Audiobook7 hours
A Deal with the Devil: The Dark and Twisted True Story of One of the Biggest Cons in History
Written by Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken
Narrated by Donna Postel
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
While investigating financial crimes for CNN Money, Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken were intrigued by reports that elderly Americans were giving away thousands of dollars to mail-in schemes. With a little digging, they soon discovered a shocking true story.
Victims received personalized letters from a woman who, claiming amazing psychic powers, convinced them to send money in return for riches, good health, and good fortune. The predatory scam has continued unabated for decades, raking in more than $200 million in the United States and Canada alone-with investigators from all over the world unable to stop it. And at the center of it all-an elusive French psychic named Maria Duval.
Based on the five-part series that originally appeared on CNN's website in 2016 and was seen by more than three million people, A Deal with the Devil picks up where the series left off as Ellis and Hicken reveal more bizarre characters, follow new leads, close in on Maria Duval, and connect the dots in an edge-of-your-seat journey across the U.S. to England and France. A Deal with the Devil is a fascinating, thrilling search for the truth and is long-form investigative journalism at its best.
Victims received personalized letters from a woman who, claiming amazing psychic powers, convinced them to send money in return for riches, good health, and good fortune. The predatory scam has continued unabated for decades, raking in more than $200 million in the United States and Canada alone-with investigators from all over the world unable to stop it. And at the center of it all-an elusive French psychic named Maria Duval.
Based on the five-part series that originally appeared on CNN's website in 2016 and was seen by more than three million people, A Deal with the Devil picks up where the series left off as Ellis and Hicken reveal more bizarre characters, follow new leads, close in on Maria Duval, and connect the dots in an edge-of-your-seat journey across the U.S. to England and France. A Deal with the Devil is a fascinating, thrilling search for the truth and is long-form investigative journalism at its best.
Author
Blake Ellis
Blake Ellis lives in Denver and is a graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. With Melanie Hicken, she is an award-winning investigative journalist with CNN. Their investigations have uncovered everything from nursing home abuse to widespread consumer fraud.
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Reviews for A Deal with the Devil
Rating: 3.8076923076923075 out of 5 stars
4/5
13 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If you are interested in scams, I highly recommend this book. I deducted a star because the author’s frequently say they fear they are going to be killed based on nothing more than conspiracy theories. The story is dramatic enough without adding such nonsense like fearing the free masons are going to drop your body in the ocean. Come on.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is fascinating! Two journalist investigate the 200 million dollar mail scam by a psychic. This woman over the years manipulates many ,mostly the vulnerable elderly. Their investigation is so detailed , but easy to follow. Hard to believe this is a true story, shocking to know that it is.