A Deal with the Devil by Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken: book review

A Deal with the Devil – The Dark and Twisted True Story of One of the Biggest Cons in History (2018) is about CNN investigative journalists and their part in revealing the international scam of the mysterious and elusive French psychic Maria Duval.

Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken were investigating financial crimes for the CNN Money program when they discovered that thousands of Americans were paying Maria Duval for psychic advice, how to win the lottery, how to cure disabilities and illnesses, and how to find missing persons. It was one of the longest running cons in history. Investigators from all over the world took part in exposing Duval’s scheme, the results of which were broadcast in the 2016 five-episode documentary on CNN.

This book details their investigation and goes beyond the CNN documentary. One lady is the extent of this scam – it is an industry, with devious ways of hiding income and the truth about Maria Duval – including her true identity. There were many ‘cogs in this massive machine’ – the journalists had ‘found the music, but not the orchestra.’ The investigation takes on another level, as the CNN story brought many more people out of the woodwork – to highlight the full magnitude of the scam.

Although the two authors may be great investigative journalists, this book is not great documentary writing. It is more of a ‘we did this and then we did this’ book. Nevertheless, it puts to rest the sad events in a long history of deceit, while documenting the road and by-roads to discovery.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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