The Modern Detective: How Corporate Intelligence Is Reshaping the World

by Tyler Maroney

As a private investigator, Tyler Maroney has traveled the globe, overseeing sensitive investigations and untying complicated cases for a wide array of clients. In his new book, he shows that it's private eyes who today are being called upon to catch corrupt politicians, track down international embezzlers, and mine reams of data to reveal which CEOs are lying. The tools Maroney and other private investigators use are a mix of the traditional and the cutting edge, from old phone records to computer forensics to solid (and often inspired) street-level investigative work. The most useful assets private investigators have, Maroney has found, are their resourcefulness and their creativity.

Each of the investigations Maroney explores in this book highlights an individual case and the people involved in it, and in each account he explains how the transgressors were caught and what lessons can be learned from it. Whether the clients are a Middle Eastern billionaire whose employees stole millions from him, the director of a private equity firm wanting a background check on a potential hire (a known convicted felon), or creditors of a wealthy American investor trying to recoup their money after he fled the country to avoid bankruptcy, all of them hired private investigators to solve problems the authorities either can't or won't touch. In an era when it's both easier and more difficult than ever to disappear after a crime is committed, it's the modern detective people are turning to for help, for revenge, and for justice.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Business, Audiobook

272 pages, Hardcover

Published September 29, 2020

Reviews

[Petra X]

Update 2 Panorama is the BBC's flagship documentary. So what happens when it isn't true, when what they broadcast is designed to hurt and maybe bring down a company, and it's all been faked? Since the BBC refuses to allow the phrase 'fake news' and refuses to allow any investigations into 'incorrect information' if it is complained about - its opinions, its news broadcasts are objective and correct they want the world to believe although they have an agenda on just about everything. Usually left-wing, but not always. So what happens and how does a company slandered by the BBC in the worst possible way fight back? They call in the detectives! This is really great. I'm enjoying this a lot.
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Some people have more money than sense. One of the UAE sheiks in Dubai got ripped off by two employees for $2M, so he employed the author to find out where they were as naturally they hadn't stayed around. It took a while to track them down. They didn't get prosecuted. Nothing happened. The sheik just wanted to have the last word, as it were.

The book exposes a lot of big businessmen and politicians in the States and their lies. Mostly they get away with them. They lose their jobs, their directorships, and if they've been really bad and decamped to live abroad, they might find their US goods get confiscated, but very rarely does anyone get hauled up before a court (except a bankruptcy is one, a fake one as they have money stashed elsewhere), and even more rarely fined or sent to prison. If you are poor and you steal you go to prison, if you are rich, you just lie low for a bit and then come back and start a new company and do some more shit.
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After two dnf's I'm hoping for a good read and no waffle. The first chapter is a story of a crook who has a sideline in informing and also making up or corroborating information the police have made up. It's tightly written, no waffle about how old the guy is, what he was like growing up and how his senior prom so bad it affected for him life and drove him towards.... so I'm hoping for a good read.

[Kirsti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Laundry-listy and full of passive voice. This book was not enjoyed by me.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you read this as a collection of stories on modern PI work, it’s a fun and interesting read.

If you read this as the title invites you to - an account of “how corporate intelligence is reshaping the world” - you’ll be very disappointed. There is not an account of what corporate intelligence is, what it is becoming, how the world is shaped, or what reshaping it would look like. The book is about the tools available to and the legal boundaries faced by ethical PI work. It’s a story of human connections, as much as investigations ever have been plus some new tools. It’s a defense of PI work and an explanation of its value. But there is nothing reshaping the world in here.

And, on a final frustrating note, the political commentary is sophomoric at best - which is to be expected of anyone with a journalism background these days. The “let’s find an emotional story and extrapolate it into a systemic critique” format of political writing needs to be shamed out of existence. It fails to grasp the complexity of any political problem, and in failing to comprehend the problem, it will always be incapable of presenting a solution. So quit patting yourself on the back for cutting edge political story telling guys. You suck at it.

[Gary Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. This is more of a long magazine article than a solid book. The author pads the word count by adding tangents and asides. Many of the chaprs start with an investigation, but wander off subject for several pages. There are many much better books on this subject. Plus, here are many much better written books on the subject.

[Jeff Swystun · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not fit my definition of corporate intelligence. It is more Pinkerton and Kroll than the intelligence and counter intelligence service practices and processes borrowed from militaries and national intelligence agencies for corporations.

For anyone with a passing knowledge of corporate intelligence, this will seem rather pedantic with a couple of enjoyable tales if you enjoy white collar crime. I worked for Price Waterhouse and championed corporate intelligence as a practice and offensive tool and have experience with military intelligence. I was intrigued by the Prologue, “We live in an era marked by a kaleidoscope of disarming trends: technological innovation, rising populism, new brands of autocracy, “fake news”, deregulation, demographic division, and eroding public discourse.”

However, the book never delivered on that landscape. It started kind of, “Dog the Bounty Hunter” and dribbled into two entertaining white collar crime sagas. First is, Michael R. Mastro, the American real estate developer who got squeezed in the 2008 meltdown and skipped the country after defrauding investors. He fled to France with his wife and aging shitzus via Toronto. The dogs were instrumental in locating him and some of the couple’s assets. As of typing, he is 96 and living on a French pension having not been extradited to America.

Then there is David H. Brooks. This chap was featured on an American Greed episode for ripping off his own company. DHB was a US military contractor who manufactured bullet-resistant vests and body armor for soldiers under the brand name Interceptor Body Armor. He was a big spender who took $190 million out of the company and made questionable product (he had a $239 million contract from the U.S. Army). He died in prison in April of 2021 after 8 years of incarceration.

The other stories/chapters are very ho-hum. Even in the cases of Mastro and Brooks, there is no suspense, a-ha’s or insights. That fits the very description of gumshoeing. It is tedious and tremendously boring, seldom punctuated by excitement and high-fives. My favourite line and observation is, “Conspicuous behaviour is inconspicuous.” Now that constitutes a book.

[Rachel Shields Ebersole · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some engaging stories and interesting background bits. But I had to (sort of) ignore a lot of clunky structural issues and tediously exacting descriptions of minor characters and their resumes. The author clearly has writerly skills, so I'm not sure what went wrong here. I was really looking forward to the topic, and I'm sad for the author's sake that this didn't turn out better.

[Mike Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

If, like me, you tend to think of private detectives as Philip Marlowe-like characters who spend their days chasing down wayward family members and cheating spouses, you may be surprised to learn that private detectives are a ubiquitous and essential component of the American economic and legal system, which is the lesson learned from The Modern Detective: How Corporate Intelligence is Reshaping the World, an intriguing inside look at the world of modern-day PIs written by an active member of the profession. As Tyler Maroney, the book’s author, explains in the prologue, he became a private investigator in 2005 after working the previous decade as a journalist. (Journalism, according to Mr. Maroney, is a common career track for private investigators.) He now runs his own private investigations firm.

And it is a regulated industry. In Georgia, where I live, it is regulated by the Secretary of State along with cosmetologists, plumbers and electricians, and, according to the Secretary of State’s website, there are currently 1,767 licensed private investigators practicing their trade in the state of Georgia. Mr. Maroney chafes at many of the legal restrictions placed on private investigators, such as prohibitions on assuming a false identity, which are perfectly legal for law enforcement officers.

What do real-life private investigators do? As the author explains, “To uncover wrongdoing. To right a real or perceived wrong. To punish or exact revenge. To gain an advantage over a competitor. To satisfy a curiosity. To find a missing person or recover a stolen object. To feed paranoia. To benefit the public interest. In other words, to help satisfy basic human impulses.” That certainly covers a lot of ground, and it reflects the wide-ranging services provided by private investigators. But perhaps one of their most common functions is to perform yeoman’s services for the legal system. They provide the data and surveillance that is used to support the arguments of the parties in a lawsuit, and when a plaintiff’s verdict is returned, they often perform the critical function of helping the plaintiff collect on the judgement by tracking down hidden assets.

The chapters of the book are independent of each other, and each chapter serves as a case study on different types of work performed by private investigators. The chapters detail both the type of projects that are common to investigators and the tradecraft used to crack the case. The machinations of an employee at a securities firm are unearthed by hiring a computer expert to make a mirror image of the harddrive of his office computer. The location, and the assets, of a bankrupt real estate developer are discovered by visiting veterinarian offices in France to see if any of them had treated his beloved dog. The corrupt behavior of a Connecticut politician is revealed by sifting through the flight logs and invoices of a private jet company. Mr. Maroney seems to relish sharing stories of the odd or unexpected clue that leads to a significant breakthrough in a case.

The author seems to be very proud of his profession, and each chapter concludes with a good-conquers-evil synopsis of the proceeding story. At times, the author seems defensive about his profession, and the reader gets the impression that one of the objectives of the book is to counter critics. As I assume would be true of most readers, I’m unfamiliar with criticism of the PI profession, which means the author tends to come across as being somewhat sensitive.

In fact, since the author hints that there is criticism of his trade, I think the book would have been better if he had taken a more objective and nuanced view of his profession. However, it soon becomes clear that the true purpose of this book is to serve as marketing material for his investigations firm. This is especially obvious in the book’s final chapter when he provides a glowing portrayal of a union operative named Luke Brindle-Khym, and then reveals at the end of the chapter that Mr. Brindle-Khym is now a partner in Mr. Maroney’s firm. Publishing a book to promote your business is a common and effective marketing tool, and I don’t resent the author for doing this, but I suspect this would have been a much better book if it weren’t doing double duty as a sales brochure.

Regardless, the author has provided intriguing insight into an important and ubiquitous trade. (According to Mr. Maroney, on any given day in New York, dozens of people are under surveillance by private investigators.) It is also helpful to learn about websites, databases and other tools that are available to the general public and that allow anyone to become an amateur sleuth. With his book, Mr. Maroney has given us a valuable guide to the mostly hidden world of private investigations.

[Lynne Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about the world of business and financial intelligence, and how corporate detectives go about collecting and finding it. So there is nothing here about the Sam Spade-type gumshoe, chasing after errant husbands and deadbeats.

Tyler Maroney was a journalist first, and almost by accident got hired at Kroll Associates, the major player in corporate intelligence. He now has his own firm, specializing in supporting companies, non-profits, and unions in gathering what intelligence is needed. He casts himself as one of the good guys. He avoids work he considers harmful or unethical, and follows strict guidelines. For instance, he doesn't work undercover; he and his team always identify themselves as investigators, and they don't lie about what they are doing. It turns out that independent detectives are restrained from many of the techniques that law enforcement are capable of. That doesn't mean all investigators follow the rules, but Mr. Maroney insists on it.

Each chapter tells a different story about jobs he or his colleagues have been involved with; some more interesting than others. A couple of things that I took away: research skills are a top priority, and a single-minded focus on going through legal briefs, corporate findings, etc. are essential. And soft skills, like not asking too many questions, and instead establishing rapport, make the job go a whole lot better.

The title is misleading: while we learn about the kind of jobs a corporate detective might be asked to do, we really don't get a sense of how this kind of detecting is reshaping the world. The author goes off on uninteresting tangents, and the book could have used tighter editing. Still, anyone who is interested on the kinds of techniques that intelligence people use to help keep the business and finance worlds reasonably honest will find this book useful.

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious about the book after I came across it while doing research for job hunting. I have some familiarity with corporate intelligence and so was wondering how it was, as the title says, shaping the world. Author Maroney is a journalist turned researcher/private investigator, and while I didn't expect high stakes drama like you might see in a movie, I was wondering what he experienced.

The book is mostly a by the numbers recounting of various cases of white collar crime. If you have an interest in this angle this might be of use to you but overall it was a boring retelling of some of the events with some interesting tidbits here and there.But if you're looking for cutting edge techniques or commentary of how it affects and shapes our world, then...not so much.

That's about it. It was disappointing to say the least and I can see why it has such negative reviews. It's not particularly interesting to read, it is certainly not a "detective" story and probably fits best with business management type of books (I bought this as a bargain book but wouldn't be surprised to find it in that section of a bookstore).

I suppose if you're curious about what tactics to use if you're engaging in such shady dealings this might be useful but also rather questionable. Bought this as a bargain buy to read on my own time and while I didn't mind that, I think a library borrow would have been best for me. If you can't find then a bargain buy won't be that bad but don't forget the negative reviews if you're debating where to spend your money.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Private investigator Maroney explains the role that detectives play in modern society. They are not the fictional gumshoes of detective novels, but rather professional investigators with backgrounds in law enforcement, law, research, union organizing, librarianship, and investigative journalism. They sift through mounds of publicly-available information from financial filings to trial transcripts, and cultivate relationships with people affiliated with potential lawbreakers. Maroney covers the ethics and techniques of his profession while unraveling a mystery in each chapter -- from debunking sweatshop allegations in a BBC documentary (the filmmaker faked some of the footage) to pre-impeachment investigatory work that helped bring down Connecticut governor John G. Rowland to finding the assets hidden by an expatriate real estate developer hiding from creditors while living lavishly in France. While an entertaining read, anyone interested in pursuing a career in research and investigation would also enjoy this book. VERDICT: Should be a popular book with anyone interested in mystery and detective stories updated for a modern world.
-Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham, ME

[Keen Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a mildly interesting insight into the world of private investigators and some of the sophisticated techniques they employ to uncover various misdeeds and criminal acts. This seems to consist of awful people stealing from other awful people or greedy people cheating other greedy people, so it’s often difficult to care or sympathise with anyone involved, especially when often cases have no real conclusion or companies don’t wish to prosecute and so the criminal gets away 100% free so that the company can avoid bad publicity.

We get a look into a murky and dubious world where there is far too much money and not enough morals. Almost every case is a cynical and depressing one. Tales of corporate espionage, insider trading and lying, stealing and cheating.

This was a very easy read and the idea sounds very appealing, but mostly these are half stories, non-stories or anti-climactic stories which leave you confused more than anything else. This probably sets out to be quite thrilling, but it comes across as pretty flat, dull and shapeless.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a WSJ review, I was expecting a primer on how the field of private investigative work has evolved since Dashiell Hammett. It is a collection of short adventures in investigating malfeasance from the Governor of Connecticut to a greedy CEO, mostly about hiding money. I would say "meh", nothing earth shattering. I do accept the author's premise that PIs investigate to find evidence most often for lawyers, so the evidence has to withstand court room scrutiny. So, PIs cannot afford to resort to subterfuge as they so often do in Hollywood. The more fascinating story is about debunking a false report from BBC about child labor in India that was completely staged. The garment manufacturer accused hired PIs to investigate - trying to find three kids filmed making dresses in a refugee camp in India. That was compelling.

[Gray Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate Tyler Maroney’s “just the facts ma’am” commitment to legally compliant investigations of corporate fraud, his by-the-books approach does not always make for a great read. To be fair, I think this is not well-suited for the audio format because I often find that nonfiction books with lots of dense jargon can be hard to follow as audio books. It’s kind of wild that entire sections of a chapter covering an investigation of terrorist attacks in Kenya to assess whether or not an investor should keep his money there could be so boring. But here we are. Still - the book worked for my purposes (I’m writing a show about corporate spies) and there were a few cases in here that really were quite interesting and thrilling in their own dry and factual way.

[Irina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather than “How corporate intelligence is (doing anything)”, this book would have been more accurately titled “Some fun stories I came across in my new career.” The author treats us to a series of anecdotes, highlights and other tidbits from his work in corporate investigations. We get a factoid here, a funny moment there, but no unifying theory and indeed no narrative thread. Don’t expect an expose — or even the full-throated industry defense the first chapters seem to promise. But if you like being told “some people are ethical and some people aren’t and the world is complicated” by a dude driving through foreign lands for reasons he only partly understands, dive right in.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting concept that suffers in the execution. The author has a tendency to make lists, of clauses, like this, over, and over, and over again, until it gets hard to read, and you are begging, practically begging, for a period. And while much of the detective work is laudatory, some chapters end with Maroney admitting he doesn't really know if the work made a difference or not, undercutting the entire premise. Other stories don't seem to have much to do with detective work at all, like the final chapter. It's pretty much a paean to union organizing. Whatever, comrade.

[Kirk Hanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating look into the world of private investigators who work in the corporate world. Each chapter is a different story of a case along with background into the people and techniques involved in it. I think some of the material could have been arranged a bit better and I often found the sentence structure confusing, but overall it gave a behind-the-scenes tour of a world that we don't hear a lot about.

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Tyler Maroney's /How Corporate Intelligence is Reshaping the World/:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mode...

The 10 chapters are about 10 actual cases, which were mostly interesting.

I learned a few things, including the fact that PIs are much more licensed and regulated than I was aware, and also, about a certain database that I was unaware of.

[Faith Bugay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting
Not sure why the author used “she” or “her” when describing something happening to a random person.
It was kind of weird. Could be I am getting old and just used to people being referred to as he or him. This seemed very forced and on purpose.
Otherwise it was a very enlightening enjoyable read

[Chuck Mankin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok book. Gives a good overview of the new role that private detectives play in society. The days of watching cheating spouses is over. These days PIs do everything from corporate due diligence investigations to computer forensics to show wrongful and possibly illegal use of company equipment and networks.

[David Wean · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Couldn’t (wait to) put it down” - yes I know I have an irrational compulsion to finish almost every book I start.

Some interesting stories, but the New Yorker article that led me to the book would have been enough for me.

[T.S. Folke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average read, not much insight into the industry and lacks an edginess one might associate with private dicks. Fairly interesting chapter by chapter examples of their work. But overall a mediocre but readable book.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

research

Well, corporate intelligence was in the title...so this book is for people who want to see how private investigators work with larger companies, in foreign countries, or to investigate political fraud. I think I was looking for more domestic/everyday kinds of cases.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book about the private investigation industry!

[Moses · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool story, bro.

[Bronwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining tour of modern corporate PI work.

[Adrian Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

From my uncle. Pretty boring.

[Jill Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but wished there were more examples of corporate intelligence. There were many things in book that would have been more appropriate in footnotes.

[Kristen Wilcox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a little too much like an advert for the profession, but interesting overall

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book shows a variety of the work that "private investigators" do. It also shows the variety of things to targets of the investigations will do. It's another level of the behind the story tales.

[Linh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting cases, but not really told with any structure.