Double Life: A True Story

by Iris Mårtenson, Laurel Lefkow (Narrator), Alice Klingener (Translator)

Does Max Nilsson live here?" These words from a woman I had never seen before changed my family's lives entirely. This is a true story about a man who lived a double "A new day, a new life" was his motto.

The man I fell in love with and who became my fiancé was a fraud. Being found out by chance brought out his madness. He started a campaign of persistent harassment, and I couldn't get him out of my life. The more I delved into his life, the more appalling things I discovered. He screamed at me, telling me I could have anything I wanted if I stopped. Instead, I decided to discover the entire truth and was shocked by what I found out. I ran for my life.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, True Crime

Audible Audio

Published February 21, 2025

Reviews

[Anna]

This would have been an interesting book to read if the woman it was told by, wasn't a horrible human being herself. I started to dislike her from the start and started to question, how much of her hurt and prejudice painted the story. She seemed to have the issue that everything he did, was disgusting and wrong and horrible. There were a lot degoratory words used about trans people and fat people and just so much kink shaming that it became a chore to reach the end. Everyone can admit the man she told about was horrible, there were enough reasons for that, without bashing things that are completely okay and normal and healthy, like bdsm or dressing up in women's clothing, ugh!

[Reetta]

Kirjasta huokuu tunkkainen tuulahdus konservatiivisia asenteita höystettynä vieläpä homo- ja transfobialla sekä läskivihalla. Tarina on töksähtelevä selostus päähenkilölle tapahtuneista asioista, joka hyppii asiasta toiseen välillä täysin ilman aasinsiltoja. Sain kuitenkin kuunneltiin kirjan loppuun, koska lopputulema kiinnosti. Jos kyseessä olisi ollut fyysinen kirja, en varmaan olisi loppuun asti päässyt.

[Heli]

Miksi kuuntelin tämän kirjan? Oi, miksi!? Ehkä se johtui äklötahmaisesta tirkistelynhalusta tai ehkä vain siitä ällikästä, jonka päähenkilö minusta löi. Ehkä vähän molemmista. Pitkään aikaan tai ikinä en ole lukenut (kuunnellut) mitään yhtä hirveää pashaa.

Tarinan päähenkilön typeryys ylittää kaikki typeryydelle asetetut standardit moneen otteeseen, tarina poukkoilee ilman minkäänlaista logiikkaa sinne tänne ja – kirsikkana kakussa – kielikin on niin kehnoa, että paikoin itkettää. Joo, mies oli pahis, eikä saisi olla pahis, mutta ei ole naisen toimissakaan minkäänlaista kehumista. Kuka täysijärkinen näyttää kymmenvuotiaalle lapselleen pornoa, häh? "Parempi olla kuollut lahna kuin pervo", pyhisnainen tokaisee pahismiehelle. Hei, ei ole. Siinä, että on estynyt, ei ole mitään pahaa, mutta mitään pahaa ei ole siinäkään, että on pervo (tietenkin ne ilmiselvät rajoitukset). Pahaa on se, että vaatii toisia elämään omien käsitystensä mukaan, oli sitten kumpaa tahansa.

Loppua kohti kiihtyvä hysteria on tympeää. Pervot on pahoja, läskit on pahoja, maailma on paha. Voi voi.

Yksi tähti lukijalle Leena Nuoralle: selkeä artikulaatio ja vara kiihdyttää tahti vähintään 1,2-kertaiseksi luennan mitenkään kärsimättä.

Ja vielä itselle muistutukseksi: aikansa voi käyttää jopa aamuyön unettomina tokkuraisina tunteina paremmin kuin tällaista soopaa kuunnellen.

[Lotje Sch]

Interessant verhaal, maar vrij emotieloos geschreven. Hierdoor kom ik ook niet echt achter de reden waarom ze bij hem blijft. Ik vind haar ook niet echt sympathiek. Bijzonder

[Pernilla Mallett]

Kvinnans personlighet i boken matchar inte min. Jag kunde uppleva frustration över olika val hon gör och ibland hennes sätt att tänka. I övrigt är det en intressant historia om hur man kan dras in i en relation som inte alls visar sig vara vad man trodde och hoppades på.

[Ophelia]

A riveting true-crime memoir that reads like a psychological thriller. After a tough divorce, Iris finds love again with charming Max, who quickly becomes her fiancé and stepdad figure to her kids. Then a stranger knocks on her door, and her world explodes as she uncovers his shocking double life, lies, and multiple identities.

Mårtenson writes with raw honesty about the fear, betrayal, and harassment that followed. Her courage in exposing the truth is impressive, making this a powerful cautionary tale—especially for single parents dating again.

The story is gripping and hard to put down, though the narrative occasionally jumps and some personal opinions feel dated. Still, it’s a compelling, eye-opening read about deception and resilience.

[Chanel]

Max clearly has a lot of problems and obviously he did very terrible and horrible things. No one is denying that. He might need professional help.

The massive problem with this story and specifically the protagonist was that she is very evidently a horrible person herself. I cannot trust the narrative she is telling purely because she has no self awareness.

The constant shaming and derogatory words towards the gay/trans and sexually explorative community were horrendous. She is incredibly judgemental and honestly just a bully.

The way she spoke about other women’s appearances, in some instances even slut shaming them was also horrendous. The random fat shaming of other women was also perplexing and completely an unnecessary part of the story; if anything this story said more about her than it did about Max.

I didn’t continue and I’m honestly appalled that it even got to this point of publication without anyone questioning it.

[Hannie]

Het verhaal is meeslepend geschreven. Vanaf het begin zat ik in het verhaal. Je wordt er echt in meegezogen. In dat opzicht kan de schrijfster wel schrijven. Het verhaal heeft echter een belangrijk minpunt: de schrijfster heeft nogal wat vooroordelen als het gaat om andere seksuele voorkeuren. Zo ontdekt ze dat haar partner van SM, seks met mannen, triootjes en dragen van vrouwenkleding houdt. Zij vindt dat walgelijk en noemt hem een zieke man. Nu zou ik ook raar staan te kijken als ik ontdekte dat mijn partner daarvan hield. En ik zou ook boos zijn vanwege het vreemdgaan. Vooral omdat hij het onbeschermd deed, waardoor zij ook een SOA opliep. Echter het feit op zich dat hij die voorkeuren heeft is geen misdaad. Dat onderscheid kan de schrijfster niet maken. Door haar vooroordelen is de rest van het verhaal ook minder geloofwaardig. Al geloof ik best dat hij een leugenaar was en dat hij haar stalkte en bedreigde. Maar ze beschuldigt hem ook van pedofilie en ondanks dat de politie daarvoor niet voldoende bewijs vindt, blijft ze hem wel pedofiel noemen. Dat klopt niet. Daardoor ga ik mij toch afvragen hoe eerlijk zij zelf is.

[Jemina]

I started this book in December and didn’t get far. However when I picked it up again in January I binged it in three days.
I have read several books and articles with a similar “plotline”. Compared to them this was quite superior. It went to great detail about life before and after the reveal, which was quite refreshing. I was hooked and had to know what was going to happen next.
However I really had a problem with the writers way of talking about certain subjects. I understand being shocked and wanting to depict that, but there was way too much kink shaming, fat shaming and talking down to people for me to give it full 5 stars.

[Grada (BoekenTrol)]

From a story about a woman who got caught in a relationship with a partner that betrays her, I would have expected more. Resilience, decisiveness, anger, sadness. There may have been some of all of the above, but in the way it was written down, it was unbelievable.
On top of that, there were too many occasions where people were judged on their sexual preference and/or their looks (fat shaming).
I was very glad I was done!

[Britney Lowe]

Disclaimer: I thought this was a podcast and got sucked into an audiobook. From a writing perspective, it was fine. The plot was a tad shocking and it’s always a little fascinating when we are talking about human deception. But some of her writing felt homophobic. For me, personally, it took away from my ability to connect with the writing more.

[Iliana Petrovska]

Не знам как да подредя мислите си...
Сюжетът на книгата разкрива привидно нормален живот на жена и децата й след развода - трудно нагаждане към промяната и много усилия, за да бъде преодоляна финансово тази пропаст, която се отваря.....И точно когато всичко започва да се подрежда, нов човек влиза в живота им и..... всичко се променя, отново но по неочакван и немислим начин.
Не пожелавам никому подобна драма, защото не е за хора със слаб характер... НО, на моменти се подразних от определенията за този нов човек, за откровеното осъждане на неговия начин на живот. Невинаги неприемливото и отвратителното за нас е такова за други хора. Това не е причина да ги заклеймяваме. Не го оправдавам, в никакъв случай!
Ако трябва да стигна по-далеч, раздвоена съм.
От една страна не смятам, че имаме правото да съдим другите, когато не сме си направили труда да се поставим на тяхно място, да опитаме да разберем тяхната гледна точка...
От друга страна, обаче, ако съм на мястото на главната героиня, надали би ми пукало колко толерантна съм в описанието на този човек и навиците му.... Ако съм застрашена аз или децата ми, или хората, на които държа, едва ли ще искам да бъда "политически коректна" към странностите...
Опитвам се да си представя целия ужас - след труден брак, тежка раздяла и загубено доверие да си позволиш отново да се надяваш, че имаш рамо, на което да се опреш, че най-накрая няма да се блъскаш сам, а имаш споделеност, а да се окаже че си параван и "гостоприемник" за човек, който паразитира и намира начин да живее на гърба ти, докато води живот далеч от твоите разбирания за нормалност... Трудно е да преглъщане, а се оказва и трудно да се отървеш .... Някои части от този кошмар са ми добре познати, за съжаление...

[Renske Steenhof]

Heftig waargebeurd verhaal. Eerst gaat het lange tijd over de alleenstaande moeder en de relatie die ze daarvoor vanaf jonge leeftijd had met de vader van haar twee kinderen. Daarna gaat het eventjes over haar tijd als alleenstaand moeder. Daarna over de tijd met haar nieuwe liefde met wie ze zich verloofde, maar die gaandeweg zich steeds vreemder ging verdragen. Dat ze dat allemaal trekt, is al moeilijk te geloven. En vervolgens de periode waarin ze ontdekt (dankzij één van zijn minnaressen) dat hij een misselijk dubbelleven leidde en de hele soap die daarop volgde.

[Lauren S]

This book is a bit infuriating in many different ways. Of course hearing about someone like Max is incredibly disturbing and yes, unfortunately there are many Max’s in our midst. However, the author had SO MANY SIGNS about his character from early on and yet in telling story after story about how despicable he was, she kept staying beyond what was at all reasonable which made no sense to me especially knowing the impact this would have on her children. Good to know she has been able to trust again and be happy

[Emily Hill]

Spotify recommended this to me as an Audiobook. I was intrigued by possibilities of this autobiographical piece, but the story is exactly what you’d expect. Scamming man. Hurt woman. The guy was obviously horrible, especially some of the criminal aspects that came out, but, like other reviewers, I found the author to be very harsh about other people in the story (e.g fat shaming some of the “other women”).

[Mandy]

An interesting true story about a man living a double life and the devastating impact his lies had on those around him. I found the story itself fascinating and quite shocking in places, particularly as more of the truth came to light. However, I did find it a little slow and repetitive at times and felt it could have been told more concisely. Worth a listen if you enjoy true stories about deception, secrets and complicated relationships.

[Herbert]

Het boek gaat over een vrouw die behoorlijk voorschut wordt gezet door haar nieuwe vriend/verloofde die er meerdere relaties op na houd. SChrijnend verhaal zeker als ze er achter komt gestalkt wordt en dan nog behoorlijk in de problemen komt. Het boek is goed maar ook weer niet wow. Mooi tussendoortje maar zeker geen boeien meeslepend verhaal. Mijn oordeel het kan beter.

[Angelina Ivanova]

Историята е тъжна и реална. Това може и се случва навсякъде по света, с много хора - как едно прекрасно начало може да се превърне в катастрофа, но и е типично скандинавска. Някак случващото се, отношенията между хората, са различни от балканските нрави. Интересна и е хубав урок, който можеш да научиш по лесният начин, без да ти се случва на теб. Но това,за съжаление, рядко се получава.

[Linda]

Det verkligt läskiga är att det är en sann berättelse. Hur sjukt är det inte att kunna ha 5 förhållanden och diverse lösa förbindelser samtidigt och dessutom kunna hålla isär allt och inte försäga sig? Galet!

[Ellen]

Det är fascinerande och skrämmande hur en person man tror sig känna, som man lever med, kan vara någon helt annan en den man trodde. Som läsare är det rätt enkelt att peka på vissa varningsklockor som tidigt fanns, men man vet att det inte är så enkelt när man är i det.

[Sandra]

In het Nederlands gelezen via abonnement kobo plus. Titel Dubbelleven
Waargebeurd verhaal van een vrouw die een relatie heeft gehad met iemand waarvan zijn leven vol leugens en bedrog zit. Boek leest snel, bizar verhaal.
3,5 ster

[arli]

i listened to this book on spotify and it felt like i was listening to a long true crime video. it was entertaining but also felt like it got to a point where i couldn’t justify her staying with him anymore. trust your gut!

[Megan Ward]

Very well written. I hope she has a happy and fruitful life after all she has been through. Guys like Max are everywhere and im so proud that she has the strength to tell her story...many of us stay silent. This was a really great book :)

[Nancy]

Audio. How did I manage to listen to this. Terrible fiancé, double life, prostitutes all the things. However, the ‘victim’ is a complete awful person as well. Everything about her is just cringy. I’m embarrassed this is in my completed list. Spotify rec, and it was just the worst

[Ragnhild Cathrine]

A harrowing true story about how someone you think you love does anything but.

[Sara Jonsson]

Gripande livsöde. Tycker dock att berättelsen ofta haltar och saknar röd tråd. Oerhört många detaljer och händelser så ibland är det svårt att hänga med och förstå hur det hela kunde gå till så.

[Alice Knutas]

Sjukt gripande histora!

[Sarah Stjärnerstrand]

Vad man kan råka ut för. 😥

[Camilla]

An important topic, but it did not have the reflections and wisdom that I hoped for. Maybe the book was written a bit too soon after the experience?

[June]

Hørt den norske lydboken «Dobbeltliv». Interessant historie. dessverre en del spørsmål som ikke ble besvart. Kunne med fordel fått frem flere sider og vært mindre «offermentalitet» gjennom boken.