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A review by annamickreads
Who is Maud Dixon?: A Novel by Alexandra Andrews
3.0
Although this book is comp'd to "The Devil Wears Prada," I would say it's probably closer to "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
Florence Darrow is a young literary assistant who desires to have her own work recognized, especially when compared to her seemingly over-achieving officemate, Amanda. When she begins an affair with one of her bosses, she's quickly fired from her job with no prospects — that is, until she gets a mysterious phone call asking if she's willing to be the personal assistant for the deeply elusive bestselling author Maud Dixon (which is also a pseudonym).
Initially, I was loath to call this a thriller because the "thriller" elements don't really kick in until 1/3 of the way through the book. Some of the exposition sets up what we could've predicted would be Florence's pattern of behavior based on the back cover; her ambition, obsession, bit of delusion, desperation to be something greater while also feeling the ire of never living up to her mother's expectations.
The pacing of this book is nuts because once Florence actually meets "Maud," things start to gear up and completely take off the last 1/4 of the book. I feel like most of the book was pretty even until the end, when it rocketed off the rails.
That said, something I could appreciate is the uniqueness of the situation - I think I went into this book presuming Florence would be a force of her own undoing but found myself pleasantly surprised to see "Maud" with a few tricks up her sleeve as well.
Florence Darrow is a young literary assistant who desires to have her own work recognized, especially when compared to her seemingly over-achieving officemate, Amanda. When she begins an affair with one of her bosses, she's quickly fired from her job with no prospects — that is, until she gets a mysterious phone call asking if she's willing to be the personal assistant for the deeply elusive bestselling author Maud Dixon (which is also a pseudonym).
Initially, I was loath to call this a thriller because the "thriller" elements don't really kick in until 1/3 of the way through the book. Some of the exposition sets up what we could've predicted would be Florence's pattern of behavior based on the back cover; her ambition, obsession, bit of delusion, desperation to be something greater while also feeling the ire of never living up to her mother's expectations.
The pacing of this book is nuts because once Florence actually meets "Maud," things start to gear up and completely take off the last 1/4 of the book. I feel like most of the book was pretty even until the end, when it rocketed off the rails.
That said, something I could appreciate is the uniqueness of the situation - I think I went into this book presuming Florence would be a force of her own undoing but found myself pleasantly surprised to see "Maud" with a few tricks up her sleeve as well.