Duped Audiobook By Abby Ellin cover art

Duped

Compulsive Liars and How They Can Deceive You

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Duped

By: Abby Ellin
Narrated by: Therese Plummer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.52

Buy for $14.52

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In Duped, New York Times journalist Abby Ellin explores the secret lives of compulsive liars, and the tragedy of those who trust them. Perfect for anybody who enjoyed Bad Blood and Dirty John.

While leading a double life sounds like the stomping ground of psychopaths, moles, and covert agents with indeterminate dialects, plenty of people who appear 'normal' keep canyon-sized secrets from those in their immediate orbits. These untold stories lead to enormous surprises, often unpleasant ones. Duped is an investigation of compulsive liars - and how they fool their loved ones - drawing on Abby Ellin's personal experience.

From the day Abby went on her first date with The Commander, she was caught up in a whirlwind. Within five months he'd proposed, and they'd moved in together. But there were red flags: strange stories of international espionage, involving Osama bin Laden and the Pentagon. Soon his stories began to unravel until she discovered, far later than she'd have liked, that he was a complete and utter fraud.

When Ellin wrote about her experience in Psychology Today, the responses were unlike anything she'd experienced as a journalist. Legions of people wrote in with similar stories, of otherwise sharp-witted and self-aware people being taken in by ludicrous scams. Why was it so hard to spot these outlandish stories? Why were so many of the perpetrators male, and so many of the victims female? Was there something universal at play here?

In Duped, New York Times journalist Abby Ellin explores the secret lives of compulsive liars, and the tragedy of those who trust them - who have experienced severe, prolonged betrayal - and the terrible impact on their sense of reality and their ability to trust ever again. Studying the art and science of lying, talking to victims who've had their worlds turned upside down, and writing with great openness about her own mistakes, she lays the phenomenon bare. Ellin offers us a shocking and intimate look not only at the damage that the duplicitous cause, but the painful reaction of a society that is all too quick to blame the believer.

©2019 Abby Ellin (P)2019 Hachette Audio UK
Dysfunctional Families Mental Health Parenting & Families Personality Disorders Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships Social Psychology & Interactions
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

"Abby Ellin's writing is everything her fiancé pretended to be: witty, vulnerable, brave, smart, and honest." (Michael Finkel, author of The Stranger in the Woods)

All stars
Most relevant  
He lied to you....time to move on. Aside from that, it’s a decent compilation of stories. There are a few fantastic ones inside and a few insights to go with. I didn’t a lot of new information but I was entertained.

Give it a go if you are interested in the darker corners of humanity but aren’t looking for the science behind it.

Worth reading

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