Most Paladin readers know Ragnar Benson as a survivalist, a powder monkey, a trapper, a hunter and a dispenser of survival medicine, but how many know that he has been involved in the PI business for more than 25 years? In this, his first book on the subject of investigations, Ragnar offers readers two books in one. He reveals how PIs, cops and military interrogators conduct interviews, investigations and interrogations, and he also shows prospective witnesses how to survive them. For investigators, he shares his professional secrets and real-life scenarios for creating effective pretexts for any situation, opening up a witness and keeping him talking, recognizing and "listening" to nonverbal clues, and deciding whether to use honey or vinegar to get the desired results. Then he turns the tables on his fellow investigators and gives potential witnesses specific tips for avoiding - or at least surviving - the tactics, techniques and tricks favored by skilled investigators. Whether you want to be an investigator or avoid one, you won't want to miss this book.

Average Customer Review: ( 7 customer reviews )
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This book promises a lot. But does not really deliver on the promises. When I finished reading the book, I was not convinced that I knew more about either conducting "interviews" or surving "interrogations."

Each chapter ends with "Tips for potential witnesses." This by far is the most useful section of the book. If you read these "tips," you will know the book. This is the first "tip" of the book: "1. What should you do if you don't wish to talk to an investigator? An obvious but incorrect answer is to refuse to do so." page 19. Yes, Mr. Benson does go into more detail about this question.

The book is organized thus: Introduction; 1 What Makes a Successful Investigator?; 2 The Fine Arts of Listening and Observing; 3 What are Pretexts and How Are They Used?; 4 Civil vs. Criminal Proceedings and Rules of Evidence; 5 Criminal Investigations; 6 Once Witnesses are in the Legal Pipeline; 7 Surviving a Cross-Examination; 8 Military Interrogations; Conclusion. There is no bibliography.

If this topic interests a reader, then see if you can find the book, "Ask Me No Questions, I'll Tell You No Lies." The reader will learn more than Bensons' tome.

11 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Not a good readApr 16, 2003
By scuba08801
I really didn't learn anything from this book. Its focus was centered around Private Investigators use of pretext's. Pretexts are lies that are told to solicit information out of an interviewee. They can range from, "You will be in trouble if you don't help me," to the opposite, "You know, I did the same thing. It's alright to admit to the crime." If that makes sense, then don't read this book and save yourself [the money].

9 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Nothing UsefulJul 31, 2003

I was hoping for a book that would give away all the secrets to interrogation and making people spill the beans. Instead I got an arrogant sermon on how important and powerful the author thinks private investigators and security guards are. He claims that anyone who does not talk to an investigator can be forced to give deposed testimony (total bull). Being an ex-private investigator, the author's tips are worthless. I want a book that exposes professional interrogation training like the Reid Technique and heuristical interrogation techniques. This book is a complete waste of money.

Big LetdownJan 07, 2012
By Gozleone
Here's the book in a nutshell:
-If you are a PI, you should come up with a few lies and use them on people (ex: you already know information from someone else involved, you're an unbiased reporter writing a story, you're calling about a job interview, there was an eye witness that came forward, etc...)
-If you are getting interviewed, the police have the right to lie to you so don't give them any information even if they say they already know or if they say you won't get in trouble.

That's it. Every chapter is basically a variation of those two things. Total waste of time, save your money.
I bought this book because I heard interesting things about Benson's books. If this is an indication of what his other books are like, then don't bother with any of them. Interviews, Investigations, and Interrogations, is a great idea for a book, but there's no substance. The whole thing you could have basically guessed at and not wasted your time or money. He doesn't give any real practical information.

1 of 2 found the following review helpful:

Don't buy this book if you expect the title to describe contentsApr 15, 2007
By California Cajun
What a waste of money! As it turns out, this guy writes a lot of books about subjects of which he knows very little about. I recommend staying away from anything written by Ragnar Benson!!!!!

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