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The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe: The true story of Anne Darwin and 'Canoe Man' John
How did the most ordinary of couples pull off one of the most outrageous frauds of modern times? And why did they carry on with the lie for so long?
Drowning in debt and facing almost certain bankruptcy, John Darwin did the unthinkable - he paddled out to sea in his red canoe and disappeared. After a massive search and rescue operation failed to find his body, he was assumed dead, lost in the bleak North Sea.
But everything was far from what it seemed.
Nearly six years later, after John miraculously returned from the dead with a strange tale of 'amnesia' and sporting a suspicious golden tan, the police and the Press were desperate to discover the truth behind his remarkable resurrection.
Journalist David Leigh was despatched to Panama, where he tracked down John's wife, Anne Darwin, who had started a secretive new life with the insurance money claimed from her husband's 'death'. But what lay behind her decision to move to Central America, thousands of miles away from her family and friends? The truth would gradually unravel during an astonishing week of jaw-dropping revelations.
is the definitive behind-the-scenes account of this true story of audacious deception and coercion, offering an unprecedented insight into a mind-boggling story that gripped the nation - and into the inscrutable minds of 'Canoe Man' John and Anne Darwin, his long-suffering partner in crime.
Drowning in debt and facing almost certain bankruptcy, John Darwin did the unthinkable - he paddled out to sea in his red canoe and disappeared. After a massive search and rescue operation failed to find his body, he was assumed dead, lost in the bleak North Sea.
But everything was far from what it seemed.
Nearly six years later, after John miraculously returned from the dead with a strange tale of 'amnesia' and sporting a suspicious golden tan, the police and the Press were desperate to discover the truth behind his remarkable resurrection.
Journalist David Leigh was despatched to Panama, where he tracked down John's wife, Anne Darwin, who had started a secretive new life with the insurance money claimed from her husband's 'death'. But what lay behind her decision to move to Central America, thousands of miles away from her family and friends? The truth would gradually unravel during an astonishing week of jaw-dropping revelations.
is the definitive behind-the-scenes account of this true story of audacious deception and coercion, offering an unprecedented insight into a mind-boggling story that gripped the nation - and into the inscrutable minds of 'Canoe Man' John and Anne Darwin, his long-suffering partner in crime.
339 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 5, 2022
I had not previously heard of these events, and I'm fascinated by stories of people who fake their own deaths.
This is the story of one of the most arrogant men on the planet, and his ridiculous wife. *sigh* When will people realize that- just because you're married to someone, it doesn't mean you have to follow their stupid instructions!
John Darwin was in serious debt. So, he did what most people would not do, and rather than admit defeat, declare bankruptcy and get help, he decided to fake his own death via canoe accident on an extraordinarily calm day off the east coast of Britain and have his wife, Anne, collect the insurance money.
It's crazy, but the really crazy thing is that it worked !!!!! That is, until Mr. Brainiac and his wife - with a plan to buy hundreds of acres of land in Panama and open a resort - needed special visas which they realized would not withstand his newly adopted fake identity. Rather than abandon this hairbrained resort idea, they doubled down and John "miraculously" showed up back home in Britain to regain his true identity, claiming a convenient case of amnesia (which came and went with alarming regularity during his trial).
Mrs. Brainiac goes along with the whole thing, never telling their grown sons the truth, and telling them their father had died. They only realized it was a lie long after he re-appeared.
What happens between John's "disappearance" and reappearance is pure British comedy gold. Sorry, Anne, but from this side of the law, it's pretty funny.
Author David Leigh befriended Anne Darwin and even got her confession while reporting on this story. He does a good job, but his tabloid experience comes through in his writing and the book is a bit too self-serving. However, he has written an interesting book and, as someone without access to iTV or BritBox (therefore no ability to view the TV series based on this book), I was grateful for it.
The author presents the absurd details of this story with dry humour and it did give me a few laughs. There is a lot of interesting detail to the story. At times it seemed a bit repetitive but it wasn't too distracting.
Recommended for true crime fans.
This is the story of one of the most arrogant men on the planet, and his ridiculous wife. *sigh* When will people realize that- just because you're married to someone, it doesn't mean you have to follow their stupid instructions!
John Darwin was in serious debt. So, he did what most people would not do, and rather than admit defeat, declare bankruptcy and get help, he decided to fake his own death via canoe accident on an extraordinarily calm day off the east coast of Britain and have his wife, Anne, collect the insurance money.
It's crazy, but the really crazy thing is that it worked !!!!! That is, until Mr. Brainiac and his wife - with a plan to buy hundreds of acres of land in Panama and open a resort - needed special visas which they realized would not withstand his newly adopted fake identity. Rather than abandon this hairbrained resort idea, they doubled down and John "miraculously" showed up back home in Britain to regain his true identity, claiming a convenient case of amnesia (which came and went with alarming regularity during his trial).
Mrs. Brainiac goes along with the whole thing, never telling their grown sons the truth, and telling them their father had died. They only realized it was a lie long after he re-appeared.
What happens between John's "disappearance" and reappearance is pure British comedy gold. Sorry, Anne, but from this side of the law, it's pretty funny.
Author David Leigh befriended Anne Darwin and even got her confession while reporting on this story. He does a good job, but his tabloid experience comes through in his writing and the book is a bit too self-serving. However, he has written an interesting book and, as someone without access to iTV or BritBox (therefore no ability to view the TV series based on this book), I was grateful for it.
The author presents the absurd details of this story with dry humour and it did give me a few laughs. There is a lot of interesting detail to the story. At times it seemed a bit repetitive but it wasn't too distracting.
Recommended for true crime fans.
September 19, 2022
This was an interesting read. My only thought after reading this book is I am not sure whether the portrayal of John in this book was biased or not. Maybe he really is that unlikeable! This is a story about two people who get in too deep, literally, and at least one of them doesn’t know how to put it right.
June 1, 2023
Fascinating!
January 16, 2023
Loved the audacity of this couple, rather than declare bankruptcy they faked the husbands death in order to stave of banks and bad loans. The wife, also lied to her sons for nearly 6 years saying their father was dead from a canoeing accident. They gained hundreds and thousands of dollars and set off for Panama for a new life, but even that wasn't enough and that lead to their downfall.
I enjoyed this purely for the entertainment factor but loved how a librarian was able to help police work out time frames of where the missing man was during his missing phase.
I enjoyed this purely for the entertainment factor but loved how a librarian was able to help police work out time frames of where the missing man was during his missing phase.
November 28, 2022
Meh
Not enough of a story for an entire book, I skim read a lot of this and didn’t feel like I missed anything.
Not enough of a story for an entire book, I skim read a lot of this and didn’t feel like I missed anything.
August 4, 2023
I've listened to a podcast episode about this con, but it was so interesting to take a deep dive into the story in this book. Darwin was a real piece of work, and his wife wasn't much better.
I enjoyed the tone of this book, I think they can afford to be a bit lighter and casual as it's not your usual murder-based true crime. It's pretty funny in parts, and the Britishness of the whole thing really comes through.
I wasn't a huge fan of the author selected italics for emphasis - there was something that felt a bit silly about doing that in your own work. But, the story unfolds and becomes more and more unbelievable as it goes on - it was a con both elaborate and shoddy.
It was interesting to get the POV of a journalist and photographer who worked for the tabloids too. Learning about how they share information, how you hold onto an exclusive, and the general behind-the-scenes stuff was fun, and weirdly it keeps the humanity of the story.
I enjoyed the tone of this book, I think they can afford to be a bit lighter and casual as it's not your usual murder-based true crime. It's pretty funny in parts, and the Britishness of the whole thing really comes through.
I wasn't a huge fan of the author selected italics for emphasis - there was something that felt a bit silly about doing that in your own work. But, the story unfolds and becomes more and more unbelievable as it goes on - it was a con both elaborate and shoddy.
It was interesting to get the POV of a journalist and photographer who worked for the tabloids too. Learning about how they share information, how you hold onto an exclusive, and the general behind-the-scenes stuff was fun, and weirdly it keeps the humanity of the story.
Want to read
July 19, 2022Thank you for Goodreads!
I have not read this book as of yet but am on episode
4 of the ITV program; The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe. BRILLIANT ! I saw it was based on an actual event , looked it up in Wikipedia then The Guardian.
The screen writer is Chris Lang, he also created Unforgotten!
What drew me to the series is that the main actor , Eddie Marso , who played Mr Norell in the fascinating magical series; Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell.
Looking forward to this book and seeing what else David Leigh has to offer!
I have not read this book as of yet but am on episode
4 of the ITV program; The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe. BRILLIANT ! I saw it was based on an actual event , looked it up in Wikipedia then The Guardian.
The screen writer is Chris Lang, he also created Unforgotten!
What drew me to the series is that the main actor , Eddie Marso , who played Mr Norell in the fascinating magical series; Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell.
Looking forward to this book and seeing what else David Leigh has to offer!
August 30, 2022
A completely unbelievable, extraordinary true story of John and Anne Darwin. After I watched the ITV series about the case, I was delighted to see this book for sale!
I absolutely loved this book - it was a page turner despite knowing what happens. Not only was I hooked on the narrative but I also found the world of journalism fascinating.
Well written account with good suspense - it is absolutely mindblowing it is a true story. If it was fiction, it would seem ridiculous! Such a brilliant read if you are as fascinated by the outrageous case as me!
I absolutely loved this book - it was a page turner despite knowing what happens. Not only was I hooked on the narrative but I also found the world of journalism fascinating.
Well written account with good suspense - it is absolutely mindblowing it is a true story. If it was fiction, it would seem ridiculous! Such a brilliant read if you are as fascinated by the outrageous case as me!
June 27, 2023
I wasn't initially sure I would like this. Didn't watch the itv show based on this book although I was aware of the deception when the famous Panama photo waw published but not much detail about the whole fiasco. Ended up feeling sorry for Anne who let herself be ruled by the deluded and seemingly arrogant John. He still seems to have the delusion of being very clever. Not that clever as it turns out. Fascinating read.
June 10, 2022
A completely unbelievable tale of two fraudsters who eventually got what they deserved.
The account is really well written with good suspense that isn't overly drawn out. It seemed like with every page the story was even more incredibly outrageous it couldn't possibly be true, but apparently it is. A real page turner and such a brilliant read.
The account is really well written with good suspense that isn't overly drawn out. It seemed like with every page the story was even more incredibly outrageous it couldn't possibly be true, but apparently it is. A real page turner and such a brilliant read.
June 24, 2022
As a former journalist, I absolutely loved this book. Not only was I hooked on the narrative but I found the insight into the world of journalism fascinating and real. This story, if it was fiction, would seem unbelievable so the fact that it is a true story is quite frankly mind-blowing. David Leigh kept me hooked from start to finish and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
December 7, 2022
I was intrigued to read this book having watched the recent ITV dramatisation. The authors similarly bring to life in an exciting and dramatic way the
audacious and unbelievable crimes of canoe man John Darwin and his wife Anne.
I particularly liked the authors’ ironic italicised commentary throughout as they make cynical observations on the pack of lies they are continually fed.
audacious and unbelievable crimes of canoe man John Darwin and his wife Anne.
I particularly liked the authors’ ironic italicised commentary throughout as they make cynical observations on the pack of lies they are continually fed.
March 22, 2023
What an interesting story about a man who tried to fake his own death and his wife who implemented the crazy scheme to avoid bankruptcy. And for six years their sons thought he was dead! You couldn’t make it up.
June 6, 2022
Book is nearly exactly the same as the tv series. However; the tv series i enjoyed a lot more, the book was banal and dull compared.
June 6, 2022
An interesting account of the darwin couple' attempt to cheat and defraud told from the perspective of the investigative reporter and the senior police officer.
Read
July 17, 2022Fascinating book
I loved the way the story and events were told
Held me enthralled
Couldnt put the book down
I loved the way the story and events were told
Held me enthralled
Couldnt put the book down
August 28, 2022
Audiobook
October 28, 2022
This was a really well-written, in depth account of this true crime story, to tie in with the recent ITV adaptation. To sum up, if this was fiction, I would be claiming it was too far-fetched!
January 24, 2023
The first half of the book was a real page turner as the ridiculous events unfolded. The second half felt a little dragged out as the couple suffered the consequences of their actions.
June 20, 2023
If it was fiction, I’d never have believed it! Well written from someone very close to the (possible) truth. Could have been a wee bit shorter, but otherwise, an entertaining ride!
April 17, 2022
Mad story, very enjoyable. Unfortunately, written in the style of a redtop journalist, and authors egoism is an unwelcome intrusion at times. But a cracking read. The subject matter carries it.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews