A true story of espionage, Hollywood, and one of history’s most enduring mysteries “If Marilyn’s death wasn’t suicide, then my grandfather’s ‘diabetes’ wasn’t the cause of his death either.” 

‘He was a G-Man. He was a lady’s man. And given with whom he worked and where he hung out, he was probably a man’s man too. He was a big drinker. And a super spy!’ 

In his gripping new book, Shrewd Little Sleuth, international human rights lawyer Scott Leckie embarks on a haunting and deeply personal investigation into the extraordinary and secretive life of the grandfather he never met, Arthur Bernard Leckie (ABL). 

Drawing on thousands of pages of archival documents and family records, Shrewd Little Sleuth reads like Forrest Gump meets L.A. Confidential. From Pearl Harbor to the founding of the United Nations, from Washington’s corridors of power to Hollywood’s smoky backrooms, ABL’s story threads through the defining political and cultural flashpoints of 20th-century America, exposing the moral contradictions at the heart of the great American dream. 

ABL spied, bugged, wire-tapped and exposed people for their political beliefs. He orbited some of the most destructive figures in American politics and helped shape the rise of modern authoritarianism. ‘In trying to understand him, I’ve had to confront the uncomfortable question of whether history’s decay into oligarchic autocracy began with men like my grandfather,’ Leckie says. 

After a decade of research, a Freedom of Information Act request revealed the FBI held 623 documents on ABL. Leckie received 533 but 90 were withheld. ‘Receiving that thick box of documents at my home in Switzerland felt like discovering buried treasure. Each one offered new clues, but also deeper questions. I read every single page at least ten times, and each time I noticed something I’d missed before. Why were 90 files withheld? What did they contain? What were they still hiding?’ 

Among the documents were letters between ABL and his infamous former boss, J. Edgar Hoover, who ran the FBI with an iron-grip for 50 years. Some were written long after ABL’s supposed dismissal from the Bureau in 1939. ‘They paint a portrait of both mutual admiration and veiled threat. Hoover wrote to him often, sometimes praising him, sometimes warning him. In one memo he ordered his agents: “Mince no words with Leckie. Let him have it.” It’s clear my grandfather knew something he wasn’t supposed to.’ 

After his break with Hoover, ABL’s moral compass faltered. He became entangled in the Hollywood purges under Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, destroying lives in the name of loyalty. 

Later, he slipped into the darker corners of Tinseltown, working as a private investigator for the stars. ‘He drank too much, stayed up too late, and kept the company of people who were both famous and dangerous. Yet beneath it all, I think he was still searching for redemption — or maybe just one last secret that would make him matter again.’ 

His final act: serving as Marilyn Monroe’s private detective. ‘When I began researching my grandfather’s life, I expected to find a few family stories, maybe some long-lost details. What I found instead was a man whose life intersected with the deepest shadows of 20th-century America — a man who worked for Marilyn Monroe, who had been a confidant of J. Edgar Hoover, and whose own death may have been tied to Monroe’s,’ says Leckie. 

Both Monroe and ABL died mysteriously in Los Angeles within 24 hours, just a short ten minutes apart. The official record lists Monroe’s death as a probable suicide, but Leckie’s findings point to a darker narrative. ‘Their deaths were officially attributed to ”probable suicide” or illness, but both had spent their last days in the company of very dangerous men and powerful secrets. I no longer believe in coincidence.’ 

As a leading voice in global human rights advocacy, Leckie brings both moral clarity and personal reckoning to this remarkable story. ‘After having in my own way brought ABL back to life, I now see him, and even speak to him, in my dreams. In perhaps the most lucid dream I have ever had, at one point he smirks, looks me straight in the eye, and when I ask why he did what he did, he clears his throat and says, “I wanted to make America great again.”’ 

A compelling fusion of history and conscience, Shrewd Little Sleuth is an unflinching exploration of legacy, secrecy and truth — a cautionary tale for modern times. ‘He was the father of my father, and yet, in many ways, he was one of the architects of the world we live in today. Writing this book was my way of confronting him — and through him, confronting history itself.’