The Unusual Suspects by Biagio Fasano (B. Magic)

An impromptu mentalism effect with just few cards, possible from a distance (in a video chat or even just on the phone), whose story is very loosely inspired by the movie "The Unusual Suspects" and in which the spectator is asked to choose five random cards from the deck. They will represent the suspects of a major bank robbery. Only one will be the real culprit. Despite the free arrangement of the cards and the various shuffles of face-up and face-down cards, in the end the mentalist will always succeed to guess all of these:

- in which position the "offender's card" is located
- whether his card is placed face up or face down and ...
- whether the spectator has secretly chosen to lie or not during his testimony.

:Key Points::

1. Fully self-working and hands-off.
2. Simple and perfect to perform in any situation, including a phone call or remote chat, e.g. with Zoom, Google Meet etc.
3. The performer at no time needs to see the cards.
4. The viewer decides freely and without communicating whether to lie every time or always tell the truth in answering the questions asked.
5. The mentalist, in most cases (60%), will ask only 3 simple questions to the viewer: always and only if he sees the "guilty" card at that moment, arriving in the worst case to request it for the fourth and last time.
6. At the end the performer will be able to recognize not only the position and the side (face up or face down) of the card, but also whether the spectator has secretly decided to lie or not.
7. The effect works 100% of the time.
8. A visual and immediate method is explained to the illusionist, but very deceptive for the public, which makes the effect impossible to reconstruct.

- "... Biagio Fasano contributes to the diffusion of the magical art by sharing with his colleagues an effect of his repertoire which is very interesting. "The UNUSUAL .. SUSPECTS" is well-paginated and clearly explained ... (e-Book) is well structured, and the effect is quite interesting. It is about some classics of mentalism fused together and presented with only five cards. In detail the effect will let you know if a spectator was sincere or a liar and to find a different card among the 5, after a series of shuffles and questions (a sort of table kurutsuke). The principle on which it is certainly based will arouse the interest of many, and the most creative will be able to apply it to situations and different effects; you can also perform the effect completely turned around or blindfolded without ever touching the deck of cards! ... You will be able to present an effect absolutely impossible in any situation (5 cards or business cards do not occupy very much space in your pockets). In conclusion... it is definitely an effect that will satisfy many palates and that I recommend studying both to learn a versatile principle and to be ready in disparate situations to show two mentalism effects with very few props and without apparent explanation." -:Alberto Bassino:, Review for Prestigiazione.it