Bitch Factor

Dixie Flannigan #1

by Chris Rogers

Author Chris Rogers draws on her Texas roots to write the Dixie Flanagan series. Dixie is legendary in the jails of Houston, returning even the most hardened criminals to jail after they've jumped bail. Now she's on the hunt for Parker Dann, who's been accused of running down an 11-year-old girl. But when Dixie finally catches up with the fugitive, he says he didn't kill the girl. And Dixie believes him.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Action, Suspense, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Chris Rogers was born in Texas and raised in the days of EC Comics and “B” horror flicks that could chill you down to your funny bones. She resides in a small community within commute of the four major Texas metropolises, where she ghostwrites business books and memoirs while turning out her own novels and short stories. Chris has taught mystery writing at the Rice University School of Continuing Studies, the University of Houston and in private master classes. Her students have received numerous awards and acknowledgements for their works. After a career in graphic design, Chris became a writer the easy way: She read voraciously and filled blank pages with drivel until her fingers cramped and her brain defected. Eventually, she learned to craft a decipherable sentence. Author of the Dixie Flannigan series, Bitch Factor, Rage Factor, Chill Factor and Slice of Life, Chris has published stories and essays in, among others, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Writer’s Digest.

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is certainly NOT like a Stephanie Plum mystery, but it was a good read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this audio book. It's fast paced and the timing is great. I probably would have enjoyed it equally as a print book, the narration didn't add much, didn't take anything away either. I didn't figure the who done it out until at least three quarters if the way into the book which is rare for me. Either she didn't foreshadow it much or I missed it.

[Jerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea for a book poorly executed.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the opening salvo of a feisty new bounty-hunter operating out of Houston, Texas. If this is an example of the other three books in this series -- WOW! Buckle up your seat belt and get ready to ride!

Dixie Flanagan is an almost 40-year-old lawyer who got tired of aiding-and-abetting scumbags avoid jail-time for their crimes. So she decided to do something that would help the accused stay in jail - find them and escort them to the non-luxury accommodations of the Houston jail.

This first case is a doozy: Her best friend, also a lawyer, tells her that a case is going badly for a man accused of running over a child. Now that the court is closed for the Christmas holidays, the lawyer KNOWS the accused (Parker Dunn) has skipped town. She wants Dixie to find the man and haul him back to Houston before his case resumes. Dixie must do it on the quiet because if the law or courts get wind of Parker's error in judgment, he would automatically lose the case - and get a one-way ticket to jail.

This author can write action scenes with the best of them. Much of the book is an adrenalin rush; the plot moves quickly, the characters are well-rounded and the clock is ticking. Dixie is a likable heroine with skills and smarts aplenty. She is a legend among the inmates because of her clever and sometimes outrageous tricks to catch skips.

Of course, one is drawn to compare Janet Evanovich's bounty hunter with this one. For my dime, they don't operate on the same planet. Evanovich's Stephanie Plum is a cartoon: she jokes, has lusty thoughts (and acts on those thoughts) and watches as her cars are blown up by the bad guys. Lest you think I haven't read enough Evanovich to make this sweeping statement, I've read them all plus most of the other books by this author.

Roger's Dixie is a driven woman; her back story plays an important part in this particular story. Dixie bleeds and makes mistakes - she's real. The only thing I thought was tacky was the title; the coarsening of American English is a pet concern of mine. But as a new author, I presume she wanted to make a splash at the book stores; certainly, the title gets one's attention. 5 stars

Dixie Flanagan
1. Bitch Factor (1998)
2. Rage Factor (1999)
3. Chill Factor (2000)
4. Slice of Life (2012)

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I probably wouldn’t normally pick a up a book called ‘Bitch Factor’ or even a book with bitch in the title. I’m not morally opposed or anything, it’s just generally not my cup of tea. Past my middle school years (when I was completely enthralled with all things John Grisham), I haven’t really been into many mysteries out side of cozy foodie/bookshop/coffeehouse kinds or the kind that aren’t always shelved in mystery like Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Kate Morton… literary awesomeness built in mysterious layers.

To be fair, Chris Rogers sucked me in with the cover of Slice of Life and her sparkling personality. She is a fantastic lady, and I really enjoyed talking with her at the latest Half Price Books Humble book signing. Getting a copy of Slice of Life made me a little leery, it’s a ways into the Dixie Flannigan series, and last time I did that was the Elizabeth George review for Believing the Lie and I felt like a fish out of water. So I began Bitch Factor, the first of the series.

I DEVOURED IT.

I’ll put that in regular font so it’s easier to quote, if anyone is feeling quotey: Chris Rogers’ storytelling is so riveting that when I read her book, I devoured it.

Dixie Flannigan is a bad ass. She’s a believable bad ass. As a female black belt Kung Fu instructor, I get a little frustrated with women who think they can handle more than they can. Be confident. Be awesome. Stay fit, stay trained. But sometimes you have to acknowledge the fact that at 120 pounds and five feet tall, there are some limitations you may face when dealing with 180-200 pound men – like size and strength. In those situations, you have to think your way through. You have to be careful, aware, and plan in numerous contingencies. Dixie Flannigan is awesome because, for once, she does just that… without whining. Whiny, helpless heroines are worse than over confident unrealistic ones. Dixie is perfectly balanced.

Rogers took a story of a female bounty hunter, inspired by a chat she had with a taxi cab driver, and ran with it. Often compared to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, there are two things about Chris Rogers and Dixie Flannigan you should know: 1. Dixie actually knows what she’s doing, where (at least in the first installment) Plum seems to flail around until something happens. 2. Rogers’ writing isn’t tainted by a history of writing romance novels, it’s higher quality work. Oh, and, now I shall add a third… I have nothing against Evanovich or Stephanie Plum, I’m just deeply surprised it’s the more popular series right now.

On top of that, Dixie Flannigan (like her creator) is from the Houston area. It’s so refreshing to have someone write Houston well. Dixie Flannigan isn’t just kick ass, she’s kick ass from my home town. She pops in and out of Spring Branch, she visits The Heights, she drives down 59. The familiarity of it all is a lovely break from all the many, many mysteries set in Detroit, New York City, and Chicago… places I’ve never been. Even if you don’t read mysteries, if you’re from Texas – this book is for you.

I have it on good authority that you don’t have to read these stories in order, so I plan to skip onto Slice of Life since it’s sitting on my nightstand (that’s typically a cardinal sin in my house). I do plan to collect and read the whole series though, it’s too fantastic not to.

Read more of my reviews at: http://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally put this on my Recorded Books wishlist after listening to the superbly written Domestic Equalizers. This series is also fabulously narrated by Peggity Price....I wanted to hear more of what she'd voiced and looked her up on the audiobook site and found Chris Rogers and her creation of Dixie Flanagan. YAY! I'm not sure how long it might have taken me to find this fab thriller of a series otherwise. And I'd have missed out on some kind of cool bitch that is Dixie Flanagan.
Now, I say 'bitch' in the best possible way. Dixie is the tough investigator, smart, always gets her bail jumper...her methods are rougher than most and the bail jumpers are the ones calling her 'bitch'. I like her. She doesn't take any crap and she has the best dog, named MUD (Mean Ugly Dog).
The description of the book says that it's clever, funny and entertaining...it is...but it's also a thriller that had me skimming some sections due to the content. There were references of child abuse of the worst kind and I had a difficult time listening to those parts, so skipped them without losing the thread of the story.
I liked watching Dixie in action, especially her run-ins with her quarry, Parker Dann. It was a lot of back and forth sparks, suspicion of each other, and more prickly sparks.
Dixie likes mysteries in her reading, one of her favorite authors is Dick Francis (like me) and her favorite of his books is WHIP HAND (same as me), so that was an endearing aspect.
The suspects were all varied with truly grim motives each and plenty of twisted twists and turns...gripping as hell.
Five gripping as hell (and a dog named MUD) beans.....

[Seb Glints · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know those books you just can't put down? Yeah, this isn't one of those. I think that's why it took me such a long time to read it. I can't really find any other reason.
It's not a bad book. It's... entertaining. It's the typical story you read on a bored summer vacation when you just don't want to think about anything and you need to get distracted. It's not trascendental. It's kind of slow. Things don't get actively interesting and there's no real action up until page 40 or so, and then getting to another good part seems to happen only on the last 40 pages - and it's a 319 page book, you wouldn't expect it to take so long.
Basically, there's this guy who is accused of a hit and run so he flees the state, and Dixie, our heroine, is a bounty hunter who gets hired to bring him back. She clearly has the hots for him but she doesn't realize like up until half of the book, but she starts believing he's not guilty once he gets to know him, so she decides to help him. She starts an investigation that is basically THE LONGEST INVESTIGATION EVER and when she puts all the pieces together you find the results really predictable. The whole thing is slow, just like her with the guy.
I think the main reason I'm disappointed is because there's a lot of "reviews" on the cover saying it's a really awesome book. But it's not. Why do editors feel the need to do that? It's misleading. This is a normal, regular book. I'm giving it away, maybe someone out there enjoys it, so it's up for grabs. Yours if you want it. I wouldn't even look for the supposed sequel. Get me outta here already!

[Carl Brookins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A debut novel by an author who writes with authority, clarity, and tells a very good story. The title and cover hype shouldn’t put readers off. Someone has tried to position this female bounty hunter and ex assistant district attorney, into a hard-surfaced, prickly, woman who is supposed to have all the aggressive, macho attributes of some western male lawman. It isn’t true, which in no way detracts from a fine story or an interesting, worthwhile character.

Dixie Flannigan is a Houston, Texas, based bounty hunter. She’s smart, competent, beset by an aggravating family, and seems to be the kind of interesting personality one would enjoy hanging out with. Her moral construct is strong and believable. She has a wide range of fascinating friends who are sometimes able to assist her in logical ways.

If the story sags a bit in the middle, the premise holds up well and the last third is a tense,
bounding race to a surprising conclusion. A worthy effort.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If we were allowed half stars, I would give this a 2.5
I though this sounded like a copycat of the Plum series, but I decided to give it a try. The similarities are obvious, but the characters and settings are different enough that it isnt constantly screaming 'Plum rip-off'. The character is more like a combination of Cornwell's Scarpetta and Evanovich's Plum.

There were a ton of loose ends in this book. I don't care to go into them all. I won't read another in this series, but it was ok enough for me to finish. Nothing suspenseful, really, and nothing new. Just an ok book (that drew a lot of glances and attention as I read it on the train for 2 days, due to the bright color and name).

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read (listen). I wasn't sure what to make of this book at first, as one other reviewer mentioned, a kind of serious Stephanie Plum. I think the author could have set up the bounty hunter business better. And there is no explanation of how she managed to catch up and find a car which had a 5 hours head start (she finally manages in South Dakota after chasing from Texas)but, all things being equal it held my interest while spending way too much time trying to plow myself out from under all this damn snow we're having. And so far, 11 hours of listening is no where near enough. Good thing I have about 400 years of listening backed up.

[Burton Holderness · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book as well as the sequel. I was always sad that the series didn't continue. The female Texan bounty hunter was strong and vulnerable without being cartooning. I also loved her doberman MAD - Mean Ass Dog. Very witty.

[Judy King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent mystery -- certainly not a cozy, but still had a good deal of humor and heart -- the author kept me guessing with this Texas story right up to the end. Got a lot more than I expected with this one.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for something to read at the time and came across Chris Rogers. Dixie is very entertaining in a serious sort of way. Kinda like Stephanie Plum but more serious.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in a too short series involving a Houston, Texas female P.I. named Dixie Flanagan. It is well told, with a lot of action, humor and suspense. I loved this series!!!!!

[Janis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an OK change of pace from Stephanie Plum. Not funny like Evanovich, tho.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 1 out of 5]

liked the female protaganist..but the plot left something to be desired.