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Author: Spindriver

Oct 10th 2014 at 1:49:59 AM

As ''Series/TheFallAndRiseOfReginaldPerrin'' recognises, one thing about suicide by sea is that it often doesn't leave a body, which in turn means that it's a functional option for people trying to ''fake'' their suicide. Drive to a beach, leave your car behind and your clothes in a heap - and then sneak off with the spare clothes you brought and the fake ID you secretly acquired.

This is such a cliche in its own right - pretty much a trope itself - that if I see a fictional story that begins with "heap of clothes found on beach", I'll usually bet with myself that the character is still alive; an actual death becomes a subversion.

There is at least one quite famous Real Life example; British politician [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stonehouse#Faking_his_own_death John Stonehouse.]] Conversely, the death by drowning (or possibly shark) of Australian politician Harold Holt was almost certainly '''not''' suicide, despite [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Holt#Speculation some wacky speculation]] and the lack of a body.