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hollymileham's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
huh??? this book was so weird and about the most unlikeable people ever. i predicted the first plot twist but after that the book just went insane tbh. not sure how i feel? objectively it was a good thriller it just went on a bit at times. florence is infuriating and a literal child stalker
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Stalking
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I listened to this one for the Jen Hatmaker bookclub. This is one in which there are no likable or good characters. The main character in part one is just awful - she has no remorse, clearly has mental health issues and is sick (buys clothing to copy another woman, obsessively stalks her family, and has relations with a married man of said family- who himself is unlikable). And then we go to part two which maybe gave me hope. She begins as an assistant for a writer (the whole time I thought she was set up for this and I have questions about this). Then they go to Morocco to work on the author’s book. 50% in, you see why the book is a thriller. There were several twists, but many you can see coming - because we are supposed to see how the main character isn’t very smart to put it together herself. I sped through the last half to just find out what happened. I was so disappointed by the ending.
I recently read The Messy Lives of Book People - in which an aspiring author is a cleaning person for a writer and assumes her identity. I liked it a lot. This one has some similarities but instead of it being out of kindness - both women are bat s* crazy (which you know early in the story).
“Maud Dixon was the pen name of a writer who’d published a spectacularly successful debut novel a couple of years earlier called Mississippi Foxtrot. It was about two teenage girls, Maud and Ruby, desperate to escape their tiny hometown of Collyer Springs, Mississippi. They are thwarted at every turn by their age, their gender, their poverty, and the cold indifference of their families. Everything comes to a head when Maud kills a contractor traveling through town on his way to a job in Memphis. He had made the mistake of setting his sights on sixteen-year-old Ruby and refusing to look away. The murder ultimately releases both girls from the clutches of their hometown. One ends up in prison; the other lands a scholarship to Ole Miss.“ ch 1
“Her sense of self slipped from her as easily as a coat slips off the back of a chair. She’d outgrown the girl she’d been in Florida, but how did one go about building up someone new? She tried on moods and personalities like outfits. One day she was interested in ruthlessness. The next, she wanted to be an object of adoration. She put her faith in the transformative power of new boots, liquid eyeliner, and once—terrifyingly—a beret, as if an identity could seep in from the outside, like nicotine from a patch” ch 6
“She never understood people who denied themselves the things they wanted. Her problem was that the things she wanted constantly seemed out of reach.” ch 9
“Where did the name come from, anyway?” Florence asked. (Maud) tapped the ash from her cigarette onto her plate. “The Tennyson poem, Maud…He describes Maud as ‘faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null.’ I just love that.” Ch 14
“I find that people in general are way too scared of making mistakes. Sure, make a plan and do some research, but when it’s time to act, my god, just act.” Ch 16
““Take my word for it,” Helen went on. “If you spend your life looking for fairness you’ll be disappointed. Fairness doesn’t exist. And if it did, it would be boring. It would leave no room for the unexpected. But if you search for greatness—for beauty, for art, for transcendence—those are where the rewards are. That is what makes life worth living.” Ch 24
“Helen had loved power. Not physical power; that was irrelevant. Emotional power, psychological power—that was her currency. She’d enjoyed exercising it just as a musician or a dancer takes simple, sheer pleasure in his craft. In conversation, Helen had dictated the direction and the tone. She constantly withheld information for no good reason, and she’d loved to throw Florence off guard with outlandish assertions. Even Mississippi Foxtrot was, at its heart, an exploration of power—first the power that lecherous Frank wields over Ruby, and then Maud’s, after she wrests it away from him in a single act of violence.” ch 33
“But Florence didn’t let another drop of alcohol pass her lips, and Helen didn’t partake of anything besides cigarettes. It was as if they were slowly moving toward the foreground of a picture, getting sharper and sharper, while everyone else receded into blurriness.” ch 41
I recently read The Messy Lives of Book People - in which an aspiring author is a cleaning person for a writer and assumes her identity. I liked it a lot. This one has some similarities but instead of it being out of kindness - both women are bat s* crazy (which you know early in the story).
“Maud Dixon was the pen name of a writer who’d published a spectacularly successful debut novel a couple of years earlier called Mississippi Foxtrot. It was about two teenage girls, Maud and Ruby, desperate to escape their tiny hometown of Collyer Springs, Mississippi. They are thwarted at every turn by their age, their gender, their poverty, and the cold indifference of their families. Everything comes to a head when Maud kills a contractor traveling through town on his way to a job in Memphis. He had made the mistake of setting his sights on sixteen-year-old Ruby and refusing to look away. The murder ultimately releases both girls from the clutches of their hometown. One ends up in prison; the other lands a scholarship to Ole Miss.“ ch 1
“Her sense of self slipped from her as easily as a coat slips off the back of a chair. She’d outgrown the girl she’d been in Florida, but how did one go about building up someone new? She tried on moods and personalities like outfits. One day she was interested in ruthlessness. The next, she wanted to be an object of adoration. She put her faith in the transformative power of new boots, liquid eyeliner, and once—terrifyingly—a beret, as if an identity could seep in from the outside, like nicotine from a patch” ch 6
“She never understood people who denied themselves the things they wanted. Her problem was that the things she wanted constantly seemed out of reach.” ch 9
“Where did the name come from, anyway?” Florence asked. (Maud) tapped the ash from her cigarette onto her plate. “The Tennyson poem, Maud…He describes Maud as ‘faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null.’ I just love that.” Ch 14
“I find that people in general are way too scared of making mistakes. Sure, make a plan and do some research, but when it’s time to act, my god, just act.” Ch 16
““Take my word for it,” Helen went on. “If you spend your life looking for fairness you’ll be disappointed. Fairness doesn’t exist. And if it did, it would be boring. It would leave no room for the unexpected. But if you search for greatness—for beauty, for art, for transcendence—those are where the rewards are. That is what makes life worth living.” Ch 24
“Helen had loved power. Not physical power; that was irrelevant. Emotional power, psychological power—that was her currency. She’d enjoyed exercising it just as a musician or a dancer takes simple, sheer pleasure in his craft. In conversation, Helen had dictated the direction and the tone. She constantly withheld information for no good reason, and she’d loved to throw Florence off guard with outlandish assertions. Even Mississippi Foxtrot was, at its heart, an exploration of power—first the power that lecherous Frank wields over Ruby, and then Maud’s, after she wrests it away from him in a single act of violence.” ch 33
“But Florence didn’t let another drop of alcohol pass her lips, and Helen didn’t partake of anything besides cigarettes. It was as if they were slowly moving toward the foreground of a picture, getting sharper and sharper, while everyone else receded into blurriness.” ch 41
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Stalking, and Murder
summerb's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sarah984's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I didn't like this book at all. The plot sounds exciting but everything moves extremely slowly and the characters are constantly making stupid decisions. The sheer number of things every person in the vicinity had to overlook for the ending to work was ridiculous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Alcohol
lannies's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Stalking
colleensreadingadventures's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow..this book took me on quite ride! A wild, intriguing, no idea where you are headed kind of ride, over bumpy, curvy and dangerous roads without a seatbelt and all. And I loved every minute of it!
Florence fled Florida after college to move to New York and one day become a writer. For now she is an assistant editor at a publishing house, that is until she gets herself fired. But Florence is fine with it because she knows she is destined for something bigger and better. And somehow she lands on her feet in an even better job as the assistant to the famous author Maud Dixon. Maud Dixon is Helen Wilcox’s pseudonym and only 3 people know who she really is. Helen herself, Greta her agent and now Florence.
Helen can be difficult to work with, she’s brusque, demanding and very intimidating. But she is also a brilliant writer and pretty knowledgeable in life so Florence is more than happy to work with her.
Several weeks on the job Helen decides she needs to do research for her next novel in Morocco and she’s taking Florence with her. Florence had never been out of the country and everything is new and exciting. After a night of heavy drinking and a bad car accident Florence wakes up in a hospital bed with the police interrogated her as Madame Wilcock because she was found with Helen’s passport and credit cards. Florence realizes Helen must have died in the crash when they went over the bridge and her body must not have been recovered and still in the water. She knows with utmost certainty that she has been given the gift of a new famous identity and she’s going to take it. But Helen’s life is not what Florence expected and she’s now in a life altering possibly endangering dilemma.
The first part of the story was about laying the ground work and getting to know Florence and Helen, so it was a little slow but when the scenery changed to Morocco it picked up nicely.
The characters were well formed and definitely unlikable but that was perfect for this story.
In regards to Florence I had a hard time figuring out my feelings for her. I was in awe with her tenacity and how she was so sure she deserved the best in life but I was also horrified by how she went about getting what she wanted. She was a complex character for sure.
It would have been a 5 star read for me had it not been for the ending. I didn’t think that it was wrapped up the way it should have been exactly and felt like it was a bit sloppy.
This really was an excellent book that kept me on my toes letting me see glimpses but not totally sure what was going to happen.
I’m shocked this is a debut novel and can’t wait to see what else Alexandra Andrews comes out with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol
busy_izzi's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Read this for book club — otherwise I would have DNF’d this early on. While it does pick up after its very slow start, with many highly telegraphed “twists,” it doesn’t get any better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Blood and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
non-consensual drugging of othersliterarymatcha's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
MAN let me tell you this book i was half SLOW DOWN and half ohGooOD HURRY UP! (although I rated it as slow paced only because I felt the former feelings toward the end)
The twist, specifically when Florence killed Greta and admitted she pushed Helen off ON PURPOSE shocked me honestly. Florence always seemed crazy especially since she started stalking Simon and his children and INGRID (oh god ingrid).
All in all, it was a good book. Despite Florence being extremely unlikeable, I ended up kind of rooting for her. I felt like if the opposite of the ending happened I would have thrown the book across the room so in a way, the end was satisfying for me.
gone girl vibes definitely
The twist, specifically when
All in all, it was a good book. Despite Florence being extremely unlikeable, I ended up kind of rooting for her. I felt like if the opposite of the ending happened I would have thrown the book across the room so in a way, the end was satisfying for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Stalking, and Car accident
Minor: Death
bookscoffeehayley's review
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book is a wild ride. I don’t typically categorize books as ‘beach reads’ but I think this is the perfect beach read for people that like to read about murders and scheming on the beach!
Overall I enjoyed Who Is Maud Dixon but I can’t say I liked the characters. This was the first book I’ve read recently where there were characters I didn’t like yet it was fueling me to keep reading. I was so invested in finding out what was going in this book.
My biggest critique was the synopsis revealing a fairly big twist. This made me struggle with the pacing of this book. I was waiting for some big dramatic thing to happen and that really messed with the pacing for me.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced page-turner, definitely pick this one up! I think it was a great debut for Alexandra Andrews and I’m excited to see what she releases next!
Overall I enjoyed Who Is Maud Dixon but I can’t say I liked the characters. This was the first book I’ve read recently where there were characters I didn’t like yet it was fueling me to keep reading. I was so invested in finding out what was going in this book.
My biggest critique was the synopsis revealing a fairly big twist. This made me struggle with the pacing of this book. I was waiting for some big dramatic thing to happen and that really messed with the pacing for me.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced page-turner, definitely pick this one up! I think it was a great debut for Alexandra Andrews and I’m excited to see what she releases next!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, and Murder