I have finished reading this book, and here are my findings:

The book is very easy to read. In some portions, it is almost a page turner, and you could forget you're reading an instruction text. The information is presented clear and accurate, with enough personal stories to put the use of the techniques into context without becoming too "wordy" or redundant. The book does not extensively cover legal terminology or evidence collection and photography procedures (for that, I'd recommend "The Process of Investigation" by Sennewald and Tsukayama), but it does a great job of covering the basic techniques of Surveillance, Interviewing, Interrogation, Internet Database and Public Records Searchies and other Electronic Surveillance measuresOverall I would say that this book is a must read for anyone who is considering entering the field of Private Investigation.

My husband and I own a private investigation agency in Florida. I ordered this book based on other positive reviews and it exceeded my expectations. The numerous web site resources listed in this book by Mr. Brown make it worth purchasing. Reading the book was like taking a mini-course on private investigation, and whether you are a newbie or an experienced investigator you can learn a lot from it. It is well-written, fun and interesting to read. I would have liked to have seen a little more detailed information on how to market your PI business, especially online, but that is just my personal opinion and that topic is probably another book in itself. In summary, I recommend this book highly for anyone in the PI field. FIVE STARS!!
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I am a licensed PI in Washington State, primarily working for attorneys providing litigation support. By the time I'd gotten to page 50, I'd learned something which would save me more than the price of the book on my next case.
Each chapter is summarized with "The least you need to know" and all are written in a matter-of-fact yet entertaining way. I enjoyed Mr. Brown's wry sense of humor and have gleaned much more from the book than I'd expected.
Lots of techniques, sources, and practical knowledge in here, an excellent value. Never mind the title, this is not for, nor written by, idiots, I wish I'd gotten a copy sooner.

Having researched many titles on private investigation before ordering any
books I placed this one at the top of a short list of "To Order" based on the excellent reviews. After receiving the book and reading it cover to cover I say WOW! The rave reviews were all true.I have since ordered and read the second book on my list(Private Investigation 101 by N.M Tillman). It was also very good and did offer some additional refrence sources.
For anyone who wishes to learn the basics of P.I. work this should be the
FIRST choice!

I have briefly read through this book. It has a lot of helpful information. I do collections and have been doing skip tracing for several years. I am always looking for books or anything else that will help me find my debtors. This book, unlike some other ones I have come accross, has good legitimate information.

I thought this book was very educational and explained a lot about the field of private investigating.

I ordered this book just for fun and because I like to read detective novels. I have already found it useful in locating an old Navy buddy I lost touch with over the years. Written with a sense of humor.

BEING IN THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATIVE FIELD FOR 30 YEARS AND AS A PROCESS SERVER IN CT. FOR SAME AMOUNT OF TIME THIS BOOK IS GOOD FOR THE PROSPECTIVE CLIENT. IN THE BOOK IT MENTIONS BRAD F. STENDER AND HE IS ONE OF THE BEST IN CT , BOTH AS A PI AND PROCESSREAD THIS BOOK. SERVER IN CT.

As a former detective I learned a few new things from this book.
It would be a good choice of reading material for anyone that is in need of an investigator.

This book is a fantastic reference for those new to this profession as well as seasoned veteran investigators. Steven Brown has assembled a great deal of information in this straightforward, highly readable and easy to reference book. His writing is full of useful detail, and the book is well-edited and organized. This book should absolutely be on the reference shelf of any good investigator.

i am a private investigator and former detective on the tampa police dept, i had the occassion to run into something i needed help on , i bought this book by steven brown (nice man), and it answered all my questions, i would recommend this book to even the seasoned professionals.

I have been doing a lot of research into changing my career to that of a PI. This book is the best primer I have read. It is very straight forward, easy to read and understand, and gives examples from the author's experiences. The author does a great job of de-mystifying what a PI does, and does not, do. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the field, especially at this price.

This was one great book! everything you need to know about Private Investigation is in there. Tips, Tricks, Info sites, It has it all from P.I. Licensing to License Plates! Great case Stories too! It ROCKS!!!

This book is informative and is in ordinary enough language that your automatically comfortable reading it.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigating is a great book for the beginning P.I. I also recommend in reading the P.I. books by Peter Jenkins.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigating is so good that we made it required reading for all our investigators at Sherlock Investigations.
Whether you're simply interested in what PIs do, want to get into the field, or are an old pro, I highly recommend this books. I've been an investigator for 30 years, and I learned a lot from Steven Kerry Brown's book.

As a budding young? Senior citizen Private Eye, I found this book facinating and very helpful. I had no idea there were so many facits to the business. Now I am even more eager to get my license, and start surveilance work. This is a really great book, and a good read also, fast paced and fun to read side remarks.