Rip-Off: A Writer's Guide to Crimes of Deception

I thought this was, overall, a pretty good book. Faron, who ran her own private investigation agency for many years, gives a good overview of rip-offs of all kinds. If I want more detailed information on a specific kind of scam, there are other sources I'd likely use (most probably, talking with one of my police contacts), but I liked the overview this book gave me in that it got me thinking about a few directions I might go in my own writing. The Writer's Digest "Howdunit" series, of which this book is one, tends to be based on giving people a little bit of information on a lot of topics, and I think this book lives up to that goal. It's not, as a previous reviewer pointed out, an in-depth reference book full of original research. But, for what it sets out to do, I think it succeeds well.

This is a great book! It gives details of all types of deceptive crimes. Many of them really get you thinking, "Now how'd they do that?" Now let me tell you, this book is not ONLY for the writer. If you deal with the public (at all, and that is nearly all of us) this book is for you! It'll get you thinking back to this book each time you bump into someone, make change, or even stand in the elevator with a croud! Rip-Off covers such crimes as: glamour scams, impostors, counterfeits, buisiness frauds, street cons, carney cons, gypsies, gambling scams, and so much more. The book describes each rip-off and gives an example to demonstrate it in action. It even goes into detail about hand signals given by the 'look-out'. There is so much information in Rip-Off: a writer's guide to deceptive crimes, you'll just have to check it out yourself.Rip-off is really a humourous book. I never realized just how sly these people are. Before reading this book, I definatley could have been scammed. Rip-off rates in 3rd place for my favorites in the Howdunit series.

Excellent book. This book was very helpful to me, both as an aspiring crime writer and police officer. The section on Gypsy/Traveler crimes was especially of interest, due to the area I work in. I'd better watch out for con-artists...even with the print in front of me it took me three or four reads to figure out some of the scams she describes. Faron's laid-back writing style and personal anecdotes make this an entertaining as well as informative, read.

After reading a copy of this book that I picked up in my local library, I went straight out and bought a copy to add to my (extensive) collection. This is easily one of the better books on Con Games that is generally available today. I liked it for both the very readable writing style, and for the volume of diverse information it presented. Rather than just rehash the same half dozen con games (the pigeon drop, the bank examiner, home repair scams, etc) that you'll run across in almost any other book or web search on the subject, Ms. Faron presents a wide variety of scams for your contemplation, including a few that I was not aware of (and I collect books about them). If you have any interest in the subject of Con Games at all, BUY THIS BOOK! You won't regret it.