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 wouldn't 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. Rush's 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.
Industry Reviews
One of the "Seattle Times"' 10 best mysteries of the yearA "Publishers Weekly" Top 10 Mystery & Thriller for Spring Just when you think you ve 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." Marilyn Stasio, "New York Times Book Review" Few writers better illuminate the mind s most disturbing corners. Oates tightens her silken noose around our necks with the story of a mainstream mystery writer who secretly writes shocking, violent, explicitly sexual thrillers. This hidden life implodes, and he becomes increasingly unhinged after a bizarre woman sues him, claiming that he steals her ideasliterally, by breaking into her house to pilfer manuscripts. Adam Woog, "Seattle Times," The 10 best mysteries of 2015 Suspenseful, fast-moving. "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" Entertaining, page-turning . . . [A] perfect summer read.""Tampa Bay Times" Oates s 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 Season s Best Mysteries & 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 fame s 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 writer s descent into madness. Lonesome Reader"
