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A Tale of Suspense

By: Joyce Carol Oates
ISBN: 9780802123947

Publisher: Grove Atlantic

Publication Date:  5/5/2015 

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 4 Stars 

A special thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

JACK OF SPADES by Joyce Carol Oates, a psychological noir novel . . . A tour de force, a mystery writer slowly becomes immersed in his dark alter ego, blurring the lines of fiction and reality, with a chilling tale of a crime novelist and murderer– Andrew J. Rush.

Andrew J. Rush has been a bestselling mystery-suspense writer with over 28 novels under his belt in the theme of Stephen King. However, behind the happily married man with three grown children, he hides behind the facade of Jack of Spades, by writing disturbing, dark, and violet novels under a pseudonym (with different publishers than his normal mystery thrillers). Of course, he would not be seen reading such crap in public.

When he is accused of plagiarism, his dark side starts to emerge. No one even his family has a clue about his secret life. Until his daughter Julia finds a copy of one of his books in his office and decides to read it. When the lawsuit hits, a woman is claiming he has copied her ideas and stole her work. Could his entire world come crumbling down and could he lose it all? Let the evil begin.

Jack of Spades wants revenge and quickly gets into his dark and chilling character. A dazzling psychological thriller; a short read to make you second guess personalities of dark violent thrillers. . . From a master storyteller, Oates delivers a complex yet quirky and fun portrayal of an author’s life with a thin line between genius and madness.