The Psychopath

I was so excited to read this follow up to The Bigamist by Mary Turner Thomson. In the years that have followed since her first book, she has become an expert in Psychopaths and has developed huge understanding and insights into the subject

Her book is written in a very open and honest way and she is dedicated to preventing others from falling for a psychopath, ending the shame for other victims and helping them to find their voice too.

Her ex was a psychopath con man who actively impregnates women to rip them off for money and she claimed that he would never stop. And he didn't! It was hard to keep up with the number of women he went on to con. There were so many that they even started their own facebook group

I am inspired by her strength and ability to heal after such an abusive relationship. She has become a strong, positive and happy women who is shining her light for others

This book feels part memoir/part text book. It is a story of grit, determination and hope.

"So I decided that this was a golden opportunity to teach them never to let the world beat them down and always rise up again no matter what happens to you"

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Having not read the bigamist before reading this book I was unsure if I would understand some of the book however this was not the case. Mary covers the important points of her story and you can almost feel the urgency she must have felt to tell her story and expose Will Jordon. I enjoyed the fact that she decimates his character in an almost forensic way and that she takes the time to drop his full name every other sentence for full-exposé effect. Good for her that she has escaped this man and I hope that her story can help others in toxic relationships to see the red flags.

This was an interesting read, although not one I would usually go for. I appreciate the amount of research the author has put into this book, however I find it problematic how the author does not have any medical background while she is diagnosing the people in this book. All in all, I find the message and the story important, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book.

An in depth look at psychopaths and how Mary Turner Thomson developed and wrote her first book, The Bigamist.

While it was entertaining, I felt like the writing style was quite simple - it felt more like a Ted Talk than a book.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

I was not a fan of this book. The author is clearly angry but this feels more like something that should have been a journal or blog entry as opposed to a published book. I would never read another book by this author.

I received an advance copy of The Psychopath, by Mary Turner Thomson. Wow what a book, deceit, lies, secrets, other wives, and children. It breaks down what a psychopath really is.

After having read “The Bigamist” and being equally shocked and fascinated by it, I was unsure how much more information could be added in a second book. However I was happy to read about how Mary has moved on with her life since then whilst continuing create awareness and to help more and more of his victims. I think she is doing a great job in getting her story out there so that not only victims of this man but anyone else having gone through something similar can get the help and support that they need.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The read was a chronicling of the author's journey to find her strength again after finding out her husband was a psychopath. It was, to be honest, not quite what I thought it would be in terms of style and feeling. I feel very conflicted about it - I so badly wanted to like it, especially after seeing that the author's story was what prompted Jon Ronson to write The Psychopath Test, but it just fell a bit flat. I also haven't read her first book - The Bigamist - which was referenced a lot in this book and perhaps was a necessary prequel.

My favourite part was probably when the author compared her ex-husbands actions to the psychopath test - I can't believe the lengths this man went to, the callousness with which he acted, and the confidence he continued to have after getting caught again and again. I love that the author was able to build her life back up from the wreckage left behind - starting a publishing company, getting a blackbelt in taekwondo, raising smart, strong children, and emotionally reclaiming all the spaces they had been together. I also think it's quite laudable that she made herself available to future victims.

Overall I think the authors story is incredible, but the book felt a bit sterile, maybe even restrained or detached. I expected a bit more emotion and feeling in the writing, but it felt more like a long essay or a news paper article - like a bullet list of things that happened to get her from point A to point B - perhaps distancing herself or taking the emotion out of writing helped the author distance herself from her ex husband? While I didn't love the style I would probably still recommend it to a friend if they have a specific interest in psychopathy. After reading The Psychopath Test and Snakes in Suits (which are on the more theoretical side) it was interesting to read about a personal account and learn about the damage that can be done to a family by a psychopath.

This book was a very interesting read and I cannot believe what this man did to these women, I am so glad I was able to read this, this book opened my eyes to what can come from any type of abuse. These poor women faced torture in their own way and I am glad they got some justice for what happened to them!

It's so important that Mary Turner Thomson was able to share her story and be believed by those around her. Unfortunately, so many survivors of emotional abuse and manipulation don't have that luxury.

My favourite element of the book was when Thomson compared tangible examples of Will Jordan's behaviour to the Psychopathy Checklist, but I would caution against using this list in isolation to diagnose someone as a psychopath. I haven't read the prequel to this book, The Bigamist, but I feel like I have a good enough idea of what Jordan put Mary and his other victims through.

The conversational writing style didn't work so well for me, but I respect that this is how Thomson chose to tell her story. I also wasn't a huge fan of seeing Will Jordan's name in full every time he was referenced, but sensed that it may have a tool used to ensure readers never forget his real name!

Such a brave thing writing about your life and experiences. I myself have been in a similar situation and still gets to me today everyday. Well done for opening up and helping others. Must have been hard making the decision to be so open and honest.

Very crazy! I don’t think I realized what I was in for before I started reading this book. A woman comes to find out her husband isn’t who he claims to be. He’s living, in fact, many lives full of a tangled web of lies. Psychopath is an excellent read if highly recommend to anyone.

I enjoyed this book, it has helped me to spot negative traits that I have either experienced or performed myself in relationships. I feel it will help me to avoid these in the future, so yeah, very informative.

Full of tips on how to spot a toxic person and the techniques they use.

Only slight niggle was the authors insistence on using the psychopaths full name every single time.

I was excited to read this book. Who doesn't like reading about psychopaths. :) But....it was a difficult one to get through and definitely did not hold my interest.

An incredible, fascinating and absolute horrific story from Turner Thomson, I can't even imagine what it was like to go through, and very inspired that she is writing her story and has been able to help so many women that have gone through a similar situation. Good for her for making the best out of an awful situation.

This novel, although interesting, is fairly repetitive. It tries to follow a chronological timeline but does back and forth a fair bit with random interludes.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Mary Turner Thomson for an eArc copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Psychopath creeped me the heck out. I will definitely be purchasing for the library's collection to make sure the thrilling tale is passed on.

The follow up to Mary Turner Thomson's first book, The Bigamist, about her life and marriage to a man found to be married and have children with several women at the same time. The first book was chilling in the facts that Mary, an intelligent woman whom one would never suspect to be susceptible to this type of a con, lived with Will Jordan for many years before being notified of his crimes.....by one of his other wives.

In The Psychopath, Mary compares Will's actions to the psychological scale used to diagnose mental illness. Will seems to fit all of the written tendencies listed. Mary uses her experiences to educate and perhaps save women in similar situations. An interesting read, it will open your eyes to the many manipulations a person can be subjected to before they find themselves trying to get their lives back.

Though an intriguing and complex topic and I applaud the writer for bravery, a confident and purposeful tone, and for wanting to process this part of her life in this way, I was not able to fully appreciate the story and stories of other due to what was for me a rambling, unfocused, and overly declarative writing style. The style was too simplistic and self focused in places to do justice to the lived experiences being shared; this book might have been more effective if shared from someone with a clinical research background to help organize the ideas and present them in a clarifying clinical or academic perspective, which was more what I was looking for in this book I appreciated the effort and intentions that are behind this book.

I hadn't heard about this story previously and plan to read the author's first book as a follow-up. There were parts of this book where I felt like I might be missing some of the story, but suspect it's because I didn't read the first book. It is an interesting look to have her perspective on a really wild situation. The author does state that she is not a mental health professional, but even given that, I thought she made some interesting comparisons and has done a good bit of research into this topic! At times the book was a little slow, but I did enjoy it and look forward to reading her other book.

Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

This was redundant and annoying how the author said his complete name all the time. Did Not Finish. I just couldn't do it. ON and On and ON...catch my drift

I loved this book so much! It was the first book I have read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and their story stick with you long after you finish the book.

Okay, so...being a fan of psychological thrillers, I picked this up with extra zeal and anticipation, but it did really let me down. I understand that it must've been difficult, but the whole book was filled with pent-up anger and bitter feelings. It did have a good story writing style and was read easily, but the whole time I felt so uncomfortable, like reading someone's personal journal instead of a book. the whole anger could have been directed in a different way, and the outcome could've been so much different. To the credit of the book, it really did show what it is like to be a psychopath and what it is like for people around them.

⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2 stars

I’m disappointed as I so expected to enjoy this book more. I’m fascinated by criminal psychology, I love true crime, and I love memoirs, so it felt like this book would be an unbeatable combination for me. To be fair, I did not realize this book was a sequel to the authors first book,”The Bigamist”, which I have not read. Perhaps it would have made a difference.

The story follows the author and her ex-husband (a real-life criminal psychopath and bigamist) after the unraveling of her world which I understand was described in detail in The Bigamist. In this book, we hear about the aftermath of the author’s life, as she picks herself up and builds a new life for herself, and about the continuing exploits of her repulsive ex husband. As the author works through her own recovery, she learn more about psychopathy, builds a new career, fortifies her own physical resilience, and finds great comfort in helping others (and in particular, those, like herself, whom her husband has victimized).

The author has done her homework and there was some interesting research sited, as well as a annotated appendix, that I will follow up on. I have read Dr. Robert D.Hare’s “Without Conscience” (which I loved) as well as Jon Ronson’s “The Psychopath Test”, (which I liked a lot), both of which are cited in this book.

I enjoyed the author’s rating, early in the book, of her ex-husband according to Dr Hare’s PCL-R psychopath checklist, and found the examples of behavior she described for each category quite interesting. I also enjoyed the discussion presented on what makes a victim appealing to a psychopath.

I did not enjoy the bulk of the second half of the book, in which the author follows her husband’s exploitation of a great many other victims in the years following her own personal story. Clearly the author and her family have suffered greatly from this evil man and the stories she cites of all the women whose lives he has damaged are truly appalling. I did however, find it tedious to read these stories, which are all very similar and with the tremendous amount of detail cited I did not feel like I was hearing anything new. It felt like perhaps there was just not enough interesting content to make up a second book.

All in all, with no giant spoilers here, it was nice to see the author and her family come out the other end of this horror story relatively intact. I do find this type of book generally provides a service to the public - the more we know about the existence, behavior and predatory patterns of these monsters, the better we can potentially protect ourselves.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

I had an impossible time getting through this book. I feel great empathy for the author and I am sure that the experiences that she endured while married to Will Jordan were traumatizing, but my review is of the writing in her book not her experiences. There were several glaring issues while reading this book. The first was that "The Psychopath" did not give a summary of her first book, but instead assumed that you were familiar with her situation. This could've been easily solved with a short chapter or multiple paragraph summary of her history with Will Jordan and the material covered in her first book. Without it, I was trying to put together the story and it was frustrating. The author's decision to repeat his name over and over again, every single time her exhusband was mentioned, made reading the book a chore. No one wants to read the same name over and over again. We know his name and who you are referring to, using his full name over and over was very frustrating to read. "The Psychopath" meanders between the author's personal story and relates it to research she complied, but because it is written by the individual who experienced the trauma it just felt personal to the point of being vindictive, particularly with the name repetition. And while she has every right to feel victimized and enraged by his treatment, it was too personal of a tone for a stranger to enjoy reading.

I remember just getting out of an abusive relationship and going to my first support group meeting. I remember the leader passed around a flyer that talked about the Top 5 Warning Signs of an Abuser. I remember thinking . . . he's that simple. He can be summed up on one piece of paper with 5 traits on it.

And I am so much more complex than that.

I remember a power in that thinking, realizing how much more I was than him - how scared that must have made him. How small he must have felt next to me, and felt he had to try to make me smaller. This book has that same exact feel - of that paper being handed to another person. For them to nod their head with wonder that the one person who felt so greater than life, was actually just. . .so small they could be summed up with 5 bullet points.

I liked the story, it had a lot of good points, about gas-lighting and lies and crazy-making. But it also detailed the relationships of the women and how they worked together. It was interesting and I hope it makes it into the hands of anyone/everyone who needs to read it.

The Psychopath' by Mary Turner Thomson ✔ ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
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This is the true story of the aftermath of Mary Turner Thomson discovering that her husband and children's father Will Jordan is a bigamist and con artist with wives, children and victims all over the world. This was a shocking story that follows on from Thomson's previous book 'The Bigamist' and left me absolutely stunned, especially as this happened in Scotland! Thomson's narrative is honest, insightful and informative and kept me engaged in the story as it unfolded. In particular I found her feelings and understandings of her childhood sexual abuse extremely emotional and brave. I really enjoyed this one and had to keep reminding myself this wasn't a work of fiction as it is absolutely mental🤦‍♀️ now I need to go read the bigamist!

I did not realise that this was a sequel until reading other reviews in the book.

Whilst feeling completely sympathy for the author and her unimaginable story and what she and her family were put through by her husband I found myself not connecting with the way the story was written.

I did not know much about her story and felt this was covered at the beginning of the book, most likely because it was covered in her first book.

This is the second book written by Mary Turner Thomson about her experience marrying a bigamist. I hadn't read the first book so went in with no prior knowledge however I feel like the book is more about Marty's recovery from the abuse rather than a deep exploration into the psychopath.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

⭐⭐⭐⭐Thanks to #netgalley for that ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. A disturbing true crime memoir about how Mary was married to a psychopathic, bigamist, con man who was also a sed offender. Mary tells of how she fell in love with her husband and how her dream life slowly unravelled until she discovered just who she had married. A disturbing thought provoking read. #thepsychopath #maryturner-thomson #truecrime #netgalley #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #amazonkindle #bookqueen #bookstagram

This book was sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley. However all opinions are of my own.
Another true story book which I picked up - where we have details of a psychopath. The story was completely harrowing and in some places it makes you so angry because you really don’t want this harrowing thing to happen to all these vulnerable young women. I think it was very brave that this book was written it shows a lot of inner ability and I also think it’s going to help a lot of young women who have maybe been gaslighted who have been abused in the past or I may be experiencing it now are able to read this book and maybe take something from it.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development. Following the true life of being married to a murderer. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a DNF for me. I didn’t realize it was based on a true story and it was just a bit much to finish. But the writing was good!

Thank you for the opportunity to review!

I started reading The Psychopath by Mary Turner Thomson and realized that it was a follow-up to her book, The Bigamist, so I stopped and read The Bigamist first which I am glad I did because I do not think The Psychopath would have made as much sense if I would have read it first. The Psychopath is Ms. Thomson’s true account of finding out that her husband (and father of her children) was a bigamist and pretty much complete psychopath. Very crazy read. #ThePsychopath #NetGalley

Three stars! Wow! I haven’t read the Bigamist so I was shocked by the story of Will Jordan. I love how it included red flags and the science behind this kind of behavior.

Firstly, I have a great respect for a "victim", who refuses to be put in a "victim box" and who pushes back to be more, to have more in life. There is a lot of everyday hard work and courage involved and it definitely is a long journey. Ms Turner Thomson, my fingers are crossed for you.

This is partly a memoir and partly a guide to the psychopathy, based on the authoress experiencing a relationship (a bigamy "marriage") to the (convicted) psychopath.

I recommend to read the previous book "The Bigamist" firstly and then - maybe - this book. I had not know that there is a previous book when starting to read this one and I think that the impact of the first book would be greater. Mostly because, I am sorry to say - that "The Psychopath" would work better as either a shorter memoir or as a guide of sorts to the psychopathy. I am quite interested in the subject and I think that there is nothing like a personal experience in the area of the insight (sadly), so I find the authoress's observations being quite useful. But unfortunately I care less about the many pages containing the cases of the other victims, because I find them prolonged. One detailed case with the clear explanations would work better for me (but I acknowledge that this is my preference and I also recognize that the authoress's intention is to shed as much more light as possible to the victims because the perpetrator might operate in the real time - and that there are other psychopaths running free, too.).

Many statements about how the author has fully dealt with her life circumstances, how strong she is and how she and her children are perfectly happy, sound more like the wishful thinking and that she needs to self-assure herself constantly about that. I do not write this maliciously, but as an observation - those who realize that they live with brokenness live more authentically than those who constantly reassure themselves and others that they have overcome the bad things in life.
But I recognize that this is a long journey and I do wish the best to the authoress. She can do a lot of good with her unique experience (and expertise) - and she obviously cares for other people to do just that.

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

this was a interesting read, I enjoyed the psychology going on in this book. I hadn't read the first book but I think the author did a good job in keeping me in the loop.

I wish I’d have known this was a sequel! I didn’t realise The Bigamist was her first novel in this series else I would have read that first then probably enjoyed this one slightly more. Not to say I didn’t enjoy it and find it fascinating I definitely did, I just feel it would’ve entrenched it slightly more! I can’t believe there was a second story to tell and even after being called out he continued to do what he did. Very interesting for a real life story!

Very similar to the Bigamist, which I loved, having not heard the story before. Why was another book needed?

This book was good but I would have been so much more engaged if I had known it was a sequel. Nothing bad to say though.

What do you do after discovering the person you're married to and raising a family with isn't the person you thought you were? The Psychopath is a personal story by Mary Turner Thompson and her experience being married to William Allen Jordon, a  bigamist, pedophile, and Psychopath among many other things, and gaining the strength to not only leave him, but to help and support other women affected by him.
Thank you to Netgalley, Mart Turner Thompson and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read and review this book. I am blown away by all Mary endured not only during her marriage to this monster but even after the fact. This was a very interesting and gripping read. Side note: this is not a book for anyone that may get triggered from reading about abusive relationships or molestation. There were definitely parts I had a hard time reading, though as disturbing as it was, it was quite interesting. I commend Ms. Thompson for telling her story. ⭐⭐⭐⭐