Could the nightmare happen to you? Edifying😯

Though certain aspects seemed repetitive, this true experience account of the anguish and tumult caused by a smooth conman kept me reading and marvelling over the sheer power the author's bigamist husband held over her during their six year relationship.

Yes, I kept wondering why she did not suspect his lies sooner but that's part of the fascination. I could hardly fathom the audacity of Will/Bill's tall tales and manipulative ways. But he obviously knew how to pick emotionally vulnerable targets and keep them believing.

As her account progresses, layer upon layer of deceit are revealed. So many victims, so many lives affected by his emotional and financial cons.

I'm glad I picked up this book. This is a cautionary tale deserving renewed attention.

Thanks to publishers Amazon UK and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

The book was rough around the edges. I felt like I was reading a very long text message from a friend rather than an intense story.

I found this book incredibly difficult to get through. It was poorly written and did not hold my attention. While I think the subject matter is important and I have vast amounts of empathy for the author and her story, It just was not a captivating read.

Wow this was quite a story. While I was intrigued, I found Mary’s explanations silly. The word “psychopath” is thrown around constantly without much support. The husband is described as a conman but that’s only because Mary never pushed him on his stories. I feel bad but also lack sympathy for her at the same time.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book exchange for a fair review.

I am not usually a fan of memoirs however this was a great read about a woman taken in my a con man who was married. An interesting read and I enjoyed it

Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I got 10% in and I’m not going to read this one. This woman knows from day one that this guy is a shady piece of crap and decides to stay with him.

Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of this novel.

I felt that the content that was being shared and the way in which this was written was more of an attack on Mary's husband and a request for pity than a way for Mary to effectively share her experiences.

Mary seems to contradict herself by outlining all of her husband's lies but also stating that she's not a gullible or foolish woman, which makes the real purpose of this book unclear to me.

I do not at all think Mary (or anyone) deserves to be taken advantage of by their loved one(s) in such a way, but I also think this turned out to be more of an airing of dirty laundry than a functional novel.

The Bigamist by Mary Turner Thomson tells the story of a woman whose life is turned upside down when she discovers that her husband is a bigamist. This book tells the story of a young single mother manipulated by a sociopath. Not only does "William Allen Jordan" engage in bigamy, he absolutely drains Mary of her hard earned money. This story retells the sequence of events over the 6 year relationship between Mary and William. Although, the story is quite believable, I found this book to be redundant and slow, and difficult to follow at times. It is important for books such as these to be published in order to help other women see that they too can break the bonds of a difficult/destructive relationship and not only survive, but thrive. Although, I felt that the book was too long and drawn out, I do appreciate the message that is conveyed, it is possible to rise above your adversity and create a new, meaningful life. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

This man callously preys on women and to think that he is continually operating in the same way today. Mary has produced a wonderfully frank decription of how for six years she was married to this bigamist. He has operated in the USA and England, jailed in both countries, but is now free and using his psyopathic ways to charm his way into innocent woman's lives.Beware.

This book is a informative account of Mary's live with hime and the outcome of such an exsistance.
Well worth a read, could help a lot of women who might be in a similar situation.

Interesting story line and amazing that this type of thing can happen today.
I found it a bit slow and repetitive.

This was a autobiographical account of Mary's marriage to Will who she found out later was a bigamist. A fairly fast read but quite monotone in style. I can't say I found any great crescendos or exciting points. I did like the start when Mary met Will but found the middle part quite tiresome. There were so many references to his job and excuses why he was not coming home that I was getting frustrated on her behalf.

I wanted (as I suspect many who read this type of book do) to find out how someone can manage to lead a double life like this without other parties becoming suspicious but this was so extreme that it was plainly obvious.

Wow! This was a tough read! I couldn’t believe the amount of emotional abuse one person could handle and I feel deeply for what the author went through at the hands of her husband.

The story was emotional, and while it seemed a bit repetitive at times, the emotion and stress experienced certainly comes through in the writing.

True Crime is one of my favorite categories to read. I can not believe this story is true! How scary. Such a great read. The message it sends about being careful with internet dating is good. Everyone should read this to understand what could happen.

Wow, what a mind blowing story written by a strong and amazing person.

I heard about Mary Turner Thomson's story in an article a few years ago and wanted to read her book ever since. I'm glad she published another edition as it gave me the chance to finally do so (and thanks to NetGalley for the copy).

Although I've heard similar stories told by survivors like Mary about conmen like Will, this book gives a unique POV from the survivor's perspective on how an intelligent, strong and independent woman falls for a conman who manipulate her with a web of lies about him being a CIA secret agent, infertile single man, and eventually giving him all that she had, emotionally, physically and financially.

Mary is not a stupid or gullible person and she is questioning Will's actions every step of the way, but as she writes in the book, she always chose to believe her husband as it is "the difference between all or nothing - hope or despair". Even after she finds out about the other wife, children, fiancees and lies, she is still not sure who or what to believe. It was overwhelming reading this story so I can't even imagine how it was like be her, finding all the puzzle pieces bit by bit and realizing nothing you thought in the past few years is real.

The true story of Mary and how she met William, who she fell in love with and had 2 children for him. But for the 6 years they were together, he spun her a web of lies and left her on the brink. He claimed to be a CIA agent and she, Mary had to live under the radar and put up with his unexplained absences. He took every penny from her and it was not until his “other” wife phoned Mary that she realised she had been had. She then found out he was also a paedophile. Mary missed so many clues and was fobbed off with William’s lies. Even her family did not take to him. I personally cannot see how Mary was so gullible. This story reads like an overlong article from the Sunday newspapers.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Bigamist by Mary Turner Thomson.

This is a true story about Mary, a hardworking single mother, who has just met the love of his life, Will. Will is well spoken, charismatic, and head over heels for Mary. Will is also a psychopath and pathological liar. After scamming Mary and her family an inordinate amount of money, Mary begins to dig into Will's life, his past, and his never ending trail of deception.

I really admire and applaud Thomson for being willing to tell her story. It would be so hard to look back at all the ways you were scammed for so long. But we are ALL vulnerable, especially to people who know all the right words to say, and how to say them. Although Mary's experience was certainly unique, it still serves as a good cautionary tale about red flags to look for when dating and befriending anyone. This was a concise and clearly written memoir about a difficult experience.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for my copy!
The Bigamist is a true story account of a woman's betrayal by one of the biggest fraudsters I have ever known!
It's easy to read this book and think OMG how stupid can you be to believe all that?! But this is the reason they say Love is Blind.
It always easy to look from the outside in and I'm sure if Mary herself read this book she wouldnt believe it either. But can you imagine living a life you thought and it turning into your worst nightmare?!
This book had me gripped from the beginning and at points I was frustrated with Mary and at other times felt so sorry for her! The fact that Will had made up a whole life was extraordinary!
Would definitely recommend this book and hopefully it can help other people in similar situations look at their lives and see exactly what is real!
A gripping read!

"I would like to know someone well before getting into a relationship" yet one month after meeting Will Mary accepts his marriage proposal. Admittedly they wait 2 years as an engaged couple but this probably because he is leading his separate life as a bigamist a liar and an 'imagined' role within the security services.
I have a friend who was married to a bigamist. He was a lovely caring unassuming man. She is a smart perceptive woman. Yet she was fooled. Alongside the book I checked up on the author who appears (twice latest May 2020) in interviews on Good Morning to tell her tale. She is bright, educated and takes on board how she was duped and that the book hopefully (along with the testimonies of so many other women duped by Will Jordan) will raise awareness that this can happen to anyone.
It's not a sort of memoir I normally read but because of a personal interest I stuck with it. There are many children involved too for Mary and the other women he conned. Claiming he was infertile was the least of his lies. Human nature and vulnerability are exposed her in detailed manner. Brainwashing control from the early days of internet dating to the wider challenges of escaping the police and fleecing your victims.
"There is a perception of idiocy when a person has been deceived by someone they love and trust". Couldn't happen to me you cry! Beware it can. Better than I thought but does it really need a third edition? I do hope her life is better now

Wow, what an unputdownable read this turned into! I devoured this within a matter of hours as it was soooo good! Sadly though it was a true story & although I do feel for the 'wives' & their innocent children, who were strung along by their husbands lies, infidelity & bigamy, I also question why would you fall for something like this?

This is the third edition of this true story. In the earlier editions, all the names were changed except for those of the author and Will Jordan. In this edition, the real names of the children have been used on their insistence.



The book begins in April 2006, when an unknown caller tells Mary that she has been married to Mary’s husband, and the father of her two younger children, for the last 12 years and that they have 5 children together. This shocking revelation is only the first. Recovering from her shock, Mary embarks on her own investigation to find out the truth behind Will’s deception.

With this introduction, Mary takes us back in time, to their courtship and their wedding and their life together. We start in November 2000 and slowly come to April 2006, where I, for one, felt relieved at the thought that the truth would set her free. But the truth is far more complicated than Mary could have imagined.



It was November 2000 when Will Jordan first reached out to Mary Turner Thomson through a dating site. Mary was then a divorced single mother, with a good job, and her own home. She had the support of her mother, and was doing a great job of raising her little baby girl.

Will and Mary met in December 2000. Slowly they fell in love, and Will informed Mary about his work. He told her that he was a CIA operative, as an explanation for his sudden disappearances and long absences during which time he left her with no clues about what he was about. He even failed to show up to his own wedding.

During those initial years, he told her that he was infertile, as a result of a side effect of mumps which he suffered as a child. He was madly thrilled when Mary conceived their first child, a girl they named Eilidh.

In May 2002, she was forced to incur debt, first to pay for Will’s mother’s hospitalisation bills in the US, and then to buy a car for him to drive members of the CIA around. This was because he had given up active service in the CIA at her behest, but the CIA would not let him go without a fight. So he had to do these mean jobs or else they would not release his salary. He never gets paid his dues, and Mary’s finances get strained further, as Will makes frequent calls pleading for money to pay the CIA.

In all, he dupes her of over £200,000 pounds and leaves her feeling desperate and broken.



As readers, we feel an impotent sense of annoyance at Mary for allowing herself to be taken in. We feel that way because we have no idea what it must be like to be victimised by a sociopath. I don’t think Mary was more gullible than we would have been in her place.

She deserves to be commended for her courage in admitting her foolishness and making it her mission to expose his lies and save other women rather than choosing to keep quiet in the interest of salvaging her pride.

Mary comes across as sensible and good-hearted, if a little too trusting and willing to give a loved one the benefit of the doubt. Even though his secretiveness and his behaviour upset her, she doesn’t give up on him. And it is this kind nature that Will takes advantage of.

In most cases, she stuck with him, incurring more debt, because the truth was hard to stomach, and reality nothing but outright misery. When she is completely broke, and no longer has any money to give him, she feels a strange sense of relief.

The fact that Will seemed to have so much information about things that didn’t even show up in the news until days later helped him gain Mary’s trust.

The author gives us a lot of detailed information to bolster her story.

There were many times when I was furious with Will for the way he treated her. He not only didn’t show up for his own wedding the first time the ceremony was planned, he didn’t turn up for the birth of his two children either.

Through it all, I was pleased to see that Mary’s commitment to her three children never wavered. Nor did her family, especially her mother, ever stop offering her support and strength.

Not only was he not infertile, Mary learns that Will has had more than ten children by different women. And even this number might be under-reported.

Learning of the deception that she has suffered, Mary is determined to get to the bottom of it. And she does.

The book takes us through Mary’s investigation as she diligently follows up clues, and talks to people to piece together the story of the man she thought loved her. A man who had been conning women and spinning tangled webs of lies for over 27 years. A man whose deception began in the US and continued in the UK.

I can only hope and pray that Mary gets the justice she deserves and that Will pays for the lives he has destroyed.