The Private Investigator’s Handbook by Chuck Chambers

Chambers, Chuck. The Private Investigator’s Handbook. New York: Perigee, 2005.

Chambers pulls back the curtain on private investigation with instructions for the do-it-yourself investigator. He also provides advice to those seeking to protect their privacy and their assets.

That is an interesting aspect of the book. In one chapter, Chambers will reveal the techniques of investigations. In the next, he’ll describe how to protect yourself from investigators. He doesn’t assume an investigator is the person in the right and the investigated is up to know good. Some one might take up an investigation to seek justice or to exact revenge, steal an identity and harass an enemy.

Many might be interested in how to protect their identity and assets. Even if you don’t need to go as far as Chambers suggests you can, you might still be surprised at the number of ways you give out your identifying information when you don’t have too. You may not need to hide anything or trip up investigators, but you don’t need to make things easier for identity thieves.

You might also be surprised about how much information about a person you can collect from public records. If you have internet access, plenty of time and a little bit of money, you can get a lot of information about a person. Finding key pieces of information opens the door for a lot more.

The tone of the book is surprisingly light, sometimes tongue-in-cheek. For instance, the first chapter is entitled, “How to Catch the Cheating Bastard.” Chambers isn’t flippant, but the occasional touch of humor and examples from his own investigations makes the serious material readable.



Chambers is careful to point out what is within the grasp of amateurs, when to call in the professionals and when to call the police. He is careful to steer reader away from activities that are illegal those some may find to be shady like pretext work (i.e. lying).