The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson

The Feather Thief

by Kirk Wallace Johnson

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLD DAGGER AWARD

'A tale of obsession ... vivid and arresting' The Times

One summer evening in 2009, twenty-year-old musical prodigy Edwin Rist broke into the Natural History Museum at Tring, home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world. Once inside, Rist grabbed as many rare bird specimens as he was able to carry before escaping into the darkness.

Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist-deep in a river in New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide first told him about the heist. But what would possess a person to steal dead birds? And had Rist paid for his crime? In search of answers, Johnson embarked upon a worldwide investigation, leading him into the fiercely secretive underground community obsessed with the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying.

Was Edwin Rist a genius or narcissist? Mastermind or pawn?

Reviewed by laughingrachel on

4 of 5 stars

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Well written and researched book, but it did tip me full on into an existential panic about the fate of the world. So ya know, great book but if you are a history loving anxious sort it might cultivate an intense hatred of fly fishermen in you.

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  • 11 September, 2018: Reviewed