Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World's Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler – An Extraordinary True Crime Story of Illegal Insect Trade and Greed

by Jessica Speart

In the tradition of The Orchid Thief 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Animals, Science, Nature, Crime, Mystery

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2011

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica Speart, a mystery writer with ten novels to her credit, heard from a man in the Fish and Wildlife Service about the agency’s pursuit of one of the greatest smugglers of modern times, and decided to switch to non-fiction for once.


Shopping List - from an AP story on USA Today

When it came to selling butterflies, particularly endangered species that were protected under international treaties, Yoshi Kojima was the big kahuna. If it existed, he could get it and he would be happy to sell it to you for an impressive mark-up. That he was a pathological liar and toted industrial-strength paranoia made him a difficult person to deal with and an almost impossible criminal to catch.

Ed Newcomer came to the Fish and wildlife Service relatively late. He had wanted to be a law officer since childhood, but had been unable to make the cut in his first few attempts. Bolstering his chances with a law degree and some years of legal practice, he finally made the grade in his late 30s, slipping in just before aging out. The Yoshi Kojima case fell into his lap as a likely loser, a turkey foisted on a rookie. It turned out he was the perfect man for the job.


Jessica Speart

Speart takes us through the aptly-named Newcomer’s experiences, how he learns through painful trial and error how to cope with his quixotic target. Newcomer is called upon to become an undercover agent for this assignment, making the job a 24/7 burden. It is a long and winding journey, with Kojima constantly foiling FWS expectations and plans. Newcomer, in his undercover persona, develops an odd relationship with Kojima, part business and part emotionally co-dependent. Newcomer was strained in his pursuit of Kojima by another case for which he was working undercover, a case involving pigeon breeders who are killing protected hawks and falcons. Doing double-undercover work is no good thing for one’s home life.

The book is an eye-opener about how little regard our legal system has for crimes of this sort. The biological heritage of the world is at stake but smugglers are subject to penalties that are often less than a traffic ticket. With millions of dollars to be made, such disincentives are hardly effective. There is considerable detail about how smugglers get their product past customs. It is depressingly simple.

Winged Obsession is a fascinating read. Speart brings her mystery-writer’s talent to the project, keeping her story moving and keeping tension high. I did find that is sagged a bit at times, particularly when Newcomer kept having to cover the same ground with Kojima. We, as readers, are stuck covering the same ground as well. Still, it worked pretty well overall, was informative, fast-paced and engaging. Would he or wouldn’t he snare Kojima in his net?

Review first posted – March 2011



=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages

NPR interview with Newcomer

AP article on Newcomer taking down Hisayoshi Kojima - by Helen O’Neill

Another piece on Newcomer in Backpacker.com

July 10, 2017 - NY Times - A Mausoleum for Endangered Species: A warehouse in Colorado offers evidence of the immense demand for goods made from threatened and endangered animals. - by Rachel Nuwer

August 24, 2022 - AP - California man pleads guilty to smuggling 1,700 animals

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, nerve-stretching read about a very long-running undercover operation to try to capture an extremely successful, extremely slippery trafficker in rare and endangered species. I physically felt the letdown every time the Fish & Wildlife agent felt he'd dropped the ball, and my heart started racing again every time he got back into the game with his old opponent. Unexpectedly, after what I thought was the end of the story the author stepped in using her own voice and added another chapter to the pursuit. The perp is a complex and unforgettable character.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Speart visited our library as part of the Connecticut Author Trail in 2009. At that time she whetted our interest with a hint of the book she was working on, Winged Obsession. It seemed a natural for Speart, whose character in fiction is Rachel Porter, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent. Speart’s background in journalism also seemed to make this jump from fiction to true crime a winning combination. I was hooked and couldn’t wait to read this account of a Japanese butterfly smuggler, one who was considered to be the world’s most cunning and notorious.

Who knew? Who knew there was so much to know and learn about butterflies? Who knew how many varieties, sizes, colors, butterflies can be? Who knew the lengths people would go to sell them, to buy them and the price that they command. Who knew that there are people who think that selling, smuggling, killing, and harvesting these winged creatures, often to extinction, should be worth no more than a slap on the wrist and a small fine? Who knew that there are agents with such dedication that they work their tales off to get their man?

As one other reviewer stated, it would have been nice to have some pictures or perhaps a reference to a good internet site to see the butterflies so often mentioned throughout the book. I suspect any good library would be able to help with this quest.

Winged Obsession is an eye-opening, shocking, sometimes titillating read about an illegal market that few of us know about. The quest to bring smuggler, Yoshi Kojima to justice and to shut down his profitable business by Agent Ed Newcomer is a compelling read. I think you’ll come away with a whole new appreciation of these magnificent, beautiful wonders that grace our paths and gardens. Jessica Speart has found a new calling and I’m hoping she’ll write another non-fiction title.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly compelling work of narrative nonfiction about the world's most notorious smuggler of endangered butterflies and the work of the undercover U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent who tracked him down and won his trust. The word "obsession" gets front-cover treatment, and for good reason. Not only is the smuggler, Yoshi Kojiyama, obsessed with butterflies and beetles (the descriptions of his apartments teeming with them are downright itch-inducing); he also grows more and more obsessed with the young man who befriends him at a butterfly show wanting to learn the trade, not realizing that his new apprentice is an undercover agent. And that Fish & Wildlife agent, Ted Newcomer, slips deeper and deeper into obsession himself - risking everything to go after the older Japanese man who seems untouchable in the world of butterfly smuggling.

I picked this book up expecting to enjoy it as a naturalist and ecologist, and I did -- the descriptions of the butterflies are lovely and fascinating, and the revelations about the underground trade in illicit insects was eye-opening. But on top of that, WINGED OBSESSION is really a psychological thriller, and I found myself driving around running errands, thinking about that book on the table by the sofa. Was Ted Newcomer EVER going to catch this guy?? And if so, at what cost? I'm usually more of a novel reader, but this is one fascinating page-turner of a book -- one that gives any fictional psychological thriller I've read a serious run for its money.

Note for teachers & parents: The cover of this one is lovely, and the butterfly smuggling issue would appeal to middle school kids for sure, but this is really a book for adults and NOT one to share in the classroom, due to some pretty explicit descriptions of Kojiyama's interests outside of butterflies and his obsession with Newcomer himself. I'd even hesitate to share it with high school readers - definitely read it first and then decide.

[Yaaresse]

Throwing in the towel at 13%. This is the kind of non-fiction that makes cringe, the kind that tries so hard to be creative and entertaining that it completely obliterates the whole idea of verifiable fact. Better to cut my losses in time now.

The book is supposed to be about a notorious smuggler, the US Fish and Wildlife Service agent who finally caught him, and the little-known world of bug collecting and smuggling criminals. It's an interesting story, at least the real-life version is, that might have been readable in the hands of a good non-fiction science writer or journalist. Or a good writer, period. I couldn't finish it.

It reads too much like a pulp mystery or the script for a B movie. Every sentence that isn't a forced metaphor contains a cliche or stereotype. The dialogue is straight from a parody of Dragnet. POV is all over the place. The synopsis for the book said this is the writer's first foray into non-fiction. Maybe not the direction she needs to go in.

People who like pulp mysteries or just hate non-fiction might like it.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got sucked into this book, despite it being a slog at times. The background about the black market butterfly trade, and wildlife trade in general, were fascinating, but I wish the author had cut out some of the detailed transcriptions of the police officer's talks with the smuggler. They just got tedious after a while, and the smuggler's sexual fascination with the undercover officer a little too weird. I will think about this book every time I see a butterfly for a while - in fact, I saw butterfly graffiti today and thought of the book.

[Peacegal]

I will have you
Yes, I will have you
I will find a way and I will have you.
Like a butterfly
A wild butterfly
I will collect you and capture you.
You are an obsession
You're my obsession

[Esme · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a couple of books about nature thieves: The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson and The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean immediately come to mind. (The Art Thief by Michael Finkel is in a similar vein.)

Both of the books I mentioned focused in large part about the psychology of those who practice the thefts and seem to have a more immediate personal relationship between the author and the thief. They also took the time to teach the reader more in depth about orchids and birds.

This book, didn't really do that. There were no pictures, which would have done a world of good. She doesn't discuss the science or butterfly life cycle or habitat destruction or the competing priorities of profit/human expansion verses habitat conservation in any depth whatsoever or how politics plays in. To me this shows she didn't do much research beyond what her source gave her.

A large part of her book comes from the evidence files of Ted Newcomer with long segments that keep referring back to Kojima's lewd talk, and all the back and forth of "send me this," "send me that," "how much," "show me your pee pee" which becomes pretty tedious. I think it could have been summarized. Also Newcomer's inability at times to answer his phone or make the Skype calls also had me wondering, what exactly is the matter here? Why is he so inept?

It is horrifying to learn that there are people who vacuum up endangered species in national parks around the world and stockpile them in the hopes they go extinct and they can make a huge profit on the world's loss. I also find it horrifying that these animals are hatched and immediately killed in order to get them looking their best.

Also horrifying was the B plot of the undercover operation with the pigeon fanciers who trap and kill birds of prey. The author does make the point that the laws are so lax, that even getting convicted isn't much of a deterrent.

It was an interesting story, but not the most in depth, best researched, or most satisfying (or baffling) story on nature thieves.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something charismatic about butterflies. As U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services special agent Ed Newcomer finds out, sometimes a fascination for these winged insects can turn into a dangerous obsession as collectors seek to own rare and endangered species. Newcomer's assignment: catch Yoshi Kojima, the most-wanted butterfly smuggler in the world. In Winged Obsession, Jessica Speart nicely weaves together the story of a man obsessed with butterflies, a man obsessed with catching him, and other facts.
Overall, the book is fun and interesting. It's neat finding a non-fiction book that reads like a novel, though effect did not always work well. Speart attempted to dive into the thoughts of all the people involved, which left me as a reader sometimes wondering how much of the story was true and how much was Speart adding for dramatic effect. Mentioning Speart's embellishments, the author broke away from the main story at times to give facts, background info, or introduce other people, but at times it was simply distracting from the main story. As a biologist, I didn't mind the facts as much, but a non-biology reader might lose interest.
My other main complaint was that in the description on my book, it mentioned Speart's own involvement with Kojima, almost making it sound like she helped catch the butterfly smuggler. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and her own involvement was one chapter at the end. In my opinion, I would have either cut that chapter or would have clearly labelled it an afterword or something. It certainly wasn't worth teasing in the description.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yoshi Kojima is the world's most notorious butterfly smuggler. This story is told through the eyes of Ed Newcomer, the US Fish and Wildlife Service Agent who is assigned to bring him to justice. Newcomer goes undercover as a butterfly collector and finds himself as obsessed with Kojima as Kojima is with his collections. He begins sacrificing more and more of his personal life as he becomes more entangled with Kojima and the crazy and illegal side of bug collecting.

*SPOILERS*
This book reads like a novel, and learning about Kojima and the illegal insect trade was absolutely fascinating. I do think that the story is overall disheartening, as it highlights how little legal ramification exists for even the highest level of environmental poaching/smuggling crimes. I also feel that the story must be read with a grain of salt, as it is told almost entirely from Newcomer's point of view. Given the obsessive nature of this case (for both parties involved) and the sexual undertones that their relationship ultimately took, I'm not sure that his interpretation of his time hunting Kojima can be relied upon as completely credible. Finally, Jessica Speart's claim in the book description that she was involved in the taking down of Kojima is completely unfounded. I feel it could have been left out of the book, although the short time she spent with him does further highlight the fact that Kojima got out next to scot-free.

[Stephen Dorneman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This true-crime story about the Japanese butterfly smuggler and the undercover effort to capture him starts strong, but bogs down with the descriptions of far too many email and Skype exchanges covering the same ground, arrangements to buy endangered butterflies followed by gay innuendo enticements. The 'twists' revealed at the end aren't particularly interesting (oh, apparently criminal liars lie about a lot of things), and what little physical action takes place isn't given enough time on the page. Interesting information about both the hobby and the business of butterfly collection (and, actually more interesting, roller pigeon clubs), but not enough to recommend this book.

[Auden · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book's subject matter was interesting but the writing left a lot to be desired. It felt like it was written to be shared episodically, and was bloated with repeated information and things that had already been shared and therefore felt out of order chronologically for being repeated. The point of view also lacked consistency and left me confused occasionally as to who was being followed by the narrative. This would have been a DNF for me if I didn't need a non-violent true crime book for a reading challenge so I slogged through to the end. (Unfortunately, the casual cruelty toward animals depicted in this book makes me question whether or not this book works.)

[Elizabeth Shultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I couldn’t put this book down and finished in less than 2 days! A fascinating true story that read like juicy fiction. Although it is based around butterfly smuggling, this book is probably less for bug enthusiasts and more for people who like true crime. Even knowing the ultimate outcome of the story from having seen the 4-episode series Bug Out (telling the wild story of a bug heist—highly recommended that too), I was still at the edge of my seat and didn’t anticipate a lot of the twists and turns.

[A-B H-Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the subject very interesting and enjoyed learning about USFW. The story is a good one, but went on too long. I found the conversations and writing of events redundant. It reminded me of when a show goes on a commercial break and then comes back to repeat the last few minutes before... or, a recap that is at the beginning of each episode, which I often skip if given the option. Luckily there was enough background/supplementary info to include and this is what often kept me reading.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was fascinated by the descriptions of the brutality of male butterflies, especially Monarchs. They rape, are pedophiles and do other nasty stuff.
The story however revolves around Newcomer, FishAnd wildlife officer who tracks a Japanese man, Yoshi, who collects protected butterflies and sells them for outrageous sums.iI became tedious after awhile going over each time Yoshi outsmarts Newcomer and the
Frustration is certainly transferred to the reader.

[xeniba · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever been so utterly unfulfilled, angry, and frustrated after reading a book. I was excited to read this, as the story sounded quite engaging. However, the writing is astonishingly bad. I don’t know why I kept going, when I could have found an article on the butterfly smuggler that was likely much better written.

My partner had to listen to me complain about just how poorly written this book was every time I picked it up. I want her to read it so that I can talk to her about it, but I also would never want to subject anyone to writing that terrible. Such a disappointment.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book sitting on a shelf, patiently waiting to be read for a few years. With a love of butterflies (alive), and having read similar books, I expected this to be an interesting read. And, overall, I did enjoy it. I did find some of it to be fairly repetitive, with perhaps the middle section of it feeling like a lull, but the ending made up for this. There are so many questions that seem to be unanswered, especially in regards to where the truth lay with aspects of Kojima's story. It would also have been interesting to have Newcomer's take on the end result, and how he felt afterwards. What I also would have liked to be included were colour photos/illustrations of the butterflies involved.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

non-fiction.

Very disturbing investigation into international butterfly and bug smuggling operations.

Dept of Fish and Wildlife op uses everything in his arsenal to capture the worlds most notorious butterfly smuggler based in Japan.

Moderately happy ending for the operative. Very unhappy circumstances for the butterflies.

I borrowed a copy from the public library.

[Phylwil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really debated the rating because the writing was juvenile and the author imagined she knew what the characters were feeling or thinking. But the facts of the story elevated the book--a cat-and-mouse tale between a smuggler of endangered insects and an inexperienced government agent, with all the expected twists. It didnt hurt that the villain was marvelously creepy.

[kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

A true crime story about a butterfly smuggler and the law enforcement officer who wanted to catch him sounded like the makings of a fascinating book, but this writing really sunk it for me. Each chapter was written like a bad streaming series with each chapter ending on a cliffhanger and littered with cliches and bad metaphors.

[Cheryl Ruhl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably related to this book more because I recently sat for the US Customs Broker License exam, and had become somewhat familiar with the Lacey Act. The narrative was choppy in places, though, and was not a consistently enjoyable read.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and disturbing book about butterfly smuggling. Unfortunately, the book helps you realize both how easy this is to accomplish and how little our Fish and Wildlife Service can do to stop it.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book about Yoshi Kojima, notorious illegal butterfly seller. US Fish & Wildlife officer, Ed Newcomer brings him down - but unfortunately only in the US. He's still selling illegal, endangered butterflies from all over the world - from Japan. Well-written.

[Cynthia Bachhuber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I could give 3.5 stars. Interesting story, but the writing was overwrought and melodramatic.

[Dixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not part of the Rachel Porter series but still good.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea about the darkness around butterflies. Wow! Fast read.

[Syche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-violent true crime ftw! And I learned a bucketload about butterflies. (Also pigeons.)

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrific true crime with The Orchid Thief vibes. A good read

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought there was way too much information regarding the butterflies and not much on the story .

[Maddy | madsbookfinsta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting, but the actual writing read like a children’s mystery story…it was odd and off putting.