The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe cover art

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

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The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

By: David Leigh, Tony Hutchinson
Narrated by: David Morley Hale
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About this listen

Now a major tv series starring Monica Dolan (as 'Canoe Widow' Anne Darwin) and Eddie Marsan.

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.

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe 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.

Perfect for fans of ITV true crime dramas such as Quiz, Des, Manhunt and The Pembrokeshire Murders.

©2022 David Leigh and Anthony Hutchison (P)2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Abductions, Kidnapping & Missing Persons Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions True Crime White Collar & Corporate Crime Marriage

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All stars
Most relevant  
This was such a compelling story, all the more because it was true. Fascinating, truly unbelievable at times. You should not miss this book.

Gripping story

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Easy to understand the logistics of fraud and mastermind behaviour to which I'd usually not have a clue! The accent was also bang on 👌🏻

Thoroughly enjoyed!

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What an interesting story.
I’ve really enjoyed listening to this.
Narrator is brilliant as well

Brilliant account

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thoroughly enjoyed the book extremely well written and narrated keeping my attention at all times.

brilliant audible book

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This is a thorough and well-researched book which provides a much more nuanced account than the rather cartoonish TV series. My main criticism is that it could have been trimmed by about 10 per cent as it gets repetitive towards the end. Also the author needlessly veers into moralising when the facts speak for themselves.

Solid account

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thoroughly enjoyed listening to this remarkable true life story of deception and dellusion. well researched and written. narration a little slow but changed the settings to 1.20 speed and that was much better.

Very compelling

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Good narration, interesting and compelling story.
Neither the Darwins nor journalists come out of this well.

Interesting and compelling

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What a story…what a laugh… so naïve…..really stupid. But they got away with it for ages. Areal story about a Reggie Perrie and an Ann. I actually ended up rooting for them but alas… well read.

You couldn’t make this up!

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I can’t think why I kept listening to this. Such a boring account of 2 utterly horrible people, and to think this was actually made into a tv drama!

Boring

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The story itself is of course curious and interesting, but this book is poorly written, over detailed and somewhat dull. It has its moments, and is quite well narrated, but overall, it's a rather plodding narrative which overuses emotional baggage and journalistic cliches such as "spiral out of control" and "beyond belief". Might have been a decent enough read had it been about half as long as it is.

Flat as a millpond

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