There is something so original and compelling about this book.  I love the style and the characters are immensely well written.  There is a unique blend of genres in this book and the way that the story is timed and plotted is adeptly mind boggling.  I will be recommending this book to others and want to read more from this author in the future.  Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

This is a such a good book and its quite incredible that it is Alexandra Andrews’ debut. Comparisons to “The Talented Mr. Ripley”  are inevitable but this book stands on its own. It’s clever and witty as it explores the publishing business. The twists in this enjoyable psychological thriller will keep you glued and guessing. Does the story go a little off the rails? Sure, but there’s enough of a sense of satire that it all works beautifully. Enjoy it.

A delightful romp through the  cut-throat world of editorial assistants.  Florence Darrow is an editorial assistant at a middle tier publishing house and she feels destined for greatness. When she finds herself suddenly u8nemployed, she is hired as an assistant to a very secretive hot new author. No one knows who Maud Dixon is, though many have tried to figure it out. A very fun read!  A little bit mystery, A little bit family drama, a little bit travel adventure. I can't wait for more from Alexandra Andrews.

Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews is a twisty thriller that certainly kept me guessing!  Florence Darrow has big dreams to become a famous writer.  She's asked to become assistant to "Maud Dixon," a famous but anonymous writer; and she jumps at the opportunity.  "Maud" (real name Helen) and Florence travel to Morocco to do some research, but they are involved in a car accident.  Florence wakes up at the hospital, remembering nothing of the accident, and is told that Helen is dead; so Florence decides to become "Maud Dixon."  But, that's not going to happen very easily for her...  I highly recommend this book!  Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy.  All opinions are my own.

This had kind of a slow start, mostly because I wanted to wring Florence's neck more often than not. However, it quickly picked up, turning into a twisty compelling mystery.

I was going to rate this 4.5 but the ending clearly made this debut novel  a 5 star read.

The author pulls you slowly into the story of Florence who is not very likeable at all but is smarter than most people think.  

I was nonchalantly reading and taking the story for granted and then the plot thickens and I was oh so wrong. 

After Florence lands a job as an assistant to Maud Dixon a pen name of a successful author. Maud is an reclusive somewhat eccentric loner with secrets of her own and you just know this is not going to end well

There are twists and turns, red herrings and I wasn't sure who to cheer on.  

I wont say anymore except buckle up its a roller coaster of a read and you wont regret putting Who is Maud Dixon to to the top or you TBR pile.  

Thanks to NetGalley , Little Brown and Company for one of my favourite reads of 2021.

I was obsessed with this book. It shared a lot of DNA with other thrillers I love, but it felt earned and it built slowly. I wasn't sure where things were going to go - who was going to die, who was going to win - and it blew all of my theories out of the water. Just when I thought all of the ends were wrapped up, there was another chapter to tie it up even tighter.

Who Is Maud Dixon? is a well crafted debut thriller by Alexandra Andrews. It explores the concept of anonymity and assuming an identity that I found fascinating. I am giving this novel 3.5 stars because the characters were all unlikable and I failed to make a greater connection with the book because of it. I sense this will sell well for the right readers.

Advanced copy provided courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Florence Darrow is a want-to-be an author, she is currently living in NYC working as assistant editor. She thought by moving to New York, she would have far more opportunities than she had in her small town in Florida. She is super excited when Florence a well-known author calls her in need of an assistant. She and Florence hit it off and is excited when invited to go along to Morocco to do research. 

The book endorsement states that this is for readers of “The Silent Patient”. I am not a fan of when books are compared to best sellers but “The Silent Patient” did have a big twist at the end so figured surely this will have some sort of a twist…. Right? 
Story got my attention then it slowed down. I hung in there as I was sure there was going to be a big twist!!!!
Aww YES! 
     It did DELIVER!! 

This is Alexandra Andrews’s debut novel.  I certainly am looking forward to her next story!

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for professional review purposes only. 
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 4, 2021

Who Is Maud Dixon
By Alexandra Andrews
Pub date: March 2, 2021

Maud Dixon is a suspense novel that offers comedic moments, drama reminiscent of Melrose Place and Dallas (shout out to my 40+ booksta peeps). Its a Thrilramacom!

It actually blows my mind that this is a debut! 

Who is Maud Dixon is a twisty tale of an author who writes under a pen name and the story that lies behind the anonymity and fills the spaces between the lines! Unreliable narratives from flawed characters where desperation is a palpable pheromone and deception an appetite. 

Sure, there are parts of the storyline that would likely not hold up under scrutiny but - whatever! 

It was fun & Quick - I read it in less than a day! It held my interest and kept me turning the pages. And, as I was in a bit of a slump, Maud Dixon was exactly what I needed in a read! 

I totally recommend reading this engaging cat and mouse read when you have a day to indulge with Maud! 

My thanks to Hachette Book Group Canada, Little Brown Company and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Who Is Maud Dixon - Alexandra Andrews (Oht March 2, 2021)

Thank you so much to @hbgcanada for the gifted copy in exchange of an honest review! 

🔍🔍🔍

Florence Darrow has always felt like she lives a meager life, and when she gets fired from her editorial job, it’s looking like she may have hit the ultimate rock bottom. She believes all that is about to change when she gets to opportunity to be the assistant of the literary sensation, Maud Dixon, a pseudonym for an author who’s identity is the ultimately mystery in the literary world. 

🔍🔍🔍

Who Is Maud Dixon? had me hooked from the start! An author with a secret identity who wrote about a murder that may or may not be nonfiction?! YES PLEASE! The story is character driven and both Florence and Helen are terrible and wonderful and slightly twisted characters. I had so much fun getting to know them both! While I did find parts of the story a little slow, I loved how everything tied together at the end and had a hard time putting this one down (I read it in two sittings, WHOOPS!).


🔍🔍🔍

This book had moments that reminded me of The Safe Place, Where’d You Go Bernadette and Verity. It could definitely make a super fun drama/comedy/action film! Overall, Who Is Maud Dixon? was just such a fun read!

This was Alexandra Andrews debut novel and I will definitely be looking out for her future books! 

🔍🔍🔍

#avidreader #bookstagrammer #whoismauddixon #debutbook #whattoreadnext #hbgcanada #newbookalert #bookish #bookblogger #bookreview #readersofig #igreads #newbook #newrelease #booksta #bookstagram #booknerd

This is a debut??? Um, okay. I sense a bestseller here.

I truly couldn’t put this book down, so it was a 24 hour read for me. This is the second book to blow me away in 2021, and it’s only February!

Florence Darrow believes that she's destined to be a famous writer, so when she stumbles into a job assisting the brilliant novelist known as Maud Dixon — whose true identity is a secret — it appears the universe is finally providing Florence her big chance. But when Florence wakes up in the hospital after the two of them are in a terrible car accident, with no memory of the previous night — and no sign of Maud Dixon — she’s tempted to upgrade into a bestselling life.

---

THIS is exactly what I want in a psychological thriller. The work of Patricia Highsmith came to mind as I was reading it, because Florence Darrow is the type of dysfunctional and unsettling main character Highsmith might create. In fact, the book has some serious notes of The Talented Mr. Ripley. 

Florence is a bit of a black hole inside, unsure of who she is and what she wants, painfully neurotic when it comes to how she is perceived. She becomes obsessed with the identities of others, and she inserts herself into their lives, compelled to adopt their way of thinking, dressing and behaving. 

She isn’t just unreliable. She is CREEPY.

I was often frustrated with her for making poor decisions and engaging in self-destructive behavior, yet she was likable enough that I wanted her to make the right choices -- or at least the smart choices --  and succeed. 

I’ll also mention that the portion set in Morocco really allows the culture and country to come alive on the page, which is fun. 

But more importantly, my thriller-loving friends, the twists and turns throughout are many, and each one is unexpected and oh so satisfying. The plotting, pacing and reveals are done exceptionally well and are downright Hitchcockian. 

And I LOVED the ending. 

Honestly, just get this book and read it, okay? It is just such a fun and twisty roller coaster of a read!

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC!

This was a fantastic debut novel! The main character Florence, has been fired from her editorial job and ends up becoming assistant to the reclusive and anonymous famous writer Maud Dixon. Maud invites Florence to Morocco to do research for her upcoming book and they end up in a car accident. Florence wakes up to Maud presumed dead and decides to take over her identity. 

The book reminded me of Talented Mr. Ripley with the play on identity as well as the descriptive setting of Morocco. It had some twists and turns and was overall very intriguing and readable!

This story was a compelling literary thriller.  The main character comes from Florida to New York to work at a publishing house.  Through some unexpected developments, she ends up the assistant to a reclusive best selling author.  At first, the main character views her new boss as a mentor and someone to emulate but she soon realizes there is more than meets the eye.  I won't share too much more so as not to give away the story, but suffice it to say this is one that will keep you guessing up to the end.  Recommended.

Wow. I'm still trying to catch my breath from that ending. Not going to lie - I was a little hesitant when I read the comparison to "The Silent Patient," but Alexandra Andrews definitely lived up to the hype.

Florence is a wanna-be writer from small-town Florida, and I couldn't help but identify with her desire to just be MORE. To begin, we follow Florence from editorial assistant at a premier publisher to spurned mistress to the personal assistant of famous writer Maud Dixon - whose true identity is the big secret of the writing world. This first half is slower but so full of character development that I didn't mind even a little bit. A part of me wondered if the book had been misclassified as a thriller instead of literary fiction. 😂

Then, you turn the page exactly at the halfway point, and the other shoe drops. It was fast-paced. It was clever. It was hard to set the book down and fix my family dinner. It was outlandish. It was everything I want from a suspense novel.

I went into this book completely in the dark, I had no idea what I was reading though I read somewhere that this was going to be a well-talked about book. Since I love discovering new authors and titles, I requested this book on netgalley and I am so glad I did. As I was reading, I thought of a dozen different directions this story could be going in but I was totally thrown for a loop halfway through the book and was hooked. The thrill and uncertainty of what was going to happen next had me going until the last page. This is a book I will be recommending others to read.

A devilishly fun thriller that perfectly threads the needle between Patricia Highsmith and Gillian Flynn. There is real humanity to these characters, even as they descend further and further into an amoral morass. Alexandra Andrews absolutely kills it with novel #1.

No one knows who Maud Dixon is.  Only a few people. She is the author of the biggest book in a long time, she refuses to do interviews and any sort of press. She works alone until she suddenly needs an assistant.  Enter Florance. Florance is trying to get away from her past and make a better life for herself. When she is asked to become Helen Wilcox's assistant aka Maud Dixon she jumps at the chance. Helen wants to travel to Morocco to do research on her next book. While in Morocco the twists and turns lead the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to read what will happen next.

This  5 star read is a modern thriller tale about making one's way in the world of writing and book publishing, but it has  as many twists and turns as a novel by Charles Dickens  For those who love unique contemporary stories, WHO IS MAUD DIXON definitely fits the bill. The added bonus is that the plot revolves around an author, a wanna-be author, and the publishing industry. However, that makes this story sound boring, something it most definitely is not.  When the story begins with 26-year-old Florence and her wallflower friend Lucy working as new editorial assistants at Forrester Books, readers are drawn in by what seems like the start of an improbably successful life for Florence; her background in an economically-challenged home run by her uneducated, single mother makes her feel insecure and defensive. Even after-work happy hour gatherings with other young adults at their same company leave Florence feeling like she's an outsider looking in, and that is the weak link in her life that sets her up for the point at which "two roads diverged in a wood." 

Unfortunately, Florence takes the path led by flirtations with a man, who also happens to be married and also happens to be her boss, the editorial director at Forrester Books. Although she regrets her actions when she wakes up alone in the hotel room the next morning, she does not have enough regret to change her ways. She tries to focus on her job and all the office chit-chat about a best selling novel published under the pseudonym of Maud Dixon. Instead, Florence decides to try and blackmail her way to being a published author.

The swift retaliation within Florence's publishing house leaves her at the depths of despair one minute and at the height of exhilaration days later.  Readers will be turning the pages as fast as they can while mentally shouting warnings to Florence that there are just too many coincidences for this to be a lucky break.

This novel by Alexandra Andrews is sure to receive as many kudos as the fictional Maud Dixon novel.

A very good debut novel in the realm of psychological thrillers!  The story focuses on Florence Darrow, a young, aspiring author who has a low-paying job with a publishing company.  After she is fired because of a scandal in which she is involved, she lucks into what she considers a dream job:  a position as an assistant to Helen Wilcox, the secretive bestselling author writing under the pseudonym of Maud Dixon, about whom the publishing world is abuzz and yet whose real background and identity is completely unknown.  

After her work with Helen begins, Florence and Helen travel to Morocco to do research on the novel Helen is currently writing, but an accident soon occurs, and Helen disappears.  Now the plot seriously thickens as it moves to its climactic but satisfying ending.

Although the novel seemed to move rather slowly in the first third or so, it definitely picked up after that.  The main characters became more and more interesting (even though I did not really like them), and there were plenty of twists and turns.

Once I made some headway into this book, it definitely became a page turner, and I enjoyed it quite a lot.  I look forward to Ms. Andrews’ next work.