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The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe
- Narrated by: David Morley Hale
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
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The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe
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Summary
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.
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What listeners say about The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jezebella
- 13-04-24
Gripping story
This was such a compelling story, all the more because it was true. Fascinating, truly unbelievable at times. You should not miss this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-04-22
Thoroughly enjoyed!
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 👌🏻
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- girlinthegreendress
- 21-04-23
Brilliant account
What an interesting story.
I’ve really enjoyed listening to this.
Narrator is brilliant as well
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jill Brunsdon
- 13-06-22
brilliant audible book
thoroughly enjoyed the book extremely well written and narrated keeping my attention at all times.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 14-05-22
Solid account
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mags
- 21-10-22
Very compelling
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pengwen
- 31-05-22
Interesting and compelling
Good narration, interesting and compelling story.
Neither the Darwins nor journalists come out of this well.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lee
- 19-10-22
You couldn’t make this up!
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.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mrs S Fears
- 02-11-22
Boring
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!
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Martin
- 24-10-22
Flat as a millpond
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.
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