Playing Dead

Playing Dead: A Journey through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth Greenwood, 244 pages

Many people, it seems, have pondered faking their own death.  Some enjoy the fantasy of the ultimate escape from the traps they have fallen into.  Others long to pit their own cleverness against 21st century technology and investigative techniques.  Every year, a small number of people actually try it.  Why they do it is mostly predictable - usually to escape money or legal problems.  How they try it is the more interesting matter.

Unfortunately, Playing Dead keeps the discussion of how people fake their own deaths largely in the background.  Instead, it profiles a half dozen people involved in death fraud, some as fraudsters, others as investigators, and a couple who are somewhere in between.  The book has the chatty tone of a true crime podcast, so that the reader's enjoyment is likely to be largely a matter of how much they like the author.

The Talented Miss Farwell

The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe   352 pages

Two hours south of Chicago is the small town of Pierson, Illinois. Becky Farwell is a quiet, single woman who is the town’s treasurer and accountant.  She knows the books by heart. She is always able to find some money by juggling the books to fund whatever project the town needs funding. Her one outlet is art, and soon she begins collecting it.

However, Becky doesn’t want to be quiet intelligent Becky. She wants to be sophisticated, well versed in the art of conversation, especially art. So she re-invents herself, going by the name Reba Farwell.  She has a different wardrobe and a completely differently personality than Becky.

Becky/Reba becomes obsessed with collecting art and making as much money as she can. She is tired of struggling in her small farming community and trying to run the family farm-equipment business. The problem is, Becky/Reba needs money to feed her new obsession.  She begins siphoning money from Pierson’s different account.

This goes on for years. She buys and sells art all the while replacing what she has “borrowed” from Pierson. However, at one point, she is almost three million dollars behind returning the money.

Readers don’t have to be accountants to understand what Becky is doing, nor do they have to know art to understand Reba’s mania. This heist thriller had me on the edge of my seat for most of it.

 The Talented Miss Farwell receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.