The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss (A Dahlia Moss Mystery)

by Max Wirestone

The odds of Dahlia successfully navigating adulthood are 3,720 to 1. But never tell her the odds.

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. Unemployed broke, and on her last bowl of ramen, she's not living her best life. But that's all about to change.

Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she's offered a job. A job that she's woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).

Turns out unfortunate decisions abound, and she's just the girl to deal with them.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

5 of 5 stars

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Rating: 4.5 Stars - rounded up, because I laughed so robustly and often while reading this book

In the "meet the author" page, Wirestone states that he observed that he observed, that his mystery readers and geek readers were increasingly the same. This was the inspiration for Dahlia Moss, and I have to say, he delivered.

This is the story of Dahlia Moss. She's in her mid-twenties, and constantly "between jobs". Her life was not headed in the best direction, when she is hired as a private detective to recover a spear, that was stolen, from an online RPG game. She embraces her inner Jessica Fletcher, and embarks on her journey to find the spear, and along the way, she finds some friends, herself, and her purpose.

Dahlia is a hilarious PI, who is reminiscent of Veronica Mars. I found her escapades utterly amusing, and her endless interactions with zany characters added to the hilarity.

I am not a gamer, but I am a little geeky, and geek-ily aware. I loved all the pop culture references (really, Susan Powter, I have not thought of her in years), and I just really hope this turns into a series.

Great heroine - Yes
Awesome supporting cast - Yes
Absorbing story/mystery - Yes

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 January, 2016: Finished reading
  • 20 January, 2016: Reviewed