Try free for 30 days

  • Fake

  • A Startling True Story of Love in A World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissists, Fantasists and Phonies
  • By: Stephanie Wood
  • Narrated by: Claudia Karvan
  • Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (334 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Fake cover art

Fake

By: Stephanie Wood
Narrated by: Claudia Karvan
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Women the world over are brought up to hope, even expect, to find the man of their dreams, marry and live happily ever after.

When Stephanie Wood meets a sweet, sophisticated man who owns land and businesses, she embarks on an exhilarating romance with him. He seems compassionate, truthful and loving. He talks about the future with her. She falls in love. She also becomes increasingly beset by anxiety at the lavish three-act plays he offers her in the form of excuses for frequent cancellations and no-shows. She begins to wonder, who is this man?

When she ends the relationship Stephanie switches back on her journalistic nous and uncovers a story of mind-boggling duplicity and manipulation. She also finds she is not alone; that the world is full of smart, sassy women who have suffered the attentions of liars, cheats, narcissists, fantasists and phonies, men with dangerously adept abilities to deceive.

In this brilliantly acute and broad-ranging book, Wood, an award-winning writer and journalist, has written a riveting, important account of contemporary love and the resilience of those who have witnessed its darkest sides.

©2019 Stephanie Wood (P)2019 Penguin Random House Australia

What listeners say about Fake

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    214
  • 4 Stars
    82
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    198
  • 4 Stars
    67
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    192
  • 4 Stars
    78
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Sue
  • 01-09-2019

What a con!

I really liked this book, well narrated by Claudia Karvan (by the way, where are you Claudia? Haven't seen you on the screen for ages, miss you :-) ) . Just goes to show what some males will do to fill their ego buckets up, at the expense of lovely women who are just looking for a mate. So glad 'Joe' comes undone, though, probably changed his name and is still swindling and conning the lives of more women! Must have been such hard work keeping on track with all his lies, exhausting even. What a prick....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating.

Found this book very helpful as I too have experienced a narcissist. The calm narration by Claudia Karvan makes this important story very easy to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A matriarch of books

So real, I could hear you swallow your sorrow. Let’s make this world very difficult for such charmers to breathe freely. Thank you, Stephanie, for your truths. Your courage and fine writing makes accepting my own an empowered-bizarre, I know-joy. Makes me proud to also swim beyond the breakers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling read

This was the book I needed to read to understand the past. Well written with good information. The story of the author tells of anxious heartbeat leading to full gaslighting and compulsive lies told to her by her lover.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Personal, factual & poetically visual

A beautifully vulnerable story of strength & resilience. A must read for anyone on the dating merry-go-round.
Fascinating & riveting I couldn’t put down!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book calls out the bullshi**ers FINALLY!

Stephanie’s story is a tale that every female should be educated about. If her story hasn’t touched you directly, it will have touched someone close to you. Her words of narcissistic behaviours, fakes and liars echo this insidious plague of uncomfortable proportions for everyone to see what it really is. A highly manipulative con-job. OMG I feel her pain. It’s brilliant, clearly communicated and beautifully written. Thank you for sharing Stephanie.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great novel

Loved the story line
Claudia Karvan's narration was superb
Congratulations on a brilliant novel 👏

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A precious insight into my own life

I have lived much of what Stephanie Wood writes of, and almost 30 years on from my first terrible disaster, she has helped me make sense of it all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but drawn out

I liked this book and wanted to get to the end of the story, however found it a little drawn out. Lots of background info and psychological sidelines obviously meant to give a greater understanding but just too much for me personally.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Loved this book. Initially thought it was a devastating cautionary tale, but by the end realised Stephanie Wood has taken the romantic lies she was spun, and built a much bigger beautiful brave story for us all. Great writer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.