Sometimes life is weirder than fiction. Mary Turner Thomson ´met´ Will Jordan on an online dating site. She, a single mother of one, he an attractive American. She fell in love with him, got married, and had two children together. Happily ever after, isn´t it?




Well, there are some little details missing: For instance, that Mr. Jordan insisted that he is a CIA agent with secret missions in Israel and Palestinian territories and he even was a life witness of the confrontations betweeen the Israeli Army and the Palestinians in Jenin (no offense, but the author took too much as truth what the leftist UK media said about the conflict, particularly The Guardian, but this is another part of the story). Mr. Jordan disappears for long periods of time, even after they married. Then, he started to ask money, a lot of it, until his wife sold her house and her life insurance and ended up living with her mom. ´Every week, there was a new emergency, another need for more money´. 

Until, it comes the moment of truth, a very painful one. For instance, Mary Turner Thomson will discover that he has another family with many children. Initially, he told her that this is part of an arrangement of the agency. In fact, he fathered many other children in the UK and US. He was no CIA agent, but a con artist that took advantage of Mary and other women. He also had a couple of prison experiences part of his CV and a conviction of paedophilia. What exactly happened with the money was not sure, as it was also unclear his mental health situation, but in the end, he will be put on trial and sent to spend some years in prison.

Hurt, Mary Turner Thomson is trying to figure out not only the entire network of women that were Jordan´s victims - and there were many of them, both in the UK and US - but also how was it possible to happen to her. How was it possible to be so blind for six years and not see the truth, ending up heartbroken and bankrupt? She, an educated woman with a successful career and professional experience behind, with a close knitted family and a simple daily life, was conned for years by a man she was in love with.

For such a long time, he succeeded to build a very convincing story that excused - in Mary´s eyes, at least - his erratic behavior. ´It was like living with Superman: how could you complain about him not turning up to dinner when he was holding up a collapsing bridge and saving lives?´. 

In a way, it was a story hard not to believe because why someone will lie at such an extent? Mary Turner Thomson was unlucky enough to deal with such a pathological case, but for the sake of her children, she was strong enough to grow out of this den of lies and live her life in dignity. The book - which can be also read as a warning to women at a crossroad in their sentimental life - is a testimony of her recovery.

The Bigamist is almost unbelievable: that a man could be that manipulative and that women could be that  naive. Thomson fell for one of the best con men that I've ever read about. She had two children with a man who was allegedly infertile and who kept disappearing for long stretches. He used the classic employed by the CIA line. He was a first rate scumbag, user,  narcissist, liar who was very skilled and adept at impregnating numerous women while fleecing them out of their money. The author was extremely gullible to believe his perpetual lies and kept scrambling to get him his money he demanded, something I couldn't understand. Why these women kept trusting this liar when they found evidence to the contrary.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for thie e-ARC.

Wow, what a tale. I read this entire book in one sitting because I was just enthralled by this author's personal story. It's a whirlwind that involves an incredibly convoluted con that hurt many people. It's almost hard to believe it's not a fictional account, but her story is proof that people like this exist in the real world. The book is very engaging, but becomes convoluted and hard to follow at times. It reads very much like a long historical / diary account of the experience (rather than like a thriller). I am very glad that the women involved were able to get out of the situation and hopefully recover. They all deserve better. 

8.5/10

Well there are some very strange people in this world, and this poor woman was completely taken in by one of them. It is all too easy to wonder what on earth she was thinking, but as she explains when you are tired, wanting to make a success of a relationship and manipulated by a master liar it is very difficult to see straight. Hats off to her for telling the story and exposing how criminals can come in all sorts of guises. 
The prose was a bit clunky - but in a way this added to her voice, she is matter of fact and does not dress up what happened to her.

I have read a lot about polygamy so I needed this book. And you have to read these types of stories to believe them or you would think they are all lies. But this is real. And it is some of the most insane things I have read in a long time. But you would wonder why she did not see what was right in front of her. But love does that to you. IT makes you a fool and just see what you want to see. That is why she was okay staying with him even though he did not show up for their wedding or when she had their children. She loved him so much, she wanted to think he was the person she believed him to be. Love can really make you do dumb things, and this is proof. 

I loved this story and rea dit quickly. I thought it was well done, and it was super interesting. This was the first story I read where the polygamy wasn’t from the Mormon church (the FLDS and not the main ones) so it was a new experience for me. I loved this because I have read all of the books on the polygs and thought they were so fast caring. And this one was even better because it was just a normal woman who fell for a horrible man. 

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A true story about the author's life and how she was conned by her bigamist husband. Every page blew my mind. The elaborate schemes he came up with to solidify his lies scared me. This is such a horror story because I hope no one ever has to go through this level of betrayal ever. I turned every page with a new kind of fear for what might happen next. It was surely a page turner but clearly wasn't the usual type of book I would have picked up under other circumstances. I have learned a lot from this book and it has broken my heart and also made me more conscious of my surrounding. It's a brave story of how many lives were juggled and tossed around by one man.

The Bigamist by Mary Turner Thomson.   Hard to believe that the author was so trusting and naive.  That she had the courage to share her experiences is admirable. However, the narrative is repetitive and hard to follow at times.  

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

WOW. If this story wasn’t true, it’d be entirely unbelievable. I read some reviews stating that readers disliked it because they could not understand how Thomson missed SO MANY red flags and found it difficult to sympathize with her for that reason. However I think the purpose of this story is to explain WHY she disregarded so many red flags - I mean, this guy didn’t show up to their wedding or the births of any of their children together!! Those are not small flags, and there obviously were a series of lies and manipulations that resulted in her choice to believe him and stay with him for so many years. 

I found this story to be intriguing and a quick read. I didn’t dislike it at all, in fact I thought it was fascinating. That said, I also was surprised that I never got emotionally invested in the story, which is a “yard stick” I use to rate books. In short, I neither disliked nor loved this one, hence my three star rating. 

Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC of the newly edited version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine falling in love with the man/woman of your dreams, marrying them, having two children, then discovering that they were married and in relationships with many others. Hard to believe, but this actually happened to Mary Turner Thomson. Believing he was a CIA agent, Turner Thomson endured six years of elaborate lies and numerous absences, including missing their original wedding day and the pregnancies and births of their two children. Originally published in 2008, this new edition has a revised title and features the real names of the author's three children.

This is the second book I've read recently about women falling for men who aren't what they seem (the other being Stephanie Wood's Fake). I've discovered that despite getting pulled into these stories and lapping up the details of the lies and deceit, I get bored once the true identity of the jerk is revealed and then the aftermath is examined for the second half of the book. I just get so frustrated with how an intelligent, confident person could fall for this. If your lover regularly disappears or stands you up and asks for money, that's a deal breaker. Stating that the reason they're absent is because of their job in the CIA, well, that's the icing on the bullshit cake. 

It is easy to say that "this would never happen to me" though. These criminals prey upon the most vulnerable for a reason - in this case, single mothers - when they may be at a stage in their lives where they are feeling lonely, isolated and craving some attention. As Thomson admits: "I had little choice other than to believe him. The alternative was just unthinkable".

The Bigamist is not a bad read and would no doubt be a comfort to people who have been duped, ghosted and cheated. It also serves as a warning to those embarking on online dating for the first time. 

Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A true story a marriage that turned into a nightmare.Mary thought she had finally met the man of her dreams.Happily married or so she thought till she gets a phone call from a woman claiming to be his wife the mother of his children.Mary discovers she’s married to a true psychopath and her life is a nightmare..Unputdownable shocking scary a book I raced through,#netgalley#thebigamist

4 stars
The Bigamist by Mary Turner Thomson 
This is a fascinating book about the true account of the bigamist and convicted pedophile Will Jordan. It is unfathomable to me how this many women fell for his lies and manipulation; however, I have never been in their position. I do believe it is human nature to believe whom you love so this book makes more sense looking at it from that perspective.
The author has written an utterly compelling tale of her time being conned by this man while truly believing she was building a family and a life with him.
I do recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.

"I was silent and alone no more."

My Synopsis

This is the profound true story of how a single phone call completely upturned Mary Turner Thomson's life. That morning she thought she was happily married to Will, but Michelle is on the other end of the phone claiming they share a husband and she has children with him. Mary has always considered herself an intelligent, hardworking woman but when lifting the veil of her marriage realized the man she trusted most has conned her out of £200,000 and raising two children alone Will claimed he couldn't have. An especially harrowing point she discovers is that more women are involved than just Michelle and herself.

My Review

In seeing other reviews for this book, I am ashamed of the victim blaming. I do not see women empowering women, or humans empowering humans for that matter. Mary even admits that in hindsight believing Will's lies for six years was stupid. She provides multiple resources to make online dating a safer place and I can tell her intent is to do everything she can to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else. I appreciate Mary's courage for writing down her experience no matter the disgusting remarks she knew people would throw her way. 

I have personally helped women that have been in such a toxic relationship with their partner and being told outrageous lies. I have personally shown them evidence that discredits their partner's claims, all for them to say I was wrong and they were sticking by their partner. The parallels to Mary's story gave me goosebumps. 

If you have not been in this situation yourself it can be difficult to believe the type of hold someone can have over a person and I urge you to read this book to have a better understanding. You can arm yourself with resources to protect yourself. You can learn to be a better ally to those that have survived these situations.

I will be on the lookout for Mary's second book, The Psychopath, where Mary learns Will has new victims and tries to protect other women from following in her footsteps.

Review-The Bigamist.
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The Bigamist is the true story of Mary Thomson's(the author) relationship with serial liar,Will Jordan.
💍
This story gave me chills. The terrifying account of being married and in love with someone who lives a whole other life with a whole other personality-it blows my mind. Not only was it bone-chilling but also genuinely emotional. 
💍
Reading about the author building a relationship with this man,who is actually a huge psychopath,from scratch,and reading as she finds her trust irrevocably broken,is bound to jerk a few tears from all readers. Highly recommended to not only all true-crime fans,but to everyone in general.

This is a very sad tale of how easy it is to believe the lies being told by someone we love. From the onset you can see where this is going, the lies, missing dates or events of importance, but that is because we read the description. Would we have seen that quickly if we had not known?? This story made me mad while I was reading it also in one sitting. I obviously had empathy for Mary and the children. The lies are unbelievable but what have we all done in the name of love. Accomplished liars have gotten away with horrendous acts and most people are easily conned into accepting them as truths. Look at our leaders in government for examples throughout history. I am glad Mary was able to break free and move on to build a new and better life for herself and children,

In short, The Bigamist is the true story of Mary Turner Thomson's relationship with serial liar and cheat Will Jordan. 

I was a few chapters into this book when I realised I'd heard this story before (most likely an interview on This Morning!). However, it didn't spoil the storyline, and I finished the book in three days - which is quick for me! 

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did... it was a real page turner. The lies kept building and I had to know what elaborate stories he would come up with next. I liked the way the book was written... at first it is told chronologically throughout their relationship, followed by an overview of Will's past, and then finally bringing the reader up to present day.

In the beginning I was in disbelief that Mary continued to forgive and make excuses for him. However, by the end I felt incredibly sorry for her... it must have been so worrying, and absolutely terrifying at times. 

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading shocking real-life stories in magazines! I'm glad that Mary found the strength to tell her story and rid herself of this awful man!.

This is a genuinely terrifying true story. It plays on everything each of us hold dear, family, love, trust, and tears them apart. I cannot imagine how strong the author has had to be and I am incredibly impressed by her bravery and courage.

I kept reading because I had to know what happened but the entire time. I wondered how someone could really just shell out money to a conman and listen to the lies. I mean mind blown.

It was quite a emotional ride. There were so many times I was screaming inside my heart " Stop being a fool!!" Then when I gave it a second thought, aren't we all fools when we are so deep in love?

I raced through this book as I couldn’t actually believe that it was a true story. 
You see stories like this in newspapers and they seem so extreme, however this book made it so relatable. I can understand why Mary was taken in and trusted him when you find out the full story. 
An interesting and unique read that I would recommend.

I received a free ebook of this title from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I needed to be upfront about the fact that I accidentally requested this.  I don't usually read true crime at all.  I didn't realize this was true crime until I actually got the title, I thought it was a fiction title.   That being said it was an engrossing read in a Dr. Phil/ Oprah watching sort of way.  It is like watching a slow motion car crash, the average person sees what is happening and thinks, "Why aren't you getting out of the way?"  But that is the power of these master manipulators, they have skills at both manipulation and selection of their victims.  The event that sets this story in motion is when a woman, Mary Turner Thompson, is contacted online and gradually built a relationship with someone who turned out to be not anything or anyone he claimed to be.  

The novel untangles a far reaching, both geographically and relationship wise, web  of lies.  It also delineates the damage that these psychopaths do to the vulnerable women they target, financial and emotional damage that is ongoing for years after the fact.  Definitely an interesting read and probably a warning still needed because even though the events in the book took place in the early 2000s, the same type of actions still occur regularly today.  Fans of true crime or maybe users of online dating services :) would enjoy.