Homicide

THE BLURB:
Let me tell you a little story. Back in the days before
there were computers and PDA’s, detectives and police
carried around a little book with them. The book was small
enough to keep in their shirt pocket. The cops would
affectionately refer to it as “the Murder Book.”

Actually, it was a book of unsolved murders, more commonly
known as “cold cases”. Every couple of years, the big city
departments would have their cold cases printed up and
distributed to their officers. If they came across a lead,
they could reference the “Murder Book” which contained the
victim’s name, address and a brief note about the murder.
The books were widely used by Detectives in the 30’s, 40’s
and 50’s.

We’ve re-created the murder book for you. Why? Because our
murder book is umm…special. The spec can turn to ANY page,
choose an unfortunate victim’s name, street, or the area
where the murder took place, and you can reveal how they met
their demise, if they were male or female, how old they
were, why they were killed, and the name of the killer! All
this opens up incredible possibilities.

“His name was Tom. They met in a pub that night. She was a
young lady in her early twenties and very pretty. He
followed her home. They heard her screams, but no one came
to help her. It was very sad. He stabbed her to death and
left her body by the back door. They found her the next
morning but… they never found Tom. He’s still out there
somewhere.”

Within moments of starting the routine you can start
disclosing information exactly like that. Each page has
multiple “victims” on it. The book is very examinable. Over
500 victims. You do not ask for a page number and you do not
look at the book. In fact you could have your back turned to
the spec, but that would be rude. Homicide is our most
ambitious product to date.

The book is 4 x 5 1/2 inches. It is “aged” to look like it
was from the 1950’s. We provide all the background on how
you could have come accross this little book, routines and
method of course. By the way, we created all the “victims”
in the book. (No animals were harmed in the making of this
book!)

We have two versions. A New York Detective version and A
U.K. Inspectors version. Both versions contain authentic
streets and boroughs! $60.00 including shipping anywhere in
the world.

We also have an Outlaw product forum for all of our effects.
The Homicide forum has 14 sub-forums and over 100 posts!

The instructions include presentation and performance ideas.

With Homicide, you DO NOT need to know the page number and
you DO NOT peek the book!

Because it deals with “murder victims” there are endless
applications that this book can be used for.

Homicide allows you to “describe” in detail, a freely chosen
victim’s murder scene and the exact details of the murder
itself, including the name of the killer!

It’s perfect for one on one or, have two people choose from
the book. It is great for a parlour presentation.

Create a truly chilling experience for your audience as you
“channel” the images of their chosen victim as they are
confronted by their killer.

When you receive your Homicide book you will get a special
password for the Homicide forum. The Outlaw product forum
link is on the front page under links.

MY COMMENTS:
I am extremely impressed by the craftmanship of the prop.
It looks exactly like what it promises to be: an old,
authentic, flip-style notebook filled with hundreds of
unsolved murder cases. It also works almost exactly like
you'd expect. By learning a few pieces of information,
easily gained from the participant, you can describe the
gender, age, and the victim's cause of death. Also, as you
might expect, a little memorization is involved, but a crib
sheet can certainly be used or, at least, used until you
don't need it anymore. (Incidentally, this review is based
on the U.S. version. A UK version is available, though I've
not seen it.)

For some, the grisly nature of this effect may be
uncomfortable. If so, then get a similar effect from Outlaw
Effects. It's called Manhattanville (Whitechapel is the UK
version) and the old, flip-style book is now a pawnshop's
receipt book. You'll find this on Outlaw Effects website.
The workings of Manhattanville/Whitechapel are essentially
the same as Homicide and has been designed to work with
Homicide, if you choose. At the time of this writing, I
have not seen Manhattanville/Whitechapel. I've only seen
the advertising.

The one quibble that I have (and it is merely a quibble, not
a criticism or complaint) is that I would have preferred to
see more of those presentational ideas included in the
instructions. However, they are free to the purchaser and
available on the forum, which is a great resource. Aside
from that, the package includes the beautifully made book
and seven pages of stapled 8.5" by 11" instructions. This
is a wonderful and unique book test. Very well-made, quite
affordable, and impressive. Definitely recommended.