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I picked up Who is Maud Dixon?, the début novel from author Alexandra Andrews, expecting a wild and twisty ride. Well, that’s exactly what I got, but not necessarily in a good way.
Florence Darrow isn’t all that thrilled with the hand life has dealt her. There’s nothing blatantly wrong, but she can’t help but feel she’s destined for something better and brighter. Her jobs have been unimpressive, her relationships have lacked that necessary spark, and she’s definitely ready for a change.
So, when she’s offered a position as personal assistant to celebrated author Maud Dixon, Florence jumps at the chance. Sure, the job comes with a lot of rules, chief among them never to reveal Maud’s true identity. She took the world by storm several years earlier with a novel written under the pseudonym of Maud Dixon, and no one knows who she really is. Now on the verge of releasing her long-anticipated second novel, she wants an assistant who won’t spill the beans.
When Florence meets Helen, the woman behind the Maud identity, she finds herself utterly starstruck. Maybe working for this beloved author will give her the impetus she’s needed to write her own book. However, it doesn’t take Florence long to realize that all is not as it seems in Helen’s life. The novel she’s writing is a mess, and Helen seems incapable of fixing it.
The two women form an uneasy alliance, but when Florence wakes up in a hospital and learns that Helen has supposedly died in a tragic accident Florence has no memory of, she begins to wonder how easy it might be for her to step into Helen’s life. What follows is a mess of deception, double-crossing and general implausibility that makes Who is Maud Dixon? a book I can’t in good conscience recommend.
Before I get into the problems I had with the story as a whole, let me say that Ms. Andrews does seem to have promise as a writer. Her descriptions of people and places feel authentic, and even though Florence does make some horrendous choices at times, I still found myself cheering her on. There’s something compelling about the tale the author is trying to tell, and I give her props for that.
Having said that, I struggled to buy into the tale as a whole. It’s clear from the beginning that neither Florence nor Helen have much in the way of common sense. Their actions often seem to be completely at odds with what they’re trying to achieve, and I quickly grew frustrated with the lack of good planning. I mean, if you’re going to impersonate someone, you really need to be several steps ahead of anyone trying to uncover your secret. Instead, Florence makes things up as she goes along, and is then surprised when her scheme is in danger of falling down around her ears.
Florence isn’t the only one with a diabolical plan though. Helen herself has more than one hidden agenda, and I found myself struggling to keep all the secrets straight. Everything I thought I knew about the characters was turned up-side-down again and again, making it all but impossible to understand anyone’s true motivations. I’m all for the shocking twists, but they need to make sense, and the ones Andrews employs here don’t always hold water.
It’s hard to say much more without entering spoiler territory, but Who is Maud Dixon? turned out to be more of a disappointment than a triumph. The premise is excellent, but the execution falls flat. This novel has received a great deal of early praise, something that puzzled me given its many glaring flaws. Still, I suppose there’s a reader for every book out there.
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Grade: C
Book Type: Psychological Thriller
Sensuality: N/A
Review Date: 20/05/21
Publication Date: 03/2021
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
I'm Shannon from Michigan. I've been an avid reader all my life. I adore romance, psychological fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and the occasional memoir. I share my home with my life partner, two dogs, and a very feisty feline.
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There’s a new book called “The Plot” by Jean Hanff Korelitz that got VG reviews; Maureen Corrigan called it the best thriller of the year in the Washington Post. It doesn’t appear to be about taking on someone else’s identify but does revolve around taking credit for another author’s work.
I just read a review of that in the New York Times. It looks interesting. Also, it made me think of the discussion we had on the Agora about plagiarism versus copyright infringement versus just having a similar plot.
I found it unreadable. Honestly, I’m so over critics loving mysteries that, while impressively arty, aren’t very good, you know, MYSTERIES.
That’s why I wait for reviews here instead. :)
Great points! I expect the characters in psychological thrillers and domestic thrillers to make bad decisions. They’re often in that position because they’re damaged in some way. But they don’t work well when they make so many bad choices that it seems contrived, or if it seems that their bad choices don’t seem to be driven by the character.
I’m bummed this wasn’t good. It was SO hyped.
One of the reasons I’ve gradually moved away from reading psychological fiction (other than so much of it seems to turn on punishing women for being decent people and loving/helping/trusting the wrong person) is that so many writers focus on the big “twist” to the detriment of plot, character development, or true thrills & chills. It’s not enough to have a big twist—the twist has to develop organically from what has come before, otherwise you just have the equivalent of “and then I woke up.”