Oates is adept at writing in so many different styles. Her ability to create suspense will worry the reader. Will author Andrew Rush really take on the persona of his secretly published books about Jack of Spades? When a local crackpot takes him to court for plagiarism, the case is easily dismissed, and life should go on smoothly for law-abiding Rush—except it doesn’t. It leads to Rush breaking into the old lady’s house and stealing as he slowly becomes estranged from his family. Sadly it doesn’t get better. Oates builds the tension so well in this book that I wanted to put it down, because I was sure I knew what was coming, but I had to keep reading in case I was wrong. ( )