Chris Sweeney (MSJ08)

“The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne” tells the fascinating and remarkable true story of the world’s first forensic ornithologist— Roxie Laybourne, who helped solve murders, investigate airplane crashes, and break up international poaching rings using nothing more than a microscope and a few fragments of feathers. Award-winning journalist Chris Sweeney takes readers deep within the vaunted backrooms of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to tell the story of this burgeoning science and the enigmatic woman who pioneered it.

Once divorced, once widowed, and sometimes surly, Roxie shattered stereotypes and pushed boundaries. Her story is one of persistence and grit, obsession and ingenuity. Drawing on reams of archival material, court documents, and exclusive interviews, Sweeney delivers a moving and amusing portrait of a woman who overcame cultural and scientific obstacles at every turn, forever changing our understanding of birds—and the feathers they leave behind. NPR selected it as one of its most anticipated books of summer, while Publishers Weekly described it as entrancing.