Duplicity: A True Story of Crime and Deceit Paperback – August 21, 2009

If you've ever wanted to meet a real-life Ziggy, allow me to introduce Paul Goldman. You do remember Ziggy, don't you? He's the round-headed cartoon character who seems to have no friends, hobbies or romantic partner and finds himself repeatedly the victim of humiliating misfortunes, like when he walks into the doctor's office and hears the receptionist say, "Someone to see you, doctor. It looks like an inferiority complex." But Goldman has Ziggy beat with DUPLICITY, a true crime memoir in which Goldman tells the story of how his desperate search for love leads him first to a Russian mail-order bride who--don't be shocked--turns out to be more interested in a green card than in Paul. Then he learns his business partner has absconded with a mistress and all the company's funds.But these adventures just rank as foreplay for the primary train wreck of the book, his four-month marriage after an online courtship to Audrey Munson, a woman who not only turns out to be an emotionless gold digger but the alleged madam of an international prostitution ring. The book is basically the story of Goldman's Florida divorce case. But it takes a true crime turn as Goldman investigates Audrey's background to uncover an intricate web of criminal activity that leaves him reacting with everything from a complaint to Interpol to consultations with a psychic.In the interest of full disclosure, Goldman and I are somewhat kindred spirits even though we have never met. I became interested in DUPLICITY when it started showing up among the list of books purchased by those who also had bought my own 2008 true crime memoir, [...] in which I share the story of my reckless 1979 affair with a femme fatale who eventually tried to murder me. Although I understand Goldman's pain, his situation contrasts with mine because I'm the sort of sick dog who actually seeks out bad girls and accepts whatever punishment they deliver. After reading Goldman's story, for example, my initial reaction was to try to find Audrey so I could have some drinks with her. Goldman is a more normal human, however, who appears honestly duped by Audrey during a legitimate quest for true love.Nevertheless, I still can offer a unique perspective on Goldman's book, which I found absolutely hilarious for probably all the wrong reasons. Because the book ends without a resolution to the criminal activities that Goldman believes he uncovered, it could only be told as a self-published true crime memoir about his investigation and its impact on his divorce case. With Goldman's allegations technically unproved, DUPLICITY emerges more as an entertaining memoir of an extraordinary experience that rang more than a few bells for me.Although Goldman tends to overwrite that experience at times and definitely needs to find a local chapter of hyphenators anonymous, the narrative is focused and hard to put down. He deadpans his way through confessions of events with such naiveté that it enhances the humor. Hopefully, he was doing that intentionally. And he recounts conversations with his psychic Terri as a clever literary device to provide explanations of his investigative decisions and a description of his personal growth from all this emotional trauma.Anyone who wants more of Goldman's continuing investigation can purchase a series of shorts about his travels to London, Paris and Moscow. As for me, I'm satisfied to get off Goldman's Ziggy train at this first stop, now that he's evolved from a fool for love into a man with a mission.

Paul Goldman knows how to construct a riveting story. He says this is 100% true and I guess it would be hard to make this wild stuff up unless you had lived through it. I read it somberly placing myself in his shoes and wondering if there is or was ever a little bit of Goldman inside me. I still don't know what to think. Audrey was what she always had been; a sociopathic liar and master con-artist. She just happens to be tops in her criminal field. But I keep thinking -- what is his excuse? When all is said and done it was he who forced the relationship. Who marries somebody they know so little about with so many vague reassurances about strange things going on. He could have certainly backed away at a dozen different stop signs. I also don't think he would have plunged 100,000 dollars into legal fees and investigator fees just to divorce her. He was still obsessed with this woman. My only complaints with the book are the omission of the Royce Rocco deposition material which is only referred to once and the heavy reliance on the psychic readings. A decent lawyer could have torn him apart on that. At least he got to write this book and get some of his money back.

This book left me feeling disappointed. I can't review it without spoilers; however, the entire plot of book (further than the plot, actually) is reflected in the summary given. I had some misgivings about this book when I purchased it, but as someone who has law enforcement experience and knowledge of sex trafficking, it piqued my interest.I'll begin with my disappointment with the title change, as the original title was "Duplicity" and was changed to "Double Wife, Double Life" by the author so that, in his words, "when people google the name of the movie, it will be uniquely [the author's] movie." The phrasing put me off a bit, for reasons that I will expand on later in this review.The matter of fact is, I feel this book was promoted by the author as something it was not. While I agree that sex trafficking is a serious problem and that awareness of it is a first step into stopping this atrocity, the book was, frankly, not about that at all. It's not a story of a man single-handedly taking down a prostitution ring. It is a fleshed out, and often rambling and confusing extension merely of what is written in the summary. Perhaps I would have been more taken in by this book if I had not read the summary, but I opened the book already knowing that the protagonist, Paul Goldman, marries his second wife, Audrey, only to find she is a con woman and a prostitute. And then he divorces her, digging into her personal correspondence to uncover the secrets she kept during their marriage. And that's it. Once the divorce is finalized, that is the end of the book. The pages between consist of long descriptions of buying houses, uninteresting and flat dialogue between characters, and absolutely no one who is fleshed out into any believably. Mr. Goldman mentions repeatedly how in love he was with Audrey, but she is shown to have absolutely no loving characteristics, warmth, or depth beyond the fact that she is pretty. The first few chapters are dedicated to his first marriage, which is completely unrelated to the rest of the book besides introducing the existence of his son. His first wife, Talia, is just as minimally fleshed out as the rest of the characters; and once again, I was left wondering why he would jump into not one, but two marriages with two uninteresting and bitter women who are shown to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.The prose itself is not bad, but it is not particularly riveting, either. What could have been a sweeping mystery of betrayal and deception becomes pages and pages of Mr. Goldman sitting in his house waiting for the phone to ring as he laments his poor life choices. The judge at the divorce trail puts it well; the protagonist is gullible and naive, and comes off as almost whiny through a large part of the book. Once he takes control of the situation, he becomes more interesting, but then it becomes a series of scenes with Paul handing off his information to law enforcement and, weirdly, calling and psychic for no reason I really understood. Paul, of course, being a normal civilian going through a divorce absolutely did the right thing by turning the information over to law enforcement, but then he spends a lot of time waiting for updates he never receives. Which means the reader also waits and waits, for basically nothing.Another aspect of the book that did not sit well with me was the inherent sexism that bleeds through the book and Mr. Goldman seems entirely unaware of. It becomes apparent after his first marriage that he isn't looking for a partner so much as a stay at home trophy wife, and it is continually frustrating that he doesn't seem to have any idea of how his commentary on his marriages comes off. He paints his first wife - a medical student, new to the country, studying 15 hours a day to get herself through medical school while juggling a husband and small child - as simply another scum-sucking con artist who used him and ditched him. Because of the circumstances, it casts a doubt on Mr. Goldman's credibility when it comes to presenting his wives in an objective light. To top it off, his burning hatred of sex workers, pornography, and anything related to the sex industry is archaic. He easily condemns anyone who visits pornography shops as perverts and is constantly shown as being disgusted by sexual scenarios; however, this is the same man who essentially purchased a Russian bride and complains through the first half of the book that his wives don't have enough sex with him. As amoral and disgusting as Audrey's actions were as an individual, Mr. Goldman spends just as much time in the book generalizing by condemning all sex workers in general. He spends more time being disgusted by Audrey's pornography past than he does being horrified by the incriminating evidence that might point to sex trafficking by the prostitution ring.In all honesty, I could go on and on about my problems with this book. There are many contradictory passages and confusing timelines. Interesting events, such as Audrey attacking Paul in the grocery store, are given a wave of a hand while dull explanations about purchasing houses are dwelled on for chapters. I admire Mr. Goldman's ability to put himself in a very delicate and somewhat embarrassing position for a greater good; however, I wonder what kind of greater good he is reaching for. While "Double Wife, Double Life" is a memoir, it is followed by a fictionalized serial of the very real Paul Goldman traveling through countries to bring down the pornography ring Audrey was a part of. I can't help but view such a fictionalized serial as more of an ego boost for Mr. Goldman than it is an attempt to promote knowledge and understanding of sex trafficking, as he claims it is. This is a very real problem, and there is a very big difference between the legalized and regulated pornography trade in this country and the sex trafficking of men, women and children. At the moment, there are agencies such as the FBI and ICE who have units working against cyber crimes and sex trafficking, and documentaries such as "Tricked" present a very real and unwavering look at the seedier depths of sex work. I don't feel that Double Wife, Double Life lives up to something that truly supports these endeavors. It is a disturbing and tragic tale, don't get me wrong, but even his accusations of Audrey's prostitution are not given any credence in the court proceedings, as they are built on theory and assumption rather than evidence. She is, without a doubt, a liar, and a cheater, and a con woman. Considering the number of victims she left in her wake, perhaps concentrating on her con woman past and her sociopathic characterization rather than her sex work would have made the book itself feel a little more genuine.

WOW, this book is very well written and exciting. It doesn't take long before it hooks you right into the story and keeps you on the edge of your seat in anticipation of finding out what is going to happen on the next few pages. The author does an excellent job of giving you a perfect visual of the emotions that he has experienced and is trying to express throughout the book; it's a very powerful look into the dark side of human nature and manipulative people. What makes this story even more gripping is that it's actually true, it's even almost scary! I definitely recommend this book to anyone with a few hours to spare, mainly due to the fact it will be nearly impossible to put down once you get started. I bought this for my kindle and I couldn't be more satisfied with it!

This book is horrendous, it is so horrendous that my friend and I felt the need to read extracts out to each other as it was so ridiculous and made us laugh. I don't think that was the aim of the author. This guy basically tried buying a wife and got mugged off then fell for a con artist. His desperation to find a women that can stand him shines through and it is kind of obvious that he would only attract a certain type of women, not a decent one. Couldn't empathise at all with him, we just disliked him, his pompousness, visions of grandeur about himself. Plus the writing in the book was just awful with gritty detail about mundane rubbish...his son colouring in a smiling carrot!! Don't get me wrong these were awful women, but he is like David Brent from the office times 20. Now he is writing novels as an extension from his biography...come on! I placed this comment by accident on the USA site, and wanted to warn fellow Brits of this book and not to waste their money.

This book has been written by a man who has been to hell and back in a go-kart. Some reviewers don't agree with his life choices but whatever your views on them, there can be no doubt that his book is both gripping and thought provoking. Taken to the cleaners by his wife and his partner, many men would have crumbled under the pressure of betrayal, yet the author turns the negatives into positives. It is both an addictive storyline and a warning to those who trust too easily. I could see this being a documentary on a crime channel. Great book well written and hats off to the author for baring his soul. Five stars from me!

this book would have better than okay had then ending not be a clear in your face buy the next book and find out what happens next instead it takes you on a journey that makes an interesting read and sometimes quite exciting only to fall flatter than flat when it mattered most a real shame. and for the record this guy has to be the most trusting idiot ever there are huge big red flags even at the start and this clown cant see them deary me !!

What a book it had me on the edge of my seat, so many twists & turns & the fact of this been a true story makes it even better!!Like a previous review I have not slept a wink as just had to finnish it!!Well written & fast moving story so no getting bored with this one!!Thoughly recommend this book worth every penny!!