This story was so heartbreaking and made me so angry. Imagine taking advantage of the brokenhearted the way Callie did! She took advantage of people in mourning, one the death of a spouse and the other the death of a marriage. She took unsuspecting people's emotional needs, played with them and used them for her own gain. You may think that it could never happen to you but I recently read in the newspaper about that exact thing that happened here in Toronto, a man scammed over one-hundred women online.

This book was fascinating and it was interesting how after everything she has done that is legally and morally wrong, Cammi ends up saving Gibson and Shelby. I liked that we get all three points of view as I felt like I was able to get inside each character's head. I loved that the book took place in Toronto as I have lived here all my life. It was fun reading about neighbourhoods, streets and stores that I am familiar with. This was a short read and I enjoyed it so much that I read it in a single sitting. This book was different, I thought the ending was surprising and I adore books that can shock me.

3.5/4

I am always drawn to stories about con artists and this one sounded so interesting. Following along with Shelby and Gibson as they’re simultaneously being scammed by Cammie was alternately fascinating and sad. Shelby is grieving over the loss of her wife and Gibson is mourning his divorce so both are struggling in a major way and while watching them both get conned made for an interesting read it was kind of depressing too. They both seemed like genuinely good people even if they were naive and too trusting. But this was still an engaging and fast paced listen and narrators Steve Campbell, Reena Dutt and Emma Galvin were all fantastic. The ending was a little too open for me but it dead feel like a realistic conclusion, I just wanted a tiny bit more closure. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

After the death of her wife, Shelby is really struggling but finally heads to a grief support group where she meets Sammie. Meanwhile, after his divorce, Gibson doesn’t expect to meet someone when he meets Sammie at the bar. While at first everything seems amazing with Sammie, she is a great friend, a fantastic girlfriend, and both Shelby and Gibson both fall in love with her. Until they start to see the other side of Cammie…

Oh man, gotta love a good con artist story. Came was so textbook con artist, but of course we saw her go after people that were more susceptible to being conned. I felt like they figured out her con artist ways a little quickly, but it was a fairly short book. I also hated that they both allowed her to continue after figuring it out. This was a great read, and I am always so interested in how people can con others in this way.

Shelby is in bad shape. She’s trying to move forward after the sudden death of her wife, and finds herself with limited real support. Except…there’s this younger woman, Cammie, who goes to the same grief support group, and she seems to want to help Shelby. And then there’s Gibson. He was married for a long time but recently left his wife and met Cammie at a bar one night.
Shelby and Graham were interesting characters and portraits of people going through loss and change in their lives, perhaps skewing their judgement. I found Shelby’s story particularly heartbreaking and loved her description of her struggle to move forward: “if only she could figure out how to move the boulder of grief out of her path.” I didn’t find Gibson’s story/situation as sympathetic and thought there was a disconnect between his black/white attitude toward his work, marriage, etc., and the way he viewed Cammie.
I loved Ms. Whittall’s previous book, The Best Kind of People, but the story and characters in The Fake weren’t as compelling for me. Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read The Fake in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a good read if you're looking for how to deal with a con artist. It's basically told in a straight forward way without too many surprises for the reader along the way. You pretty much know what's going to happen in the whole book just by reading the synopsis. It was an okay read.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Yikes! This was good but drove me crazy with the scamming. I felt bad for Gibson but really bad for Shelby

A quick read, thanks to Netgalley for the free copy

Apparently this novel is loosely based on true events that actually happened to the author and presumably for that reason this reads more like an anecdote or documentarian account than a story meant to take us on a journey. There are never any twists, turns, or surprises. We’re basically told what happens in a fairly linear fashion. Structurally, we know from the beginning that Cammie is conning everyone so we are ahead of the story and just waiting for Gibson and Shelby to catch up. The book gets especially rocky in the second half when Gibson and Shelby finally compare notes and stage the intervention which unsurprisingly fails and the threat of escalation set up in the first chapter never materializes. It’s all a bit underwhelming. Sure we feel bad for these poor souls who were taken in by a sociopath at a vulnerable time in their lives but, again, because it is so obvious that Cammie is conning them we are never on the emotional journey with them. We never experience that moment of horror as the characters start to realize everything is a lie. Ultimately, this book is more is more of a “did you hear about that scary thing that happened” than an emotionally impactful experience.

This book was deeper than your average thriller and really eye-opening to the reality of pathological liars. It was difficult to see the way the characters were taken advantage of. Heavy topics that were so well written.

This was a short, quick read about a woman, Cammie, who is a scam artist. She ends up scamming both a man, Gibson, who she pretends to fall in love with, and Shelby, a friend. Overall the book was okay. I got through it quickly since I wanted to finish it but I wasn't super invested in it. There was no real plot development and the characters were not really fleshed out.

It was an okay read but not to my personal taste.

This book was so weird! Gibson is a middle aged divorcee who meets a beautiful young woman named Cammie and instantly falls for her. Shelby is a woman grieving the loss of her wife, and she also meets Cammie at a grief support group.

The story is told from alternating chapters between Gibson and Shelby, bookended by notes from Cammie. The whole story was bizarre, with Cammie being a pathological liar and manipulator.

At the end it seems like she learned that from her family, and she continued to lie and manipulate her way through life, leaving a path of devastation behind her.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

two words: TWEE and TRITE. i rolled my eyes constantly. there's nothing new or interesting or even fun to read here - the book felt empty, almost like this was just an outline instead of a fully-realized story. no real character development and no real insights. writing wasn't great - very rupi-kaur-esque, where you're attempting to be "deep" but you just sound lame.

unless you're an avid consumer of those modern romcoms (you know the ones...), you should read something else.

thanks to random house publishing group for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Honestly, I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It most definitely was a compelling and interesting read. I just felt like there wasn't much of a plot other than a girl scamming two people at once. There was no real story arc. The characters were interesting, the premise was also, but nothing really happens. It was just ok.

While I enjoyed having two characters worth rooting for and an interesting dynamic around personal responsibility and mental illness, "The Fake" really fell flat for me. The reader is aware from the back cover synopsis of "The Fake" that Cammie is a liar, and there isn't much else revealed about her character or the other characters to keep you motivated to read. There is no big "event". There are many literary fiction books I've loved that someone might describe as - "nothing happened" - but in that case, there is always beautiful poetic writing with insights about life and love that stick with you or there is wonderful character development - it's certainly a balance that is hard to strike. And unfortunately, this book didn't have those other elements to supplement a slow plotline.

An interesting take on a tale as old as time.

Cammie is a well seasoned con artist. This time she chooses two marks: the recently divorced and depressed Gibson, and the grieving anxiety prone widow Shelby.

I stuck through this one because I have an unending desire to see con’s meet their match. I was also somewhat charmed and disarmed by Cammie. Her initial remarks in the first section of the story sets up a journey of doubt for the reader. But as the tale enfolds it’s clear how easy manipulation is for Cammie. Gibson and Shelby are eaten up by guilt and rage as they battle their emotions over this person they’ve come to know as a friend or lover.

A quick read on how sorrow is powerful, debilitating, and necessary.

I am a sucker for stories about sociopaths and friendships, so The Fake was right up my alley, as it is about Cammie, a charismatic con artist, and the people who are invited into her life and ultimately victimized by her. This short novel kept me interested and engaged with the characters, even if it didn't really contain any "OMG" moments. I would definitely recommend.

"The Fake” by Zoe Whittall follows Shelby, a woman struggling with the death of her wife, and Gibson, a new divorcee living with depression. Both characters are drawn into the orbit of Cammie, a charismatic cancer survivor whose life is (perhaps too) peppered with tragedy. This is a fascinating character study which packs a lot of plot. Definitely worth a read.

Shelby and Gibson both meet Cammie and almost immediately feel extremely bonded to her. But the story of the life she's told them doesn't add up and once Cammie has introduced them to each other, they begin to put the pieces together.
I think this is an ok read. A story with lots of potential but it just came up slightly flat. It was a quick read tho and the writing itself was good.

Cammy is an enigmatic character. She’s the perfect lover for Gibson, who’s stunned she even noticed him. She’s a fantastic friend and partner for Shelby, who is slowly recuperating from the loss of her wife.
The interesting aspect is how Cammy floats from one personality to another. Also, she doesn’t seem to need basic life necessities: food, bath, sleep, and a solid place to call home. And she’s cried wolf so many times it’s hard to believe her even if she’s speaking the truth. No one really knows what the honest and bare truth is. This is a well-written and entertaining look at the pathological liar and con artist, and the painful effects she can have on those who love her.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is March 14, 2023.

I like psychological drama as much as the next person; however, I also expect there to be a payoff at the end. Recommended if you want a quick read about flawed characters, one of whom appears to be a master manipulator.

Novel about a conwoman who manages to con both a women friend and a man. Eventually her lies begin to catch up with her, especially when her friend and boyfriend eventually seek each other out.