Turning Trixie


Fiction - Southern
260 Pages
Reviewed on 01/10/2023
Buy on Amazon

Author Biography

In addition to a career as a newspaper editor, publisher, and manager, Robb Grindstaff has written fiction most of his life. The newspaper biz has taken him and his family from Phoenix, Arizona, to small towns in North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, from seven years in Washington, D.C., to five years in Asia. Born and raised a small-town kid, he’s as comfortable in Tokyo or Tuna, Texas.

The variety of places he’s lived and visited serve as settings for the characters who invade his head.

Robb retired from the newspaper business in the summer of 2020 to write and edit fiction full time.

"Trixie was just one of those characters who show up in my head and demand I tell their stories. In her case, it was the rags-to-riches tale, but also a story of redemption and finding your place in the world, set in a small town where everyone knows your name--for good and bad--and people who won't always accept you."

    Book Review

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

In Turning Trixie, Robb Grindstaff introduces the 23-year-old single mother of 8-year-old Ty, whose lives were irrevocably changed when Trixie won millions in Powerball. Before the big win, Trixie’s only means of supporting her son was through her “personal services bid’ness” of prostitution. With the win, Trixie eagerly grabbed the chance to turn her life around, become respectable, and atone for her “sins” by helping her community financially. But will the women in her small town whose husbands are pillars of the community by day and Trixie’s former clients by night accept her as one of them, and what about those who see Trixie’s good fortune as a way to line their own pockets?

Every so often while I was reading Turning Trixie, a delightful Southern novel, I found myself wondering about the author’s gender. Is Robb Grindstaff a male? Well, yes, indeed he is, but what a superb understanding he has of how and why women think and act as they do. What’s even more impressive is Grindstaff’s ability to create such an authentic and relatable protagonist. What came as a surprise to some of the townspeople is that, despite her poor grammar and colloquial speech, Trixie is no dumb country bunny. She is a wonderful mother to Ty, and with the help of honest advisors, capable of wise business decisions. Grindstaff keeps us smiling as the loveable and kindly Trixie gains the support of those who recognize her goodness, earns the love of a good man, gets the better of those who wish her harm, and wins our hearts as well. Through a refreshingly different plot, easy-flowing and natural dialogue, light humor, and excellent characterization, Grindstaff has written a most enjoyable tale. He follows the writing edict of “show, don’t tell” and that, for me, is 5-star writing. He is my kind of author and I’m ready for more. Keep these novels coming.

Susan van der Walt

In Turning Trixie by Robb Grindstaff, readers discover that Trixie had made many wrong choices in her life. She fell pregnant when she looked for love and acceptance in the wrong places as a teenager. Ty, now eight years old, is the joy in her life. But to care for him, she had to engage in the personal service business - not her favorite career choice. Winning the Powerball lottery gave Trixie a chance to turn her life around. Besides buying a house for her momma and a home and Corvette for herself, Trixie planned to donate money to worthy causes and be accepted back into society. But the due diligence her accountant suggested uncovered many instances of corruption and unethical behavior, defeating her efforts to regain respectability.

Robb Grindstaff weaves an engaging tale of life in a small town. He shows that people are never only good or bad. Always living on the fringes of society, Trixie had to realize that many people in the group she wanted to join would stop at nothing to protect their secrets. I loved Trixie as a character. Judged by many for her career choice, she had a good heart, and because of her hardships, she wanted to help others. As a lottery winner, she became the target of a crooked childcare worker, but she fought fiercely for her son. Turning Trixie will show you that being yourself is often the best way to win people over and how their support helps us to overcome many challenges. I could relate to Trixie's struggle with guilt and self-esteem and her yearning to belong.

Jennifer Ibiam

Trixie was a twenty-three-year-old single mom who became pregnant at fifteen. She turned to prostitution to make ends meet and was successful. Fate smiled on her when she won enough money from the Powerball lottery to feed herself for life. First, Trixie bought a nice car and made sound investments with the help of a financial advisor. Then she tried ingratiating herself with the society and church that locked her out by giving to charities. Unfortunately, she lived in a small town where many people held onto her past and refused to move on. When Trixie stepped into their circle, she put a target on her back because everyone had secrets they would go to any lengths to hide. Enjoy Turning Trixie by Robb Grindstaff.

Turning Trixie by Robb Grindstaff is a captivating story that I enjoyed reading. The book was about life, love, devotion, and some drama. This novel also showed the corruption in Child Protective Services and how they ruined lives for personal gain. I loved the plot, storyline, development, and characters for their uniqueness and depth. Trixie was twenty-three going on fifty due to her wisdom and beautiful heart. She could never do wrong in my eyes because she had a better character than the so-called righteous people. In life, some people want you to grow only as far as they can control or stay superior to you. Others hold onto their past to feel better about their dirty linen, but we must shed the past and forge ahead with heads held high. Grindstaff is a fantastic storyteller with an appealing writing style that sustained my attention. Thank you for writing a beautiful book, and keep writing.