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Dix Dodd Mystery #1
The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen
Tired of getting no respect at the big P.I. firm where she's worked for years, Dix Dodd has hung out her own shingle at the ripe age of 40. There are plenty of cheating husbands to go around, and Dix has a knack for busting them. Problem is, it doesn't always pay so well. Conscious that the guys back at the old firm are laying bets about how soon she'll come crawling back, she figures she's got six months to make a go of it.
The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm's interests, she hired him on the spot. In addition to being smart, he's gorgeous enough to remind her she's a woman. And at 28, young enough to make her feel like a total cougar.
Things start looking up when Dix gets hired by millionaire businessman Ned Weatherby's wife Jennifer Weatherby, to tail Ned 24/7 for a week, for a cool ten grand. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong! The job lands Dix in the middle of a murder investigation - with her as the prime suspect and her arch-enemy Detective Richard Head (a.k.a., Dickhead, one of the cheating husbands she'd nailed) gunning for her.
Dix will need all her ingenuity, as well as the help of Dylan and her oddball cast of supporters to extricate herself from this one.
The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm's interests, she hired him on the spot. In addition to being smart, he's gorgeous enough to remind her she's a woman. And at 28, young enough to make her feel like a total cougar.
Things start looking up when Dix gets hired by millionaire businessman Ned Weatherby's wife Jennifer Weatherby, to tail Ned 24/7 for a week, for a cool ten grand. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong! The job lands Dix in the middle of a murder investigation - with her as the prime suspect and her arch-enemy Detective Richard Head (a.k.a., Dickhead, one of the cheating husbands she'd nailed) gunning for her.
Dix will need all her ingenuity, as well as the help of Dylan and her oddball cast of supporters to extricate herself from this one.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2011
405 people are currently reading
1775 people want to read
About the author
N.L. Wilson
7 books13 followersN.L. Wilson is the writing team of Norah Wilson and Heather Doherty. Norah is best known for her romantic suspense and paranormal romance, while Heather Doherty is published in literary. Together they write the hilarious Dix Dodd mysteries under the name N.L. Wilson. They also write paranormal romance together under the name Wilson Doherty, and more recently under their joint names.
Both Norah and Heather reside in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Writing the light and funny Dix Dodd mysteries is a welcome change of pace for both of them.
Source: Smashwords author page
Both Norah and Heather reside in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Writing the light and funny Dix Dodd mysteries is a welcome change of pace for both of them.
Source: Smashwords author page
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
February 5, 2017
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
This was somewhere between "OK", and "I liked it." I really liked the fact that the main character is a 40 year old lady PI, and thought the synopsis sounded intriguing, but it didn't quite come together for me.
I mean, for someone who was supposed to have been a PI for many years, Dix (our main character) sure seemed to miss a lot of what I thought were very obvious clues. I had the murderer figured out pretty early on and would get so frustrated when she couldn't put it all together sooner. She also did a couple of things I thought fell into TSTL territory, especially with a murder charge hanging over her head.
I also felt the book tried way too hard to be funny. While I did find some things amusing, I didn't laugh nearly as much as I think I was supposed to.
One thing I did like was the potential for a relationship between Dix and the younger man (he's 28 to her 40) who works for her, Dylan. The attraction is there on both sides, but I'm afraid it's going to get bogged down in "Oh, he's too young for me! I can't!" type stuff, and it shouldn't.
Speaking of Dylan, he apparently has magical color changing eyes. The first couple times they were mentioned, they were brown, and then after that they were suddenly blue. Oooops.
Anyway, it got better towards the end, and I liked some of the supporting characters, but overall it just didn't hook me enough to want to continue with the series.
This was somewhere between "OK", and "I liked it." I really liked the fact that the main character is a 40 year old lady PI, and thought the synopsis sounded intriguing, but it didn't quite come together for me.
I mean, for someone who was supposed to have been a PI for many years, Dix (our main character) sure seemed to miss a lot of what I thought were very obvious clues. I had the murderer figured out pretty early on and would get so frustrated when she couldn't put it all together sooner. She also did a couple of things I thought fell into TSTL territory, especially with a murder charge hanging over her head.
I also felt the book tried way too hard to be funny. While I did find some things amusing, I didn't laugh nearly as much as I think I was supposed to.
One thing I did like was the potential for a relationship between Dix and the younger man (he's 28 to her 40) who works for her, Dylan. The attraction is there on both sides, but I'm afraid it's going to get bogged down in "Oh, he's too young for me! I can't!" type stuff, and it shouldn't.
Speaking of Dylan, he apparently has magical color changing eyes. The first couple times they were mentioned, they were brown, and then after that they were suddenly blue. Oooops.
Anyway, it got better towards the end, and I liked some of the supporting characters, but overall it just didn't hook me enough to want to continue with the series.
May 17, 2015
am not a fan of "narraration". I don't know if that's the proper term, but it's when the character is talking to YOU. Not first person, or POV.
That being said, by the time I was thinking, hmmm, this is predictable, I know who it is, I was 48% in. Real genius on my part.
About 60% in I was getting a little tired of the character talking to herself. She is supposed to be 40, but I've only read characters in FSOG "mentally high five themselves". That's what some of Dix dialog was like, Ana talking to herself in the book, and I hated FSOG. I liked Dylan, but there chemistry mid book just had me rolling my eyes. Dix got on my nerves unfortunately. Had the self talking happened earlier in the book, I would not have read as much as I did. I really wanted to drop it around the 70% mark, but too much ventured & still time on my flight to not resolve the mystery.
It had some good humor. Loved the part about the feminine hygiene products - very accurately funny!
As soon as the book confirmed my guess was right, I stopped reading. I won't continue any more of this series.
That being said, by the time I was thinking, hmmm, this is predictable, I know who it is, I was 48% in. Real genius on my part.
About 60% in I was getting a little tired of the character talking to herself. She is supposed to be 40, but I've only read characters in FSOG "mentally high five themselves". That's what some of Dix dialog was like, Ana talking to herself in the book, and I hated FSOG. I liked Dylan, but there chemistry mid book just had me rolling my eyes. Dix got on my nerves unfortunately. Had the self talking happened earlier in the book, I would not have read as much as I did. I really wanted to drop it around the 70% mark, but too much ventured & still time on my flight to not resolve the mystery.
It had some good humor. Loved the part about the feminine hygiene products - very accurately funny!
As soon as the book confirmed my guess was right, I stopped reading. I won't continue any more of this series.
November 6, 2019
An interesting beginning of a new series. Dix is real hoot. Going to be looking for the next one in the series.
June 18, 2018
Awesome
This book was great!! This book was serious and funny as heck. Dylan and Dix are a great team, on and off the clock. Dix has only had her own PI business a short while, but s he is smart and knows her stuff. She was in quite the predicament but with help from Dylan and a couple of friends she solved the problem and kept herself out of trouble. I hope you enjoy it too.
This book was great!! This book was serious and funny as heck. Dylan and Dix are a great team, on and off the clock. Dix has only had her own PI business a short while, but s he is smart and knows her stuff. She was in quite the predicament but with help from Dylan and a couple of friends she solved the problem and kept herself out of trouble. I hope you enjoy it too.
August 29, 2016
I received this eBook for free from Amazon for an honest review.
Initially this book has a slow start with a plot hard that is hard to believe since the main character, Dix Dodd, is a murder suspect although she has two witnesses who see her in front of the house while the victim is being murdered. The story lingers for a while, not here or there, and it doesn’t help that the reader doesn’t know much of the characters, this being the first book in the series. However the book has an amazing ending which pulls all of the contents of the book and all the characters together, making sense out of all the chapters of the book. By the end, you start to relate and care about most of the characters, see the big picture, and find yourself wanting to read more about these characters in the sequels. There are no graphic violence or sexual content in the book, but it was a major turn off for me reading way too many four letter words. Four and a half stars.
Initially this book has a slow start with a plot hard that is hard to believe since the main character, Dix Dodd, is a murder suspect although she has two witnesses who see her in front of the house while the victim is being murdered. The story lingers for a while, not here or there, and it doesn’t help that the reader doesn’t know much of the characters, this being the first book in the series. However the book has an amazing ending which pulls all of the contents of the book and all the characters together, making sense out of all the chapters of the book. By the end, you start to relate and care about most of the characters, see the big picture, and find yourself wanting to read more about these characters in the sequels. There are no graphic violence or sexual content in the book, but it was a major turn off for me reading way too many four letter words. Four and a half stars.
August 30, 2014
Warning: this book was laugh out loud funny so if you are a fan of serious mysteries, don't waste your time. However, if you are in need of a good laugh, enjoy the occasional light-hearted story, and like your characters full of spunk, then you must check this one out. Personally, I needed a good laugh and this fit the bill. Dix Dodd is a PI. Dylan is her assistant. When Dix is framed for murder, the two of them work to clear her name. You'll meet the quirky Mrs. Presley who hides Dix out at her motel, the hard-ass detective, Richard Head, who Dix sarcastically refers to as Dickhead, and a whole host of suspects in this entertaining whodunit. If you're looking for something enjoyable to pass the time with, you need to give this a try.
June 11, 2011
Private detective Dix Dodd isn't having a good day. She's been framed for murder, is on the lam from the police, and she's hiding out in a cheap motel with her only change of clean underwear a glow in the dark thong. Fortunately she's got a super hot (and somewhat younger) male assistant. And cookies.
I found this book to be a really fun, fast read. Similar to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. Really looking forward to the next in the series.
I found this book to be a really fun, fast read. Similar to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. Really looking forward to the next in the series.
January 20, 2014
I couldn't finish it. For a PI her instincts are not that good. I had several things figured out before the story did and can see the next twist coming. Thankfully it was a freebie and I have plenty more to read.
May 31, 2020
#1 in the Dix Dodd Mystery series
There was actually nothing wrong with this book, but it took me longer to read than it should have. It was easy to put it down and harder to pick it back up again. Dix is an OK main character. She is a PI, having left a male-dominated agency and started on her own, with the help of a young ex-lawyer named Dylan. They make a great team, although Dix has been having warmer thoughts about Dylan than she thinks she should, even though Dylan also seems to be interested. (I suspect that love interest will develop in future books.) Dix's specialty is catching cheating husbands. Unfortunately one of the husbands she caught was the local police detective, which means he's on her case about everything. When she's framed for a murder, he's all over it, anxious to put her in jail and throw away the key. Dix has to work on her own to clear her name and reveal the murderer. The story was fine, the characters were fairly well developed, but I just couldn't drum up a lot of interest. Since it could have just been my current mood, I'll try the next in the series to give it another chance.
There was actually nothing wrong with this book, but it took me longer to read than it should have. It was easy to put it down and harder to pick it back up again. Dix is an OK main character. She is a PI, having left a male-dominated agency and started on her own, with the help of a young ex-lawyer named Dylan. They make a great team, although Dix has been having warmer thoughts about Dylan than she thinks she should, even though Dylan also seems to be interested. (I suspect that love interest will develop in future books.) Dix's specialty is catching cheating husbands. Unfortunately one of the husbands she caught was the local police detective, which means he's on her case about everything. When she's framed for a murder, he's all over it, anxious to put her in jail and throw away the key. Dix has to work on her own to clear her name and reveal the murderer. The story was fine, the characters were fairly well developed, but I just couldn't drum up a lot of interest. Since it could have just been my current mood, I'll try the next in the series to give it another chance.
September 20, 2017
Good Mystery Private Detective Novel
Norah Wilson had a LOT of fun writing this! I really enjoyed reading it, an it actually kept me guessing until the last pages...about several things... The author continues to make quite a few pun-ish comments throughout the book...and she is good! She does a wonderful job of making readers guess about several discrete plot lines as the story develops. Readers won't just be guessing about who committed the crime.
The characters are over-the-top, but some are probably recognizable archetypes in many communities. I was favorably impressed by the story as it developed: the protagonist changes as she overcomes each particular problem.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS A FUN AND FUNNY PRIVATE DETECTIVE/MYSTERY NOVEL!
Norah Wilson had a LOT of fun writing this! I really enjoyed reading it, an it actually kept me guessing until the last pages...about several things... The author continues to make quite a few pun-ish comments throughout the book...and she is good! She does a wonderful job of making readers guess about several discrete plot lines as the story develops. Readers won't just be guessing about who committed the crime.
The characters are over-the-top, but some are probably recognizable archetypes in many communities. I was favorably impressed by the story as it developed: the protagonist changes as she overcomes each particular problem.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS A FUN AND FUNNY PRIVATE DETECTIVE/MYSTERY NOVEL!
November 25, 2016
Detective Dix, One of a Kind
This novel reads like a Five star so don't pay attention to my rating of Four. Characters, action, and plot(s), will glue you to the pages and keep you up at night. The extra star was taken due to the excessive male chauvinist attacks the author dreamed up. I have worked 50 years in many areas of business and found a few ignorant men who degraded women, but also just as many women that degraded men. Always found one thing to be true, the worst enemy of women in management was OTHER women. And most women management personnel know it!!
This novel reads like a Five star so don't pay attention to my rating of Four. Characters, action, and plot(s), will glue you to the pages and keep you up at night. The extra star was taken due to the excessive male chauvinist attacks the author dreamed up. I have worked 50 years in many areas of business and found a few ignorant men who degraded women, but also just as many women that degraded men. Always found one thing to be true, the worst enemy of women in management was OTHER women. And most women management personnel know it!!
January 24, 2018
Meet Dix Dodd
A well planned murder mystery with surprises of all sorts: a female PI, her assistant, her uninhibited 70 year old mother, the owner/operator of a "by the hour" hotel-complete with her protective bouncer sons and the list goes on....fun and I had not worked out all of the twists and turns of the plot by the end 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
A well planned murder mystery with surprises of all sorts: a female PI, her assistant, her uninhibited 70 year old mother, the owner/operator of a "by the hour" hotel-complete with her protective bouncer sons and the list goes on....fun and I had not worked out all of the twists and turns of the plot by the end 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
August 10, 2018
Great
I really enjoyed this cozy. Dix Dodd is a smart mouthed private detective who managed to get herself into quite a jam doing some investigation for a flashy new client. Her arch nemesis Detective Richard Head has his hands full trying to arrest this slippery PI, whose quirky friends are determined to help.
I really enjoyed this cozy. Dix Dodd is a smart mouthed private detective who managed to get herself into quite a jam doing some investigation for a flashy new client. Her arch nemesis Detective Richard Head has his hands full trying to arrest this slippery PI, whose quirky friends are determined to help.
August 7, 2020
2.5 Stars. Mature (aka middle-aged) female PI strikes out on her own and opens her own business. With a young, hunky former-lawyer assistant, they take a case for a wife suspecting her husband of cheating for a hefty fee. When her client winds up murdered, Dix is in the hot seat as the primary suspect. Some sexual content and language if you're opposed to such things. Amusing at times.
July 21, 2024
Hilarious! More please...
I found this high quality cozy mystery to be hilarious and upbeat, and loaded with interesting characters. The feel is overall realistic, with good sleuthing and the pacing is fast and exciting. I went ahead and bought the rest of the books in the series!
I found this high quality cozy mystery to be hilarious and upbeat, and loaded with interesting characters. The feel is overall realistic, with good sleuthing and the pacing is fast and exciting. I went ahead and bought the rest of the books in the series!
June 26, 2017
Great story
I love Dix, she one tough cookie. This story was full of surprises. I only have one objection, I hate seeing a good author waste dialogue using the "f" word. It is totally unnecessary.
I love Dix, she one tough cookie. This story was full of surprises. I only have one objection, I hate seeing a good author waste dialogue using the "f" word. It is totally unnecessary.
July 14, 2017
A good mystery and a great laugh. I loved the quirky PI whose intuition is her best weapon. I liked how the lead characters formed a team with mutual respect and humor. If you like mysteries and want to laugh out loud, this is your book.
March 26, 2019
Femme fatale noir
A female private investigator and her better than average, overly loyal secretary/assistant. Always in trouble, always having fun. A fun story that makes you want to read another.
A female private investigator and her better than average, overly loyal secretary/assistant. Always in trouble, always having fun. A fun story that makes you want to read another.
November 14, 2019
Loved it!
Characters you'll love and root for! Suspenseful twists and turns. A surprise towards the end! Leaves you wanting to read the rest in the series! Even evokes a laugh or two along the way!!
Characters you'll love and root for! Suspenseful twists and turns. A surprise towards the end! Leaves you wanting to read the rest in the series! Even evokes a laugh or two along the way!!
April 11, 2020
Will hold your attention until the end. Did have the murderer wrong, not whom i expected, would love to read another one of her books
Good attention grabber, couldn't wait to find out who the murderer was. Would love to read another one of her books
Good attention grabber, couldn't wait to find out who the murderer was. Would love to read another one of her books
October 5, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this laugh out loud story. The characters were quirky but believable. The story paced well and kept my interest as well as kept me guessing who did it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a humorous mystery.
November 19, 2021
Enjoyable enough
Not a cozy due to language, which I have been reading for months, but an enjoyable read. Sometimes the main character is irritating in her poor decisions, but plausible. I would read another. Any editing issues were minor.
Not a cozy due to language, which I have been reading for months, but an enjoyable read. Sometimes the main character is irritating in her poor decisions, but plausible. I would read another. Any editing issues were minor.
January 3, 2023
A very entertaining read!
Murder mystery and comedy intertwined all the way to the end.
There's several clues aka red herrings in this story.
I wasn't able to guess "who dun it" in this book at all.
Murder mystery and comedy intertwined all the way to the end.
There's several clues aka red herrings in this story.
I wasn't able to guess "who dun it" in this book at all.
July 21, 2024
I found this high quality cozy mystery to be hilarious and upbeat, and loaded with interesting characters. The feel is overall realistic and the pacing is fast and exciting. I went ahead and bought the rest of the books in the series!
February 28, 2017
A fast paced murder mystery. There is suspense as well. Worth a read
July 15, 2017
Fun to read
The case of the flashing fashion queen has many twists and turns and humour. It is an easy book to read.
The case of the flashing fashion queen has many twists and turns and humour. It is an easy book to read.
November 27, 2017
Greatly enjoyed this book till the last chapter with the trite ending of gathering all of the suspects at the scene of the crime to unveil the murderer.
December 1, 2017
Funny who-done-it!
January 30, 2018
Quick, fun easy read with good plot twist.
March 4, 2018
Entertaining mystery
Dix Dodd is an engaging heroine, and the cast of helpers is equally likeable and relatable. An entertaining read with a few laughs along the way.
Dix Dodd is an engaging heroine, and the cast of helpers is equally likeable and relatable. An entertaining read with a few laughs along the way.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews