Winged Obsession - by Jessica Speart (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

In the tradition of The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean comes Winged Obsession--a gripping, real-life thriller that exposes the seedy underbelly of illegal butterfly trading. An acclaimed mystery writer and respected journalist specializing in wildlife issues, author Jessica Speart tells an extraordinary but true tale of greed, obsession, and sexual temptation, masterfully chronicling the downfall of the "Indiana Jones of insects" through the determined efforts of a rookie Fish and Wildlife agent who put his life on the line to stop him.

From the Back Cover

One of the world's most beautiful endangered species, butterflies are as lucrative as gorillas, pandas, and rhinos on the black market. In this cutthroat $200 million business, no one was more successful--or posed a greater ecological danger--than Yoshi Kojima, the kingpin of butterfly smugglers.

In Winged Obsession, author Jessica Speart tells the riveting true story of rookie U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent Ed Newcomer's determined crusade to halt the career of a brazen and ingenious criminal with an almost supernatural sixth sense for survival. But the story doesn't end there. Speart chronicles her own attempts, while researching the book, to befriend Kojima before betraying him--unaware that the cagey smuggler had his own plans to make the writer a player in his illegal butterfly trade.

Review Quotes

"A true thriller about an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent hunting for the 'human vacuum cleaner' of the insect world." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Reads like a suspense thriller." -- Oklahoma City Oklahoman

Winged Obsession offers a fascinating glimpse into the illegal market in exotic and endangered butterflies....By the end of Winged Obsession, I was rooting for creatures I didn't know existed before I read the book. -- Miami Herald

Butterfly smugglers? Who knew? Journalist Jessica Speart chases down the butterfly world's most elusive criminal, the notorious Yoshi Kojima, in her fantastic new book. It's a journey with the twists and turns of a taut thriller -- like The Orchid Thief, only with wings. -- Daily Candy

Meet the Hannibal Lecter of the conservation world... this expose reads like a thriller and proves once again that truth is stranger than fiction. -- Lee Child, New York Times Bestselling author

Winged Obsession is an unputdownable thriller.... I loved this book! -- Lisa Scottoline, New York Times Bestselling author