Playing Dead - Twisted Tales of Fake Suicides

by Wendy Lewis

Pretending to be dead is one of the more bizarre ways to opt out of society. But despite the obvious risks, a surprising number of people attempt to leave their old lives behind by faking suicide.
High fliers facing financial ruin, murderers on the run, greedy couples with a taste for insurance fraud ... you'll find them all here in this entertaining collection of real-life stories of outrageous individuals who've tried – and failed – to stage their own death.

Some of the famous cases include that of prison officer John Darwin, who turned up alive five years after he was believed to have died in a canoeing accident, and Olivia Newton-John's ex-squeeze, Patrick McDermott.

Genres: Nonfiction

281 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2013

About the author

Sydney, Australia
True crime, history & biography

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twenty-four cases of fake suicides.

3 Stars = Okay. Maybe not a page-turner, but not sorry I read it.

[Sportyrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

How hard is it to just disappear? According to the true stories in this book, it’s pretty hard and most people get caught.

Interestingly, it’s not illegal to fake your own disappearance in some places. Many of the cases here came undone by committing other crimes, sometimes murder but more often, insurance fraud.

And the methods? Some people left identifiable belongings on the shore, went into the ocean and disappeared (doubled-back and took off). A lot of times the partner was in on it, but there were some cases where they left families behind and started over. The quotes from ditched loved ones at the start of each chapter made amusing reading, particularly where grudges were held, and rightfully so.

There were some curious cases. It was good to find out the information from the missings persons once they were found out and how and why they did it. It was well-researched and maintained my interest from start to finish.

3.5 stars rounded up.

[Claude · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a lot of unnecessary padding in it. All chapters and sections are presented with repeated information that gives away the story before reading it. She gives summaries of all the cases multiple times throughout the novel, basically she keeps repeating the same things over and over.... I think this is to fatten up the book (as well as the use of a large font) so as to be able to make more money from selling a 252 page novel, rather than the 180 pages it needed to be.
Probably an evil publishers decision. Some interesting stories, but I would be disappointed if I bought this book. Get it out from the library otherwise don't bother.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Some of the stories were interesting, some not so much.
I bought this on sale quite cheap. I wouldn't have wanted to have paid full price.

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating. I've personally known 3 or 4 people through online groups ho faked their own deaths only to pop up later and blame a family member for saying they'd died or other just as implausible excuses.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool book. Short stories about different people who tried to fake their death. Super intriguing

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Nez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light on details but still interesting