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    Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud
    Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud
    Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud
    Audiobook7 hours

    Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud

    Written by Elizabeth Greenwood

    Narrated by Arden Hammersmith

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A darkly comic foray into the world of men and women who fake their own deaths, the consultants who help them disappear, and the private investigators who’ll stop at nothing to bring them back to life.

    “A delightful read for anyone tantalized by the prospect of disappearing without a trace.” —Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake
    “Delivers all the lo-fi spy shenanigans and caught-red-handed schadenfreude you’re hoping for.” —NPR
    “A lively romp.” —The Boston Globe
    “Grim fun.” —The New York Times
    “Brilliant topic, absorbing book.” —The Seattle Times
    “The most literally escapist summer read you could hope for.” —The Paris Review

    Is it still possible to fake your own death in the twenty-first century? With six figures of student loan debt, Elizabeth Greenwood was tempted to find out. So off she sets on a darkly comic foray into the world of death fraud, where for $30,000 a consultant can make you disappear—but your suspicious insurance company might hire a private detective to dig up your coffin...only to find it filled with rocks.

    Greenwood tracks down a British man who staged a kayaking accident and then returned to live in his own house while all his neighbors thought he was dead. She takes a call from Michael Jackson (no, he’s not dead—or so her new acquaintances would have her believe), stalks message boards for people contemplating pseudocide, and gathers intel on black market morgues in the Philippines, where she may or may not obtain some fraudulent goodies of her own. Along the way, she learns that love is a much less common motive than money, and that making your death look like a drowning virtually guarantees that you’ll be caught. (Disappearing while hiking, however, is a way great to go.)

    Playing Dead is a charmingly bizarre investigation in the vein of Jon Ronson and Mary Roach into our all-too-human desire to escape from the lives we lead, and the men and women desperate enough to give up their lives—and their families—to start again.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateAug 9, 2016
    ISBN9781508217770
    Author

    Elizabeth Greenwood

    Elizabeth Greenwood is the author of Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, VICE, O, the Oprah Magazine, Longreads, GQ, and others. 

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    Reviews for Playing Dead

    3.5/5

    87 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Faking death: not surprisingly, difficult.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating read. If you ever need to disappear...
    • 5/5
      I've got a bit of a dark side, so when I saw this book on Netgalley, I requested it and crossed my fingers that the publisher would approve my request. It worked, and I was launched into the world of "pseudocide." Yes, the Michael Jackson "Believers" wore a bit thin. Luckily I read the book on my computer. Skipping pages was easy enough. It seemed like a pretty full examination of why, what, and how--even extending as far as Elizabeth Greenwood holding her own death certificate. She got to see what it would be like to be "dead," but not dead. She could have disappeared into the vapor, never to be heard from again, and re-entered the world of the living as someone else. Wow. What an opportunity.
    • 2/5
      It really is a journey that we're following in this book, and if you don't really click with the author, then you're not going to care about her journey.

      In all, it was fine. I'm glad to have read it, and to have gotten it off my tbr pile.
    • 4/5
      Best for: Anyone interested in a good (failed) crime story, or the human desire to just leave it all behind.In a nutshell: Author Elizabeth Greenwood explores the lengths (mostly men, usually arrogant) go through to leave behind their lives.Line that sticks with me: N/A (didn’t have a pen with me when reading it)Why I chose it: Do you listen to the “Wine and Crime” podcast? Because it’s great. And they did a whole episode on faking one’s death, including an interview with the author.Review: It started with an idea the author had, after realizing how much student loan debt she had, and how unlikely it would be that she could pay it off any time soon. And since student loan debt can’t be discharged through bankruptcy, the author briefly flirted with the fantasy of just leaving it behind the only way she could - if she ‘died.’While she didn’t end up faking her own death (at least, not exactly, although she does have her own death certificate, courtesy of a contact in the Philippines), she decided to look into the people who do fake their own deaths.Of course because of the nature of the topic, Ms. Greenwood can only discuss people who failed at faking their own death. There are people who have succeeded, I’m sure, but because they did, we don’t know they did. And while the people who fake their own deaths (and get caught) are overwhelmingly men, it’s unclear if there are women who do it and are just more successful at it, or if women are less likely to do it because they generally feel less able to walk away.Ms. Greenwood doesn’t just focus on the people who do the faking - she also talks to the investigators who look into possible life insurance fraud, as well as the children whose fathers left. And in one unexpected chapter, she looks into those who believe that famous people (namely, Michael Jackson fans) faked their own deaths.This is, admittedly, my kind of book. I enjoy books that look into death and crime, and I enjoy non-fiction. So while I was already primed to enjoy it, I think I am being fair when I say that this is a really good book.
    • 3/5
      Interesting overall, but the part about the Believers (who think Michael Jackson / Tupac / Elvis are still alive) went on too long.
    • 4/5
      It all starts with giving a f**k about not giving a f**k. What do you want to leave behind? Debt? Pain? A sordid criminal past? Why not fake your own death?! Greenwood examines not only the history of death fraud, but the motivations and moxie it takes to do the deed. She asks questions like why is death fraud more practiced by men than women? And what happens to grieving loved ones who discover (or are in on) the deception? And with such a tricky topic to research--the success rate of death fakers is, by its very nature, impossible to quantify--Greenwood turns to the only people whose accounts she can gather: the investigators, the caught, the loved ones left behind.
    • 5/5
      The question, is it possible to fake your own death in the 21st century, begs an answer and Elizabeth Greenwood delivers! This was a very interesting book and I feel a tad smarter for having read it.The author was 27 when she first started pondering if she could fake her own death in order to get out of crushing debt (obtained in the pursuit of her education). That initial, mostly-innocent question lead her to dig deeper as she found real-life examples of people who did just that and got away with it, at least for a time. Sam Israel is our first example. He was a hedge fund manager who was indicted for a Ponzi scheme. He faked his suicide to avoid a lengthy prison sentence. It was only a few years before he was caught. His faked suicide involved ‘drowning’, which is apparently always under suspicion of being possible death fraud if no body is recovered. Hear that, Sherlock?Frank Ahearn, who co-wrote How to Disappear with Eileen C. Horan, was a most interesting character in this non-fiction. He used to be a skip tracer and later became a consultant on how to disappear properly. This part of the book makes a distinction between faking one’s own death and simply disappearing. The latter is simpler and safer in several regards. If someone files for death insurance payout or a death certificate, then insurance companies and officials may well get involved to verify that one is truly dead. If you simply want to disappear, then often there are no officials of any kind looking into it. Ahearn pops in and out of the book as the author had many interesting conversations with him and I quite enjoyed his take on things.Private investigator Steve Rambam, inspiration for a character in Kinky Firedman’s mystery novels, makes an appearance in this book. He’s been in the business of tracking people down for decades and he provides a different view than Ahearn on the subjects of disappearing and death fraud. While his sections weren’t as entertaining as some others, he did provide some good sense info and kept the author grounded in what is possible.For me, the oddest section was on the group of Michael Jackson fans who truly believe he faked his own death and plans to return to the public eye at some point. The author did a great job of both expressing her skepticism but also respecting the ardor of these fans. Of course, fans claiming a celebrity’s death was faked is nothing new but it was interesting to see how grounded these fans were – they hunted for clues in documents and photos instead of simply pulling aliens into the mix.Traveling to England, the author interviews the Canoe Man, John Darwin. He successfully faked his own death for five years before reemerging, initially claiming amnesia. This case really brought home what a faked death can do to family and friends. Also, it’s a fine example of lack of planning when it comes to the long haul.Finally, at the end of the book we venture with the author to the Philippines to meet Snookie and Bong, professionals of many jobs. They’re bodyguards, personal safety trainers, and fixers. They were the most entertaining part of the book, perhaps because their everyday life is so very different from mine.Even if you’re not interested in disappearing or faking your suicide, this is a very entertaining book. Is it morally wrong to fake your death? Probably. Is it illegal to simply disappear, never filing a death certificate? In many cases, no. Is this a fascinating subject? Yes!I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.The Narration: Arden Hammersmith (which is a very cool name!) was a good fit for this book. She did do character voices for the various people the author interviewed. She also sounded interested in the subject herself, never dropping into a monotone. There were little touches of emotion here and there and she did a good job of imbuing the narration with those emotions.
    • 4/5
      If you're planning to fake your own death, read this book.If you're not planning to fake your own death, read this book.Thanks to Elizabeth Greenwood, I now know what "pseudocide" is. Her dark and edgy book about death fraud is fascinating and bizarre stuff. Like some of the best writers of the new narrative nonfiction (think Mary Roach), she exposes us to a new world that we know little or nothing about. Plus, it's frequently hilarious (albeit in a grim sort of way). As she writes: "As ideas go, faking your own death is one of those things -- like homeschooling or a bad haircut -- that is, to me at least, comedic gold."How can you not like a book with a chapter called "Faking My Death with Mr. Clean and Mr. Bean"?The central conceit Greenwood teases us with is that she is tempted to fake her own death to escape a mountain of student loan debt. I don't think we're really supposed to believe she's serious about this (or is she?!), but it's an intriguing way to lead us on a foray into the death fraud "industry."We meet villains and experts along the way. And there are tips aplenty -- for those inclined to use them. But mostly it's good plain fun, and a helluva read.(Thanks to Simon & Schuster for an advance copy via a giveaway. Receiving a free copy did not affect the content of my review.)
    • 3/5
      You might as well liveWho knew there was a whole industry dedicated helping people escape their lives, fake their deaths – and track down the perps who do it? Playing Dead is an investigation by a potential client, at least she thinks so until she investigates the ins and outs of death fraud, or pseudocide, as insiders call it.Elizabeth Greenwood is obsessed about her student debt and wants to start over, elsewhere. This leads her on an investigative mission - over five years. She looks at it from every angle: the detectives, the perps, and their families. There is also a forgettable chapter on conspiracy theorists – those who dedicate their lives to proving Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley faked their deaths and are still out there. They have incontrovertible proof up the wazoo, if anyone wants to see.There two flavors to playing dead: fake death and disappearance. Far more men do it than women, as far as we know, meaning at least that more men get caught than women. It’s mostly done for insurance money, a fine old scam that has existed as long as there have been insurance companies. The biggest risk of failure seems to be the loneliness factor - starting over in a foreign country, without the connection to family, friends or associates – on pain of capture. Many fail out of plain sloppiness and stupidity.There is a grating cognitive dissonance in Playing Dead. Greenwood treats it lightly, trying to be funny all the time. There’s the self-deprecation, the pop culture references and the admission she is uncomfortable about all this, all the time. It detracts from her flow and her findings and minimizes her accomplishment. Is this an exposé of a shady industry, or is it pop fluff? Treated as investigative journalism, the book has real value. As a personal memoir of someone who didn’t actually do this herself, and constantly points to her own insecurities and lack of professionalism, it is far less.David Wineberg