Cheating Death

by Edwin Chen

An account of the crimes of three men--a doctor, a businessman, and a gigolo--describes how their nearly perfect plan involving murder and insurance fraud was solved

Genres: True Crime

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 3, 1992

Reviews

[Koren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was super good. There was so much going on here. First the doctor, Richard Boggs, and his history and what he did, then the other 2 guys, Melvin Hanson and John Hawkins, and you're wondering how they tie in with the doctor, but then you find out. The plot has so many twists and turns that there is not any repetition and the courtroom process is only the last 50 pages or so. This crime took place in the late 1980's and the book was written in the early 90's so it is worth googling to find out what happened to the murderers in the end.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads like an episode of American Greed. I was asking questions in the first few pages. "Wow. He has everything that a person could ever what. What could lead someone like him to murder someone?" This thought ran through my head repeatedly.

The other conspirators were fascinating to me too. They spent a lot of time scamming insurance companies. Then, they thought of the ultimate scam. Kill someone that looks like one of them and collect the insurance payment.

This book follows the police and insurance companies as they investigate this case.

[Dixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book and well written. It moved along and kept me interested the whole time. It was probably 4.5 stars in my opinion, but I held a bit back as it was completed before all three criminals were tried. However, you can easily find an update online. Well worth the read!

[krin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike a mystery, a true crime account gives the reader everything up front - who committed the crime, why they did it, how they did it, and how the police, lawyers and detectives figured everything out and eventually captured the crooks. Chen writes a compelling account of insurance scams and dogged police work that kept my attention throughout.