Jenn's Review: Conan Doyle's Wallet: The Secrets Within

Summary: The inspiration for this book came to the author after he purchased Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's wallet, untouched since the day he died in 1930, at a Christie's auction in London. This true story is based upon the unique contents, which led the author to begin spiritually communicating with Doyle. Sir Arthur's wish was to enlighten those who have lost their loved ones or feel they are lacking direction in their lives. Through Patrick McNamara, Doyle explains that how we live our lives here on earth affects how we live in the afterlife. Sir Arthur was a great proponent of spiritualism and his consistent goal was to find 'evidence' of the afterlife, which could alleviate anxiety of people as they journeyed through life on earth to the afterlife. By communicating with the author, Conan Doyle provides his knowledge of the afterlife and the new world in which he lives. This is a fascinating and comforting insight for all readers that provides a spiritual philosophy for living.


Review: I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but it certainly wasn't this. If you can get past the glaring typos in the first few chapters, it is easy to become immersed in the subject. However, it's more like two separate works that have been forced together. One deals with spiritualism in it's practice and is more of a "how to"/life guide, the other deals with Conan Doyle's research into the subject and his constant professional disagreement with Harry Houdini (think of him as Patrick Jayne from Mentalist) who did everything possible in his lifetime to prove all mediums frauds. Although Houdini and Conan Doyle disagreed over the subject they kept an open discourse and were often on the same side in exposing fraud, as Conan Doyle felt that frauds were hurting real mediums. According to sources, it is not until after his death that Houdini became a true believer and recanted.

Whether you believe in spiritualism or not, this book provides an interesting study into the subject matter. All in all, a fascinating read, I just wish that it was more cohesive and better proofread.

3.75/5