Overview

"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."

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9780802125057

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Reviews

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. New York Times Book Review Joyce Carol Oates fascination with the mind s creepier corners is amply demonstrated in Jack of Spades . . . the distinguished novelist s 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 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

Author Information

"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 Night-Gaunts and Other Tales of Suspense, which features ""The Woman in the Window,"" selected for The Best American Mystery Stories 2017; The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror, which won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection; The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares, which won the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Short Horror Fiction; and Jack of Spades. She is the recipient of the National Book Award for them and the 2010 President's National Humanities Medal."

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