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.

Mary Turner Thomson shares the details of her journey through the nightmare of marriage to a sociopathic bigamist. I shook my head many times in dismay at what I read, unable to comprehend the elaborate ruses and stories the bigamist used to ply his trade. I wished for more background on MTT, to help me understand if there were aspects of her upbringing, demeanor, and past that made her vulnerable and more susceptible to his machinations. The author tells her story and outlines the aftermath including the trial and sentencing of the bigamist. I would have liked more information on the recovery actions she took for herself and her children.
The Bigamist would make a compelling book discussion selection.
3.5
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Wow -
Couldn’t put down! I was caught between feeling horrible for the main character,
And also intrigued by what would happen next! We all think that “it can’t happen to us”, but love is a crazy thing! Book really makes you think!

Wow! This is the first thing I can say to describe this book. I devoured it in 2 days. It was fascinating but it also brought out a lot of other emotions. I felt anger and rage at Will, I felt frustration at Mary, I felt annoyed with Mary's family and friends who didn't notice what was going on but most of all I felt sad for Mary. Not in a pity way but just that people can treat others in this way. It was a very interesting and fantastic read. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Thank you very much to the author Mary, the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. Definitely a 5 ⭐ read

Oh My God. How do people who go through terrible things in life find the strength to be brave and walk out of pain? The book was so painful to read. I can only imagine how Mary Turner must have undergone. Thanks for sharing your story with us. The book needs to have one final edit before being out in the market. Some errors and punctuations need to be rectified. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for giving me this book.

Found this book absorbing and mysterious. How can one woman be taking in by such a devious man. But not only one but many, he managed to throw the balls in the air and not drop them for many years, until one day he made a mistake. How did such intelligent women get taken in by this man? He had children all over the place and never seemed to provide for them only steal from then. This true story is a large lesson in life. Very disturbing. The Bigamist. https://www.netgalley.co.uk/catalog/book/1986

Book Review for the Bigamist by Mary Thomson Turner.
The Bigamist is an unbelievable true story of Mary's life and how one man turned it upside down. Will Jordan, Mary's ex husband portrayed himself as loving partner, protecting his wife and children from the horrors of his work. But after some years of marriage, Mary receives a life altering phone call.
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My heart broke for Mary throughout this book but at the same time I was in total awe of how strong she was and how she managed to keep going through all the mayhem!
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I usually feel uncomfortable rating memoirs/true stories because I don't feel like it's my place to rate someone's life. Saying that, I had no trouble giving this book 5 stars. Mary relays her story with precision and clarity. She explains so well how she fell for Will and why she stayed with him. Not only that, but she let's us know the impact of Will's actions on the lives of others, while respecting their dignity and voice.
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A five star, fascinating read that I would definitely recommend and this is out now!
Thank you to Netgalley for this ebook in exchange for honest review.

This is a true story. I was fascinated by this book. At first I had doubts I’d get into it but I’m glad I stuck with it.

The Bigamist is the captivating and shocking true story of William Jordan, who had two wives, several girlfriends, and at least 13 children. He led many lives, defrauding his wives and girlfriends and bilking them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The author, Mary Turner Thomson, was one of his wives. She explains the web of lies and deceit that Jordan spun, and its aftermath, better than anyone else could.

Readers of true crime stories should check this one out. It will leave you speechless and horrified at the selfish and cruel acts of this man which harmed so many women and children.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

This autobiography follows Mary Turner Thomson, a single mother who signed up for an online dating site and believed she had met her soulmate in Will Jordan. Unfortunately, the man she fell in love with was all that he first appeared to be. Will would disappear for long periods of time with no way of contacting him. Eventually, he revealed to mary that he was working for the CIA. This was only the start of what would snowball into years of manipulation, abuse, and thievery.

Mary has a very strong voice, which carried this book and kept me intrigued even when I felt like the story tended to get repetitive. This book read like a true crime and/or thriller novel and there was something oddly fascinating about watching Will try to string together this outrageously tangled web of deceit.

I think the greatest thing this book has to offer is its ability to elicit empathy from its reader. While listening to Mary’s tale, you may find yourself wondering how she found herself in this situation. "I would never do that," you may think. "God, how could she have been so stupid? It’s so obvious!" I know all these thoughts ran through my head at one point. Nut mary explained it best when she said that such a thing could truly happen to anyone. Will figured out her weaknesses and exploited them deftly. He was such a master manipulator, Mary didn’t realize how low she’d sunk until she was sitting at the bottom of the pit.

This is the third edition of Thomson’s memoir of her marriage to a psychopath. Her story is a wild ride. Reading other reviews, I knew everyone would ask, “how could she not know?” but all of us can be deceived by people we love. Yes, she had a lot of red flags thrown at her but she thought she had evidence of the “truth” he was telling. Plus, psychopaths like Will are really good at manipulating people’s emotions. I wish she would have described more her state of mind and the time period each “incident” took place so the reader could be more sympathetic. There is so much going on in this book and it’s a fast paced read so all the warnings the reader sees, and Thomson can see in hindsight, Thomson could easily overlook especially with three small children. As a reader, it is frustrating to see her go through everything she did, to lose everything she had for him. I wish the end had more information about where Thomson is now. Especially since it’s the third edition, it’d be nice to have more information.

This book is a fascinating look into just how a sociopath/psychopath (I'm not an expert, and not sure which category Will Jordan falls into) can completely upend a person's life. This true story hooked me from the beginning, thinking "how can this woman be falling for this?!" The author (and therefore the reader) have hindsight on their side and aren't wading through the emotional fog of falling in love which lets this story unfold with a certain amount of candor or objectivity. I would definitely recommend for those who like a peek into how smart people get sucked into the vortex of someone like Will Jordan.

This true story feels like reading a fictional story. Will Jordan is a professional conman, and he knows exactly what he's doing and what kind of woman he's going to con next. This book is Mary's story about her time with Will, it goes into detail about her six years with him and also how she dealt with the awful situation he left her in.

You have to read this book. Reading it you think naw this is just fiction but it's not. It's so fascinating to read an account of something you would never expect to happen to you. The writing is spot on. I highly recommend it. Happy reading!

Wow! A very interesting premise - and this book turned out to be even more so.'

Was Will really everything he displayed to Mary - or was he a fantastical liar?

A true story that I can believe. In love, as Mary was, she tended to overlook the other person's (Will's) faults. He still displayed a lot of positives for Mary...But being late, a no-show date, seemed to be Will's major faults. However, when Will really describes his job to Mary, she still feels a niggle of doubt. No?

This was a read that was difficult to put down - especially due to the fast pace and wild characters!

RECOMMEND!

Many Thanks to Little A, Seattle & NetGalley for a great read.

I wrote my review in bullet points as they came up in the book. It helped me work out my thoughts.

I understand the honeymoon phases of a relationship and I got into the book and requested it because I wanted to see if it was easy to be tricked. One of my biggest fears is being tricked like this or being tricked into joining a cult and this book was very eye opening.

The excuses were plausible until he said he worked with the CIA, which I would have laughed at when someone told me that but I understand that love is blind.

The hardest part about this book for me was that it’s non fiction, at some points I was rolling my eyes because it was so soap opera ish but this was someone’s life so I am trying to be fair with the review. I do feel for the author and she took so many steps to make sure her daughters life was entangled with some strange man.

What a journey reading this book was. I loved it and read it in one sitting staying up to the early hours to finish it. Seeing how easy it is to be taken in by a con man who is able to manipulate women and be so believable I think that this should be available to girls in school before they leave so that discussions could be held with friends and teachers to hopefully help them to avoid these menaces.
After I read this and the notes at the back I did some research of my own and discovered that after prison here, Bill/William was deported and did exactly the same to at least one American young lady. He needs locking up and the key thrown away To protect the society That he chases. Single parents with young children have enough to cope with without someone like him around.
Fantastic book, well written, characters and all situations so clearly documented. I found that all the way through I was trying to think about myself and would I have fallen for these lies. I am a very strong, well educated lady who as an IT Director for a large company should be more savvy but I cannot say that I would not have fallen for this set of circumstances. I do however wonder how many other conmen might hea4 about this story and think it a great idea to copy.
As a final note I have to say that I have already ordered copies of this book for the girls in my family so that they are prepared a bit for this type of man. I have also told all my friends about this and recommended that they encourage their female family members to read it.

The motto must be “Ladies Beware!”

Having read quite a few psychological thrillers this was different as it is real,you can hardly believe this man did this,a real insight into the world of ‘the bigamist’,although at times I did think surely she must have guessed....always easier to say that looking into a situation of course, a good read

I remember reading about this in the press a few years and being keen to know more. This book was astonishing - how on earth did William Jordan keep ever keep all of his lies straight? How he managed to dupe so many women with his lies and not feel any remorse for anything he did is devastating to the women and children left in his wake. My heart breaks for everyone left behind. It was such a twisting and turning tale to read that no longer Mary was taken in for so long. Definitely recommended for anyone considering internet dating.

Interesting enough, I suppose. But it seemed to me she not only had a lot of clues something was wrong with him but she picked up on it. It's not that I dont have sympathy but it seemed so obvious he had someone else.

That said, it was entertaining to read.