Customer Reviews

Everything Private Investigation Book: Master the techniques of the pros to examine evidence, trace down people, and discover the truth (Everything (Reference))

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I recently retired after thirteen years on the bench as a Federal Administrative Law Judge and spent twenty-four years as a Trial Attorney. I am the author and editor of three law books, and a novel. See: [...]. I am now doing legal consulting in tracing assets and money and in social security case matters. I found Shelia L. Stephens book on Private Investigations a very useful tool for the professional. I keep it on my desk top for easy reference. The book has an incredible table of contents and covers investigations completely, in a well-written step by step guide to this subject matter. It is not only a must read, but it is a very practical tool for professionals like private investigators, attorneys, paralegals, accountants and experts alike.

Hon.James J. Brown, Raleigh, NC

Sheila L. Stephens' book, The Everything Private Investigation Book, is so much more than I expected. I have owned and managed a nanny-finder service for thirteen years. Ms. Stephens' firm does all my background and pre-employment searches. I would trust no one else to do them as I know her to be an expert in her field and scrupulous in her integrity.

Yet, when I learned of her book, I did not read it for some time--after all, I'm not a private investigator. However, others were reading it, and continued to tell me how much information has been included about keeping children safe and finding abducted children. I decided to buy it.

Not only was I engrossed in the part of this book that addresses the safety of children, but I found myself going back to the beginning and reading to the end. I learned more than I've ever realized I didn't know! I learned, also, that the book is not written only for investigators. There are so many interesting and helpful chapters, anyone will be happy that they've bought this book. The world in which we live is rapidly changing, and security is important in all aspects of our lives. Ms. Stephens has covered the bases, here.

I am very busy, and do not usually comment on books, even the ones I love, so this review is evidence of my admiration for what Ms. Stephens has done. This is an amazing book. Don't pass it by.

Cathy Shumaker

If you are thinking about becoming a private investigator, this is a pretty good book to get an idea of what the job is really like. Most states require certified training and a license to work as a P.I. Don't think you can read this book and go to work. However, it can certainly help you decide if you want to go to the expense and effort required to get a P.I. license. Read chapter one carefully before you invest thousands of dollars in training. If you can't concentrate for long periods of time or write detailed reports, the P.I. business is not for you.

I bought this book expecting it to be similar to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigation, and it is...to a point. Where this book differs is that it assumes that the reader has a serious interest in becoming a professional investigator, and spends a good chunk of its time going over things TCIGTPI covers lightly or does not cover--including such important things as "Do You Have The Right Stuff", "Ethics", "Education and Training", "Marketing" and "Setting Up The Business". The rest of the book covers a great deal of the same material as TCIGTPI, but in a different voice and format. It's not quite a textbook, but it covers a lot of material.

I would list this, along with The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigation, as a must have book to have in one's library, should one be considering "donning the fedora".

The Everything Private Investigation book is a basic introduction to the field of Private Investigations, covering fields such as skip tracing through to Interviewing suspect. It should however be noted, that this book is only an introduction to the various fields available to Private Investigators and not a comprehensive training manual. One of the main drawbacks to this book is that the writer continually refers to the reader as she, which is slightly irritating. However this book is extremely comprehensive, referring to other sources of information and website which can greatly assist both P.I.'s and amateurs alike. All I can say is that this is one exceptional book and I recommend it to everyone.

A world class read on an interesting subject. The most outstanding thing about this book is the integrity of the writer. Ms. Stephens leaves no stone unturned. I have heard her speak at conferences. She sparkles and her eyes light. She knows her stuff and communicates it well to others, whether speaking or writing. This book is no exception.
It's a great reference for mystery writers, or real sleuths.

The book was more on setting up a an investigation business, I was looking for investigation tips, evidence examination and techniques.

I am studying for my Private Investigator License and this book offered the best common sense I had read so far. It has technical information about the laws and disscussion about why and why not....The Author made it an easy to ready and understand the human side of the delicate information you are collecting on other peoples lives...Highly recommend.