★ 01/22/2024

Drawing on recently declassified files, historian Drabkin debuts with a riveting account of Frederick Rutland (1886–1949), a British WWI hero who spied for the Japanese on the eve of WWII. As a celebrated naval aviator—he was the first Royal Navy pilot to take off and land a plane from a ship in battle—Rutland developed a taste for publicity and a lifestyle beyond his reach. Overlooked in the peacetime British military, he offered his services to the Japanese Navy, who needed his technical knowledge to develop a carrier strike force. The Japanese later helped Rutland relocate to Los Angeles to spy on the U.S. Navy and develop an agent network. With the Japanese government funding his lavish lifestyle, he rubbed elbows with the most famous English actors in Hollywood at the time, including Alan Mowbray and Boris Karloff, who out of concern over Rutland’s behavior eventually contacted the FBI, and Charlie Chaplin, whose former butler Toraichi Kono became a key player in Japan’s espionage network. Shortly before the Pearl Harbor bombing, Rutland turned coat again, but his warning about the impending attack went unheeded by a distrustful FBI. Drabkin writes with a novelist’s flair, roving between far-flung ritzy settings (Hollywood, London, Tokyo) and notable personages (from J. Edgar Hoover to Amelia Earhart). Readers will be swept up. (Feb.)

"A beguiling tale of espionage and double-dealing in the years leading up to World War II. . . . Drabkin’s expertly narrated yarn, based on a trove of recently declassified documents, is constantly surprising, and it’s just the thing for thriller fans who enjoy kindred fictions of the Alan Furst variety. Strap in for a narrative that demands a suspension of disbelief—and richly rewards it." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"[H]istorian Drabkin debuts with a riveting account of Frederick Rutland (1886–1949), a British WWI hero who spied for the Japanese on the eve of WWII. As a celebrated naval aviator . . . Rutland developed a taste for publicity and a lifestyle beyond his reach. Overlooked in the peacetime British military, he offered his services to the Japanese Navy . . . The Japanese later helped Rutland relocate to Los Angeles to spy on the U.S. Navy and develop an agent network. With the Japanese government funding his lavish lifestyle, he rubbed elbows with the most famous English actors in Hollywood at the time, including Alan Mowbray and Boris Karloff, . . . and Charlie Chaplin, whose former butler Toraichi Kono became a key player in Japan’s espionage network. . . . Drabkin writes with a novelist’s flair, roving between far-flung ritzy settings (Hollywood, London, Tokyo) and notable personages (from J. Edgar Hoover to Amelia Earhart). Readers will be swept up." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Thanks to recently declassified FBI files, Drabkin discovered why the UK, US, and Japan would prefer to keep their dealings with Frederick Rutland, aka 'Agent Shinkawa,' secret forever. . . . The life of a spy has never seemed so addictive or harrowing. Drabkin takes an evenhanded approach, portraying Rutland as complicated—equal parts hero and villain. This winning and dramatic biography pierces the veil of secrecy surrounding historical events." — Booklist

"Ronald Drabkin’s Beverly Hills Spy is a fascinating true tale of . . . an intelligence agent who, while living amid the movie-star glitter and comforting sunshine of Hollywood during the years inexorably counting down to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, was dutifully working for the Japanese intelligence service as well as any other espionage agency that would have him—and pay him, often lavishly." — Air Mail

“A rip-roaring ride through the world of espionage and the tortured existence of a deeply flawed man who spent years of his life trying to redeem himself. Drabkin makes the biggest moments of the 20th century come vividly alive through his storytelling.” — Kate Andersen Brower, New York Times bestselling author of The Residence and First Women

“An incredible story of British WWI hero ‘Rutland of Jutland’ and his fascinating life spying for Japan before WWII. Frederick Rutland traveled the world and mingled with Hollywood celebrities, all while the FBI, MI5, and the Office of Naval Intelligence watched him closely. A reminder of a lesson learned long before 9/11 that when law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, and allies do not work together, the consequences can be deadly.” — Jeffrey Trussler, vice admiral (retired) US Navy and former director of Naval Intelligence

“What a fascinating tale this is—of espionage, of aviation, of heroism and betrayal, of class boundaries in the US and the UK. It is a dramatic story from the pre–World War II era with resonance today.” — James Fallows, National Book Award–winning author of National Defense and former White House staffer

“Beverly Hills Spy is an unforgettable story—class politics, the interim between World Wars, heroes, traitors, espionage—set among the backdrop of Golden Age Hollywood. Readers will be shocked to learn the untold tale of Frederick Rutland, and the instrumental role he played in the attack on Pearl Harbor.” — Kirk Wallace Johnson, author of The Feather Thief and The Fishermen and the Dragon

“Expertly researched and written with flair, Beverly Hills Spy sheds fresh light on how one of the 20th century’s greatest cataclysms came to pass. Centered on the morally murky exploits of a war hero who loved the high life too much, Ronald Drabkin’s book crackles with rich details about the paranoia and misunderstandings that poisoned relations between the United States and Japan. All narrative history should be this revelatory, and this compelling.” — Brendan I. Koerner, author of The Skies Belong to Us and Now the Hell Will Start

"A masterpiece of espionage nonfiction, Beverly Hills Spy takes readers through the exploits of famed aviation pioneer Frederick Rutland. But was Rutland a hero or traitor? Ronald Drabkin’s take on the story is filled with intrigue that will leave readers guessing why one of the greatest naval aviators of all time decided to help the Japanese Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor and how Rutland was connected to WWII secrets of Hollywood’s elite." — Brett Velicovich, author of Drone Warrior and Fox News contributor

“By using previously overlooked sources from three countries, Ronald Drabkin reveals the compelling story of one of the early twentieth century’s most important yet least-known spies. Frederick Rutland’s story carries important lessons about the nature of intelligence gathering in peacetime—and how it can be combatted. It also raises questions about how governments can best protect their secrets while preserving and protecting civil rights, even in wartime.” — Bradley W. Hart, author of Hitler’s American Friends: The Third Reich’s Supporters in the United States

Sam Dewhurst-Phillips's sonorous narration sets the right tone for this true story of Frederick Rutland, a double-dealing British war hero who spied for Japan in the run-up to Pearl Harbor. Like his Hollywood friend Boris Karloff, Rutland was a man who wore many masks. He earned the nickname "Rutland of Jutland" for his heroics during the 1916 Battle of Jutland. His engineering skills helped create the modern aircraft carrier. As a bon vivant, he conned the Hollywood crowd. And most infamously, he spied for Japan as Agent Shinkawa. His remarkable story features a disparate group of characters, including Charlie Chaplin's butler, Yoko Ono's father, the secretive head of MI5 known as "K," and Alan Mowbray, the butler in the Topper films. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

★ 2023-12-06
A beguiling tale of espionage and double-dealing in the years leading up to World War II.

He was known as Agent Shinkawa, a spy for the Imperial Japanese Navy. His real name was Frederick Rutland (1886-1949), a hero of early British aviation. As Drabkin relates, Rutland turned to Japan for work after having been passed over for promotion as one of the proletariat, even as another pilot “of a superior class…realized his skills were no match for Rutland’s.” Rutland had worked out practical solutions to launching warplanes from aircraft carriers, and, as early as 1920, the Japanese were both planning on using that new technology to forge a Pacific empire and preparing for war with the U.S. Rutland was particularly useful once he set up shop in Beverly Hills, plying pilots, aircraft manufacturers, and military officers with booze and letting them do the talking. Drabkin’s cast of characters is surprising: The bon vivant Rutland got actionable intelligence out of Amelia Earhart and had dealings near and far with the likes of Charlie Chaplin (the target of a Japanese assassination attempt), Boris Karloff (an unlikely but real counterspy), Graham Greene’s brother, and Yoko Ono’s father. It wasn’t long before the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence caught on to Rutland, who became a double agent to save his own skin, gaining protection from J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI in the bargain. Both ONI and the FBI missed out on a trail of clues that might have prevented the attack at Pearl Harbor, in which Rutland was implicated enough to spend time in a British prison. Drabkin’s expertly narrated yarn, based on a trove of recently declassified documents, is constantly surprising, and it’s just the thing for thriller fans who enjoy kindred fictions of the Alan Furst variety.

Strap in for a narrative that demands a suspension of disbelief—and richly rewards it.