Customer Reviews

A Little Death In Dixie

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

If you're a fan of suspense novels, you'll love this Southern gothic police procedural which is sure to find a home on your keeper shelf. It's full of twists and turns that keep you guessing as you follow Detective Danny Able through his search for the missing socialite, with whom he shares a past, and his search for the sordid truth about his partner, whom he'd elevated to father-figure status. Memphis has always been one of my favorite cities, and Ms. Turner brings it to vibrant life, giving you a tour of Memphis's high society as well as the city's dark underbelly.

I'm a master mystery solver. I read very few books whose ending I can't figure out long before I'm there, but A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXE has a fantastic ending that I never saw coming. Thank you, Ms. Turner, for a wonderful read!

A Little Death In Dixie provides a fascinating insight into the world of law enforcement, and the corruption sometimes found there. The novel opens with a murder scene in Memphis, Tennessee. As the reader immediately gets involved in the drama, we discover that this crime isn't what's important to the story the author is telling us, but the reactions of the officers investigating the crime do become integral to the story, as we will soon see. Shortly after the introductory scenes, a woman is reported missing. Debut author, Lisa Turner has taken you by the hand to lead you through a non-stop, page turning, not-to-be missed thriller. In addition to the well-written and tightly plotted novel, this book also includes a full dozen reader discussion questions that encourage the reader to do some thinking about the story.

Every now and then, I am surprised by the intensity of the way a new novel will grab me. In fact, several times this year, the intense novels have been written by authors making their debut in the publishing world. A Little Death in Dixie is one of those. Recommended for readers age 17 and up who love mysteries with one caviat. If you are offended by coarse language, there is a little of it in this novel... but not nearly as much as you find in other new books and the offensive language - used here as an element of character development - does not detract from the reader's enjoyment of the story.

This book was provided to me free by the publisher in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously published on Dragon Views, LibraryThing and Amazon.com

A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE is a very well written novel that includes plenty of those quirky, unique to the South characters that make a good mystery even better. I was so immersed in the story that I often felt that I was standing in the middle of a movie scene--Lisa Turner's descriptive powers and attention to detail are that good. Her references to real Memphis "characters", businesses, and landmarks kept me, again, right in the middle of the fast paced action. A true homerun for Ms. Turner's first novel!

This is a very solid debut mystery, and I look forward to seeing more of this author's work as her writing matures.

I did have some frustration with the characters themselves; they seemed shallow and disconnected, even though the author linked them together with with various long and short term relationships. Certain conversations and circumstances were just not very believable, with the exception of the trail of destruction an addict can leave behind, and the frustrating blindness of codependency.

However, it IS a work of fiction, and overall it's a job well done.

Wish I could give it a higher review, but I will reserve that for this obviously talented author's future works.

I lived in Memphis and was very excited about this book. It did not disappoint. The story line was suspenseful and it was great fun to know the locale. I thought it was going to be predictable, but oh was I wrong. Great job!

This is a terrific book. It ranks in the top 5 of the last 100 detective stories I've read. The characters are richly complex, the plotting is superb, and atmospherics are beautifully created. Her depiction of Memphis life is almost Faulknerian. Lisa Turner kept me turning pages from the moment I started the book. Kudos. (I'll be willing to pay considerably more than $0.99 for her next book.) My Kindle can hardly wait.

I have been watching that new show "Memphis" so this book called out to me. It's a Southern Gothic novel and reminds me of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." Lots of hot summer nights, drinking, memories of old lovers and of course The Blues. The plot twists around and around till you think you know what's going on, and then the end comes out of nowhere. Usually I prefer a mystery where you are given enough clues to figure it out along with the police, but part of the story is the shock of the whole thing. Great book.

A quick pace, unpredictable plot and a few surprise twists and turns make for a brisk read. I enjoyed the character development and descriptive writing about the setting of the story. I'm inclined to make a trip to Memphis and the surrounding area after reading the book, something I'd never given any thought to before. I'm looking forward to Ms. Turner's next book!

Excellent read. If you enjoy character driven mysteries, this is for you. The Memphis backdrop was terrific. I am looking forward to more from this author.

Very well written. Great character development. Great mystery. Just plain good book. Will look for more by this author.