Overview

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.

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9781665222044

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Reviews

"""A Deal with the Devil is one of those can't-believe-it, can't-put-down books."" -- ""Megan Abbott, Edgar-winning author of Give Me Your Hand"" ""A personal how-to guide for investigative journalists, a twisted tale of a scam of huge proportions, and a really good read. You won't want to put it down."" -- ""Bethany McLean, Vanity Fair contributor and author of The Smartest Guys in the Room"" ""This page-turner is the product of a remarkable, in depth pursuit of a fraud perpetrated on the weakest among us...A cautionary tale that reads like a novel."" -- ""Ali Velshi, NBC business correspondent and anchor"" ""What [Ellis and Hicken] have wrought would have made a gripping novel. The fact that every word is true is what makes this book downright shocking."" -- ""Adam L. Penenberg, professor of journalism at NYU and author of Viral Loop"""

A Deal with the Devil is one of those can't-believe-it, can't-put-down books. -- Megan Abbott, Edgar-winning author of Give Me Your Hand A personal how-to guide for investigative journalists, a twisted tale of a scam of huge proportions, and a really good read. You won't want to put it down. -- Bethany McLean, Vanity Fair contributor and author of The Smartest Guys in the Room This page-turner is the product of a remarkable, in depth pursuit of a fraud perpetrated on the weakest among us...A cautionary tale that reads like a novel. -- Ali Velshi, NBC business correspondent and anchor What [Ellis and Hicken] have wrought would have made a gripping novel. The fact that every word is true is what makes this book downright shocking. -- Adam L. Penenberg, professor of journalism at NYU and author of Viral Loop

Author Information

Blake Ellis is an award-winning investigative journalist with CNN. She lives in Denver and is a graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Melanie Hicken is an award-winning investigative journalist with CNN. Her work with fellow journalist Blake Ellis have uncovered everything from nursing home abuse to widespread consumer fraud. Donna Postel, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, is absolutely passionate about audiobooks and has narrated close to fifty titles across multiple genres, from memoir and biography to literary fiction, romance, mystery, and suspense. She uses her innate curiosity, talent, and decades of experience on stage and in the recording studio to bring books to life. When she's not in the studio, she can be found down at the barn cleaning up after and occasionally riding horses.

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