Can someone really fake their death in 2016? In the era of the internet, Google Earth, and surveillance cameras? In Playing Dead, Elizabeth Greenwood tackles that very question. With a mix of humor and dogged determination, Greenwood covers every aspect of death fraud-- from the investigators who hunt down the not-really-dead before their benefactors can cash in on bogus insurance claims, to the failed death fakers themselves. She even goes as far as to fake her own death via the active fraud network in the Phillipines. It's depressingly easy to attempt-- Greenwood's connections have no problem tracking down a body to unwillingly become the fake dead her-- but staggeringly difficult to master. No one ever contacted her to boast a successfully faked death.
I really enjoyed Greenwood's writing style. I did lose a bit of steam during the chapter on the "believers"-- otherwise normal seeming people who insist celebrities like Michael Jackson are not only alive but sending them coded messages. I know padding when I see it. However, on the whole, Playing Dead is a delightful book with an interesting premise.
This book is set to be published on August 9th 2016 by Simon & Schuster
Rating: ★★★★★
My name is Charlotte and I was wondering if you would want to review and of course read my Memoir about having Multiple Personality Disorder. I will tell you more if you are interested.
ReplyDelete