Personal Effects: Dark Art - Review

Personal Effects: Dark Art by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman is a plain fun read. It grabs you and will not let go until you finish the book. It is a mind-bending, multimedia event.

Let me explain. First, it is mind-bending in the fact that you are not quite sure what is going on until the end. There is a supernatural, thriller aspect to the central murder-mystery. To figure out what is happening you have to determine what happened in the past. This is where the multimedia comes in.

The book is fashioned as a case file, complete with the patient's person effects. On the inside cover there is a folder with items from an accused murderer. The items include a state ID, photos, birth certificates, and drawings. There are also other clues throughout the narrative of the book. Look up websites mentioned, Google names of people, dial phone numbers, and enter access codes. Every piece of evidence pulls you further into the story. There is even a podcast as a prequel to the story. Start your journey at J.C. Hutchins's website.

I give the book a nine for originality and a seven for the story. One negative is the packaging of the book. It would be easier to handle and carry around if the book could be removed from the overall packaging. Also, the personal effects items fall out of the file, so a flap to close the folder would be nice.

In short, get the book.

J.C. Hutchins is another big name in the podcasting community along with Scott Sigler (see my Contagious book review), so if you have not listened to any of his stories, download 7th Son. It is free on iTunes and another great story.