Cover Image: Who is Maud Dixon?

Who is Maud Dixon?

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I really liked the sound of this but I did feel like I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop a bit- need the motivation to stick around for the big mystery.

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I had All About Eve vibes while reading this tale of two women set within the world of publishing. We have two female characters, Helen Wilcox is an author writing under the pseudonym Maud Dixon and Florence Darrow is an editorial assistant. Both women have a diabolical dark side, especially when it comes to getting what they want. Florence has escaped a life in Florida and is establishing herself in New York City. Her wrongdoings include a touch of plagiarism, identity theft and possibly even manslaughter! That’s all before we get to Maud Dixon. It’s a psychological thriller with all the twists and turns we expect. It starts a little slowly but the pace suddenly starts to pick up half way through and the tension builds. It’s hard to like these women but they are deliciously wicked and the tone is darkly humorous in places. I worried that I couldn’t get invested in the women, but that gave me the freedom to enjoy their evil antics.

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Wow, I loved this book! Twists and turns and excitement! I did see a few things coming, but it was really enjoyable. I liked the characters, even the ones we're supposed to hate, and loved the whole premise. A great book, worth the read!

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Tremendous..
A thoroughly tremendous read. Drawing the reader in from the off with credible, realistic characters and a pacy, well thought out plot this doesn’t let go until the very final page. Red herrings abound and the storyline twists and turns as the plot thickens and finally races to a satisfying denouement. A truly fabulous mystery.

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Who is Maud Dixon? is a clever, fast-paced thriller with strong characters and excellent writing. Helen is a successful, highly-elusive, best-selling author who writes under the pseudonym Maud Dixon. Florence is hired as her assistant. When the two go on a research trip to Morocco, a surprising opportunity presents itself. Helen disappears and Florence has the chance to be Helen. A twisty cat-and-mouse game ensues. Highly recommended!

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A brilliant book. The author has created a fiendishly clever plot that is very well crafted. The characters - who are mostly unlikeable - jump out of the page to stand beside you as you learn their fate.

Beautiful descriptions set vivid scenes especially after New York. And it is here where that tension builds and you become fully engaged in the mystery of what happened.

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Florence works in publishing but aspires to be an author so when she gets the opportunity to work for best selling novelist Maud Dixon ( a pseudonym) she jumps at the chance along with a research trip with her new employer to Morocco ……
I won’t say much more about the plot other than it’s fun, entertaining and will have you wanting to read on. In a nutshell it’s pure escapism and with the Morocco setting it’s a perfect summer read . If you’re looking for some lighter reading or want to escape overseas for a few hours then go pick this up !

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Does not live up to its promise. It is sold to us as a Patricia Highsmith but it is miles away from it. It seemed that two different books were grafted together. The first 80% is slow, the remaining 20% is too fast-paced. It just didn't add up. It was unconvincing and ultimately unsatisfying.

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Totally unsettling with some very unlikeable characters. A cleverly written twist and a plot that took off at break-neck speed over the final chapters - this book had me gripped right to the last page.

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I thought the plot of this sounded amazing, but the execution left something to be desired - a bit too dry and wordy. Still, an intriguing story about identity and ambition.

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'Who Is Maud Dixon' was such an interesting book that had me hooked from the start. I don't even know what genre this book is classed in. Is it a mystery/thriller? I don't know. But I really enjoyed reading it and it got me out of the reading slump that I was in.

This book is definitely one that you should go into without reading the synopsis or only knowing a few vague details about it, as not knowing much about the story or the characters definitely helps to keep you hooked and intrigued when reading it.

The first half of this book was very slow and focused mainly on us learning who both Florence and Helen were and how their lives interconnect with each other. Despite the slow pace, I did find myself flying through this book as it had a dark undertone throughout and you could kind of guess that something bad was going to happen to these characters.

The second half was definitely where this book picked up. The pace increased and the whole book took a complete turn with the plot twist. Even though I disliked Florence, I couldn't help but root for her to get what she wanted.

'Who Is Maud Dixon' was an incredible read and I loved every second of reading it. I did not want to put this book down!! I can't wait to read more books by this author as this one was simply incredible.

Thank you to Headline for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I really enjoyed this book - entertaining, fast paced, unpredictable, and the characters were strong.

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I was so intrigued by the title and blurb of this, Alexandra Andrews debut novel , and could not wait to start reading it. I read it in two sittings and absolutely adored it. Florence's voice is compelling and captivating and I was completely gripped by the beautiful writing, sense of place and the unexpected twists and turns of the plot. I found it to be a near perfect novel and would highly recommend it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a much appreciated digital ARC.

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This debit novel from Alexandra Andrews is a good old fashioned yarn of stolen identity and opportunism, very much in the style of Patricia Highsmith. Maud Dixon, a pseudonym, is a famous author who keeps her identity a secret. Florence Darrow longs to be a successful author. She works as an entry level intern in Forrester, a New York based publishers. When she gets the chance to become an assistant to the enigmatic author, she seizes the opportunity.

The whiskey drinking Maud (aka Helen Wilcox) is somewhat erratic and not at all what Florence was expecting, A sudden trip to Morocco, ostensibly to conduct research for her new book, results in a series of life changing events for both women. I loved the book up to a certain point. Several of the characters seemed to serve little or no purpose (Meg? Lucy?). I enjoyed the plot twists at the end. However, rather than this being a Wow book for me, it was more of an easy mid-week read Congrats to the author Alexandra Andrews on an impressive debut novel.

Many thanks also to @netgalley for this e-book in return for my honest review.

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Who is Maud Dixon?, Alexandra Andrews’ debut novel, is a clever character-driven literary thriller that - once it gets going - is hard to put down.

Florence Darrow is an aspiring writer working for a small publishing house in NYC. She’s from a small town in Florida and has always believed herself destined to hit the big time as a writer.

Helen Wilcox is a successful but enigmatic and reclusive novelist who writes under the pseudonym Maud Dixon. Almost nobody knows her true identity and Helen is determined to keep it that way.

When an opportunity arises for Florence to work as Helen’s assistant, it’s simply too good to turn down. The book is set in upstate New York and in Morocco, where the pair go to research Helen’s new novel, over a period of a few weeks.

What happens next is a game of cat-and-mouse that is compelling and deftly written. It’s not perfect (there are a few characters along the way that offer little in the way of contribution to the plot), but it’s a very enjoyable and stylish romp with two amusingly dislikeable characters trying to get the better of each other. 3.5-4/5 ⭐️

*This book was published on 4 March 2021 and I read a digital copy of it courtesy of @NetGalley and the publishers @headlinebooks / @hachettebooks. As always, this is an honest review.

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This was a really strange but quirky book to read. I struggled to stick with it up until the accident but then it got more interesting. The ending was predictable and overall it did not grip me. An average read.

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Not your average thriller but a more quirky and almost absurd plotline that had me itching to get to the end to find out how it would all be resolved. Admittedly, my interest wained a little towards the end of the first half of the book but once the car crash happened, I was hooked.
Really looking forward to whatever Alexandra Andrews does next. Flawed characters at their best!

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A readable book but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected. The first 40%+ of the book before Florence has the car accident was somewhat tedious. The scene setting could have been done much quicker. Neither of the main characters, Florence and Helen were particularly likeable. I thought Florence's final act was unnecessary and unbelievable. Although this book wasn't for me, I did think it would translate well to a TV miniseries.
This is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

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Alexandra Andrews’s debut thriller, Who Is Maud Dixon?, is so close to Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley that it feels almost like a retelling, although there are also shades of Caroline Kepnes’s You in its cynical take on the literary world. Florence is an editorial assistant in New York who never seems to do or say the right thing; her less privileged upbringing leaves her feeling like an outsider. Like other young women of her generation, she’s fallen in love with the novel Mississippi Foxtrot, written under the pseudonym Maud Dixon. When Florence is invited to travel to Morocco to work as a personal assistant for the woman behind the pseudonym, Helen Wilcox, she believes she will learn the secret of how to be a successful novelist. However, she still feels stuck too fast in her old identity. When an unexpected opportunity to become Helen Wilcox – and through her, Maud Dixon – comes up, what will Florence do with it?

The first half of this thriller was really intelligently written; although the early chapters are not overtly eventful, I felt completely gripped by Florence’s voice and observations. In the second half, it comes off the rails a bit, with an identity-swapping plot that becomes too complicated and a little absurd. Highsmith’s decision to have Tom Ripley’s deception be initially so simple, but so audacious, felt even wiser after reading Who Is Maud Dixon? I would have been much more convinced if the novel had taken a quieter turn and focused more on literary deception. In particular, Andrews’s decision to make Mississippi Foxtrot loosely autobiographical felt unfortunate given that Elena Ferrante’s decision to write under a pseudonym seemed at least partly motivated by the assumption that women writers can only write about their own lives. As she writes anonymously, Ferrante’s critics can’t draw neat lines between her life and that of her characters, which seems to be exactly what she wants. Instead, Andrews falls back on a really tiring trope – that all novels are simply veiled versions of autobiography – which doesn’t leave her any room to explain wider questions about writing. However, I would definitely read her next novel, as I thought Florence was such an interesting creation, and she carries the book even in its sillier moments. 3.5 stars.

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I'm not going to bore you with a precis of what the book is about.
Just read the headlines on the cover or on the book website page. Any superlative comments should be taken as an absolute minimum and after you have read it you will not be disappointed.
Twists and turns and you're never certain show it will finish.
Florence and Helen are two intriguing characters and the interplay is superb throughout the book
The only minus I can speak about it most likely down to me and not the book. Half way through things started to go wrong for Florence (no spoiler intended) and I decided I knew exactly what would happen. I was in a fairly fast reading mode until I hit one of the big twists and realised, as usual, I had some of it right but a lot more wrong.
So if you get chance please read this and enjoy.

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