Synopses & Reviews
From one of the most inimitable writers of our generation,
Jack of Spades is an exquisite, psychologically complex thriller about the opposing forces within the mind of one ambitious writer, and the line between genius and madness.
Andrew J. Rush has achieved the kind of critical and commercial success most authors only dream about: his twenty-eight mystery novels have sold millions of copies in nearly thirty countries, and he has a top agent and publisher in New York. He also has a loving wife, three grown children, and is a well-regarded philanthropist in his small New Jersey town. But Rush is hiding a dark secret. Under the pseudonym Jack of Spades,” he writes another string of novelsdark potboilers that are violent, lurid, even masochistic. These are novels that the refined, upstanding Andrew Rush wouldnt be seen reading, let alone writing. Until one day, his daughter comes across a Jack of Spades novel that he has carelessly left out and begins to ask questions. Meanwhile, Rush receives a court summons in the mail explaining that a local woman has accused him of plagiarizing her own self-published fiction. Rushs reputation, career, and family life all come under threatand unbidden, in the back of his mind, the Jack of Spades starts thinking ever more evil thoughts.
Review
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Mystery and Thriller for SpringJust when you think youve got her all figured out, Joyce Carol Oates sneaks up behind and confounds you yet again. She does it with a wicked flourish in Jack of Spades.”New York Times Book Review
Joyce Carol Oates fascination with the minds creepier corners is amply demonstrated in Jack of Spades . . . the distinguished novelists latest example of disturbing but compelling psychological suspense. Oates is smoothso smooth that readers barely notice how she tightens her silken noose of a plot around their throats.”Seattle Times
Suspenseful, fast-moving.”St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Entertaining, page-turning . . . [A] perfect summer read."Tampa Bay Times
Oatess latest suspense tale follows the psychic takeover of Andrew J. Rush . . . by the secret persona he uses to pen lurid genre novels. For added fun, Oates garnishes this machismo-laden struggle with a leavening pinch of one of her favorite feminist topics: witchcraft.”O Magazine, The Seasons Best Mysteries and Thrillers”
"Sleek and suspenseful . . . Readers are sure to be gripped and unsettled by [Oates's] depiction of a seemingly mild-mannered character whose psychopathology simmers frighteningly close to the surface.”Publishers Weekly (boxed and starred review)
A great psychological noir novel . . . [A] tour de force . . . This tale of suspense makes for another high-caliber Oatesian outing, displaying flair, noir sophistication, and [Stephen] King-like flourishes.”Library Journal (starred review)
A chilling thriller . . . Gothic in its paranoia, but thoroughly modern in its observations on fames destructive powers.”Bustle
A mystery writer slowly becomes subsumed by his dark alter ego in Oates tale of literary madness . . . With its homages to Poe . . . and the horror masters Jack of Spades so admires, this latest unsettling and chilling thriller from Oates does not disappoint.”Kirkus Reviews
"Delightful."Times (UK)
Joyce Carol Oates is known for her psychological thrillers, and she does not disappoint with her latest, Jack of Spades . . . Oates creates characters that make you think about the potential madness in others, something that, in the end, turns out to be more than a little scary.”—Missourian
Playful . . . With Jack of Spades Ms. Oates places her cards on the table and shows us a Royal Straight Flush.”Three Guys One Book
A very good read . . . Oates does not let her fans downand she undoubtedly will pick up new ones with her latest effort.”Bookreporter
A fast-paced read filled with high drama and the expertly-rendered delineation of a writers descent into madness.”Lonesome Reader
Synopsis
From Joyce Carol Oates, an exquisite, psychologically complex thriller about opposing forces within the mind of one ambitious writer and the delicate line between genius and madness.
Andrew J. Rush has achieved the kind of critical and commercial success most authors only dream about: He has a top agent and publisher in New York, and his twenty-eight mystery novels have sold millions of copies. Only Stephen King, one of the few mystery writers whose fame exceeds his own, is capable of inspiring a twinge of envy in Rush. But Rush is hiding a dark secret. Under the pseudonym "Jack of Spades," he pens another string of novels--noir thrillers that are violent, lurid, masochistic. These are novels that the upstanding Rush wouldn't be caught reading, let alone writing. When his daughter comes across a Jack of Spades novel he has carelessly left out, she picks it up and begins to ask questions. Meanwhile, Rush receives a court summons in the mail explaining that a local woman has accused him of plagiarizing her own self-published fiction. Before long, Rush's reputation, career, and family life all come under threat--and in his mind he begins to hear the taunting voice of the Jack of Spades.
About the Author
Joyce Carol Oates is the author of such national bestsellers as
The Falls,
Blonde, and
We Were the Mulvaneys. Her other titles for The Mysterious Press include
High Crime Area and
The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares, which won the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Short Horror Fiction. She is also the recipient of the National Book Award, for
them, and the 2010 Presidents Medal for the Humanities.