In this book, Sean Paradis asks investigators to re-evaluate some of their methods for investigating and explore options outside of the expensive gadgets that have taken over the paranormal field. He discusses using your senses, making small changes to the environment, utilizing everyday items, and even introducing elements of the past as a means of eliciting responses during an investigation. The ultimate goals of the book are to encourage investigators to explore often forgotten/overlooked means of investigation and to add tools to the investigation repertoire without adding to equipment costs. While this book may appear on the longer side (193 pages), the actual text only takes up the first 83 of those pages. What remains is an investigation journal. 

Would I recommend this book? For the most part, yes. It is a good resource for established teams that are struggling to expand their investigation methods or new investigators that don’t have the money to spend on equipment. 

Pros: This book is really easy to read. Each section is short and to the point. I like that he includes very simple things like board games, chalk, dominos, music, and language in his idea list. These things are VERY accessible and easy to integrate in most investigations. 

Cons: The morse code practice key section was a little confusing, likely because I have never heard of such a device. I don’t know that it will be relevant for most investigators but maybe I’m just unaware of some really cool old tech. The addition of the journal at the end could be useful if he talked about why investigators should use a journal and if the book was spiral bound. I find journals in regular bound books to be less than useful because the book won’t stay open. I also don’t like writing in my books but that is a me thing and may not apply to everyone. 

Overall thoughts: I don’t know that there is anything really “new” here. Most of this advice can be found in a variety of investigation technique books but if you are looking for something simple and straightforward, this will work in a pinch. 

Note: it does look like this book is out of print so you may have to hunt a little bit to find a copy. Here is the listing on Amazon.