his parents could not step in and aggressively seek help for their son. When he was tried for killing his father, his mother was quite verbal at faulting the judicial system which was trying her son. It is so sad that she did not feel this urge when he was younger and he could have gotten all the help their money could have bought. So sad that they turned a blind eye to their son’s problems and kept his sister in the dark by telling her, over the years, that he was getting better.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Joyce
    3.0 out of 5 stars It’s an ok story
    Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2025
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    Well written. Too much courtroom drama though
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  • Cheryl R.
    5.0 out of 5 stars very good
    Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2024
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    This book was very well researched and I enjoyed it immensely. I am going to read more of Glatt”s work.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Stephen Brescia
    4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read...
    Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Tommy could no wrong. With a mother that would not let him grow up and a father that continued to support it all, this, like many situations where power and good looks is all you need To sway and control others, leaves us better able to understand the consequences of mental illness combined with our "worship the beautiful" societal mentality.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Aztecgrl
    5.0 out of 5 stars Our justice system has a lot to learn
    Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This book was very good. Not in an entertaining kind of way. More about mental illness and how people are treated,viewed and not given the help they need. We need to treat mental health issues more serious, like we would if somebody had cancer. It's just as serious. But we have stereotypes of how we still view these issues. I appreciate how this author took us through this story in detail, step by step how mental health that is not medically treated can lead through a cycle of drug addiction and self medication
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Constance M Warner
    4.0 out of 5 stars Riveting story
    Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2021
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    I am an attorney albeit in the civil side of the law with no experience in criminal matters. I was interested in Judge Jackson’s approach to the case and she gets high marks for her ethical rulings and patience with the defendant. I was also intrigued by both the prosecutor and the defense attorneys.

    Several times I became annoyed by Shelly Gilbert - for enabling her son prior to her husband’s murder and refusing to acknowledge he was not a “golden boy.” She decried the state of psychiatric treatment in the state of New York when both she and her husband sat in their hands and accommodated their son’s lifestyle and recklessness. There were times along the way in this saga that their connections and money could have resulted in in-patient psychiatric evaluation at a minimum. She then alleges that somehow it is the state of New York responsibility to get him mental health.
    This may be a mother and wife’s way of dealing with her son and his crime and her pain is no doubt genuine. But if Shelly’s critique of the mental health system is valid for her son what is like for people who have no resources.
    31 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • E Beaulne
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading
    Reviewed in Canada on December 27, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    What a wasted life for one so smart born into a family of wealth and privilege. Drug’s definitely were his undoing. So sad that mental health care was unavailable even though the family knew he needed it. The laws present today do not allow forced care even when desperately needed and most people suffering mental problems will not attend on their own. Closing of the Mental Hospitals was one of the the worst ideas that governments came up with and we are now paying the price. People who need structure and care are now roaming the streets of large cities, unable to cope and being abused and preyed on by drug dealers.
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  • SONIA
    3.0 out of 5 stars Impression déplorable
    Reviewed in France on November 30, 2024
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    Difficile à lire puisque la qualité de l'impression est déplorable.
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  • Debbie Gaudet-Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in Canada on August 6, 2024
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    So sad when there’s mental health involved. Really great book.
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