“An engagingly written and nuanced look at an enigmatic 20th-century figure. Leckie does not shy away from criticizing his grandfather’s “calculated proximity to some of the most foul and destructive American political figures” - Kirkus Reviews “Sometimes a single person can encapsulate an entire era. Sometimes a single lifetime can entwine the strands of history that provide a reasonably clear vision of what an unusually eventful life was really like so many decades ago. And when that person, that lifetime, belonged to a grandfather you never knew, there’s invariably a story to be discovered and told. Such is the case with Scott Lecckie’s new book, A Shrewd Little Sleuth (IUPH, 2025).   Leckie’s grandfather was part G-man, part gumshoe, part Zelig, who worked closely with J. Edgar Hoover, perhaps too closely, and with Marilyn Monroe prior to her controversial death, and seemingly half of the Hollywood establishment. It’s a great story whose plausibility is never in doubt, in spite of its often-salacious claims. Arthur Bernard Leckie was a jolly, heavy drinking fellow who seemed capable of embarrassing everyone with whom he worked and was still able to keep his job.    As an FBI agent, he headed a variety of FBI bureaus including Philadelphia and Chicago, and he was fired under the most strange circumstances, and yet remained in close contact with Hoover for decades. Hoover once said of him, "Leckie is one of our most outstanding agents. It is men like he that have made the organization what it is today".   But this book is more than his relationship to Hoover, it is a description of a life that could easily have found its way into Hollywood’s pantheon of tightly knit film noir classics. If that’s your genre, A Shrewd Little Sleuth is a book for you. It’s just right for those who the love spilling of buried family secrets and exposing dirty little details. Leckie has given us an account of a time that is forever sexy and continually sex-driven. One comes away wondering, did that really happen? And according to Leckie’s research and family documents, the answer is certainly worth considering.” - Ron Schultz, author of Open Boundaries: Creating Business Innovation Through Complexity and The Mindful Corporation    "Monroe. Hoover. Brando. Hughes. McCarthy.   Shrewd Little Sleuth is a rare and masterful reveal of American History from a position of intimacy and unparalleled access as the grandson of an FBI agent. Unspooling at the intersection of history, SLS peels back the layers of important American cultural figures in an intensely personal recounting of the Hoover-era FBI and the personal relationships driving public policy.   It's a revealing and ground-breaking read that will leave you informed, surprised and a bit slack-jawed at the tumultuous history of mid-century politics and culture.” -Skye Fitzgerald  Director - SpinFilm.org  - IG: spin_film “A deep dive into the mysterious life of a former FBI agent, who was pulled ever deeper into leading world affairs, like Pearl Harbor, the UN, McCarty, his ‘very’ personal relationship with Edgar J. Hoover, Hollywood and in the end his protégé Marilyn Monroe, which probably cost him his life. A brilliant book that reads like a film noir of these times.” -Jacob Adler “This was a truly intriguing read. Firstly, because of the figure about whom the book is about: Arthur Bernard Leckie. He was a prominent figure in Hoover's FBI with links to Marilyn Monroe and, like the famous film star, died suspiciously. I mean, if that doesn't grab your attention, then I don't know what will, especially if you love a conspiracy theory.   Secondly, the book is written by his grandson, Scott Leckie and there is a sense of Scott trying to connect with the grandfather who he never knew, despite the fact that they probably would not have had many world views in common. This adds an extra element, a personal one which permeates the book and Scott's voice is ever present in his observations and his commentary, some of it quite humorous so that although you feel like he is invested in investigating his grandfather, Scott's style is more that of a curious observer rather than someone who is likely to be shaped by what he discovers.   Unfortunately, Scott does not have a lot to go on in order to establish the sort of man his grandfather was. But don't let that fool you into thinking that this is a read with very little fodder: the way that this book unfolds is well done throughout. Scott Leckie takes the evidence that he has been able to acquire and examines each individual piece, sharing with us his insights and his reflections. This is also presented within the context of the time and I have learnt an inordinate amount about Hoover, the fears and concerns of Americans and the means used to uncover and collate information in order to stem the Communist threat. Add to this some Hollywood glamour and other famous names and you have an enthralling read.    And what is also good about this book is that you can speculate with Scott about what his grandfather's life was about. He has enough in the form of letters and newspaper cuttings and photos (a lot of which he shares so you can see them too) to make a picture of his grandfather but this picture is blurred and indistinct. In the theorising is the enjoyment. Scott is asking "Who was this man, my ancestor?" and you're with him as he tries to make sense of what he's found. A truly interesting read.” - Reedsy (11 October 2025)