The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson

The Feather Thief (2018) is a fascinating combination of true crime and natural history which reads like a novel. Its author, Kirk Wallace Johnson, was on a fishing trip when his guide told him an anecdote about an unusual heist: the 2009 theft of hundreds of dead birds from a British natural history museum. The thief, Edwin Rist, was an American student enrolled in London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music. Rist was also obsessed with the art of salmon fly-tying, which involves decorating fishing hooks with feathers and various other materials to a fishing hook, often following “recipes” created by famous Victorian-era fly-tiers. Many of the original recipes involve the use of feathers from exotic bird species that are now endangered or protected. While some modern fly-tiers use substitutes, many strive for historical authenticity and are willing to pay vast amounts of money for rare feathers.

The birds Rist stole had an estimated value of approximately $1 million on the collectors’ market, and their value to the scientific community was immeasurable. While some of the birds were returned to the museum after Rist’s arrest, many were never recovered. Nevertheless, Rist spent no time in jail for the theft.

Almost a decade after the crime, Johnson made it his mission to find out why Rist stole the birds, why he received such a light sentence, and what happened to the birds that are still missing. The Feather Thief chronicles Johnson’s search for truth and justice, which took him deep into the world of fly tying.

If you are looking to read true crime without violence, this book is a fantastic choice!