The Modern Detective: How Corporate Intelligence Is Reshaping the World

Maroney, cofounder of a PI firm, does an adequate job of illustrating in his debut the areas where modern private investigators provide value. He maintains that a private investigator’s “crucial, if often discreet” role eases the flow of global capital, resolves disputes among citizens and corporations, and ensures “that our legal systems, government agencies, and financial institutions remain fair and transparent.” He provides a number of examples from his own work, including getting a bribed witness to provide truthful testimony that exonerated a wrongfully convicted man, probing the legitimacy of bankruptcy claims, and looking into suspected theft of intellectual property. Maroney notes that he’s changed some details about the cases he recounts, without explaining his methodology for doing so, and leaves unanswered questions, such as why he rarely records witness interviews. While he accuses other writers of cherry-picking instances of bad actors to smear his profession, Maroney demonstrates only in part that he and his colleagues are a force for good. Readers interested in the scope and power of the modern PI may be skeptical of this volume’s upbeat spin from someone whose livelihood is linked to a positive view of his profession. (Sept.)