I don’t know if there is a better novelist than Joyce Carol Oates. Mr Fox is a long novel, but even though you want to see justice, you don’t want the book to end. The way Oates writes about Francis Fox, highlighting his cruel and heartless methods to gain and hold power over young 12 year olds, is utterly powerful. Going into the perverted mind of a pedophile is eye opening and horrible at the same time. It is utterly believable, though. This is must read for anyone who wants to understand people better. This is Oates’ greatest talent- writing about characters from a vantage point where the readers can intimately learn their personalities.
Thank you NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy.

Dark. Disturbing. Daring. Bold!
Top Audiobooks of 2025!

Award-winning author Joyce Carol Oates delivers a literary masterpiece! A spellbinding, unsettling literary/psychological suspense that will hypnotize you from the front cover to the last page.

Dark secrets are uncovered after the disappearance of a charismatic teacher at an elite boarding school, posing the question:

Who is Francis Fox?

About...

Francis Fox is an enigmatic, charming, and manipulative new 30-something Englishteacher at the Langhorne Academy in New Jersey (2013). He grooms his female middle school students by encouraging their writing while leading them into a false sense of security and violates them.

He came her under a new name after being kicked out of another school. How long will it be before he is found out here?

When Fox's car is found in a local nature preserve pond and parts of an unidentified body in the nearby woods, the community is in uproar, demanding answers to this chilling whodunit mystery.

The case led by Detective Horace Zwender unravels the evil and disturbing questions about Francis Fox. Who was this man? What drove him to his actions?

Who will outfox Fox?
Who had the motive to murder Fox?
Many, it seems.

My thoughts..

Psychologically rich and character-driven, Oates @joycecaroloates3146 brilliantly delves into the human psyche and mind of this evil twisted sinister predator, Francis Fox, offering a thought-provoking, award-winning literary, coming of age, crime, and psycholgical whodunit mystery suspense.

Divided into seven parts with an epilogue, Fox is a lengthy one (25 hrs 2 min) and not for the faint of heart. From the evil Fox to his little kittens, mystery journals, dark secrets, and ways the Fox (a twisted pedophile) sprays his vendom across many victims.

Menacing, mesmerizing, sinister, compelling, and spine-chilling!

Audiobook...

I had the pleasure of reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook (afterwards) and was blown away by this all-star cast delivering an award-winning performance! Each voice was spot on capturing the menace and artistry of each character! Top Audiobook of 2025. Highly recommend the audiobook. Thank you, Gail, for the recommendation!

@heyitsmaxmeyers (Fox: spine-chilling) @grshalan (Eunice Pfenning-award-winning) @bostonvoiceguy @kirstenpotter @thefredberman @godfreyreads @lobecca @racheljnarrates @eunicewongnarration and @inabarron

Francis Fox charms and manipulates everyone around him and Oates is at the top of her game with her signature style and craft, keeping you glued to the pages. The author skillfully peels back the layers (of predator and victims) with a shocking twist you do not see coming. Loved the young custodian.

A huge fan of the author, and with Fox, she showcases all her super-star qualities, she is known for (a literary genius).

Recs...

Beautifully written, FOX is for fans of the author and those who enjoy well written literary fiction, crime fiction, and whodunit mysteries. Also for fans of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.

Special thanks to Random House and NetGalley for a gifted advanced reading copy, and to Random House Audio for an advanced listening copy for my honest thoughts.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub date: June 17, 2025
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Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this! It was my first Oates book and the writing took me a little while to get into, but once the mystery got going I was really engaged. Well paced, thought out and structured.

Wow, this book. I started this and found it so incredibly uncomfortable based on the subject matter that I ended up putting it down but then decided to try the audio and I'm so glad I did. I was obsessed with listening and finding out what happened to Mr. Fox, a middle school teacher who is a depraved pedophile. While yes, the subject matter and some of the dialogue was brutal, the way Oates writes is nothing short of amazing. She can get me absorbed into just about everything and while I did teeter a little with this because I have girls of my own, once I surrendered to it, it was magnificent. It's a roller coaster ride while we wait to see what happened to Fox and there were many ways this could have gone but I was so supremely satisfied with how the book ended. Another HUGE winner for Oates!!

Fox was an incredible read, probably one of my favorite this year. The writing was so well-done even if the subject matter was so incredibly dark. I liked the shifting perspectives and timeframes. It tied together well at the end. Oates can really get into the mind of a sociopath and make it compelling

Thank you @prhaudio #partner for the audiobook and @brettreads for the brilliant recommendation!

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates
Published: 6.17.25

What a ride! So many twists and turns - after a nearly 25-hour audiobook - this story all fell together and finished with an amazing end!

Description: "A spellbinding novel of literary and psychological suspense about the dark secrets that surface after the shocking disappearance of a charismatic, mercurial teacher at an elite boarding school—by the legendary author 'who is surely on any shortlist of America’s greatest living writers' (New York Times Magazine)

'Eerie, shocking, provoking, and beautifully written, Fox is yet further proof Oates is one of the greatest writers among us today' Gillian Flynn

Who is Francis Fox? A charming English teacher new to the idyllic Langhorne Academy, Fox beguiles many of his students, their parents, and his colleagues at the elite boarding school, while leaving others wondering where he came from and why his biography is so enigmatic. When two brothers discover Fox’s car half-submerged in a pond in a local nature preserve and parts of an unidentified body strewn about the nearby woods, the entire community, including Detective Horace Zwender and his deputy, begins to ask disturbing questions about Francis Fox and who he might really be."

Fox is one of those books that’s difficult to recommend—not because it isn’t well-written (it absolutely is), but because the experience of reading it is intentionally uncomfortable. It’s long, layered, and deeply disturbing. At times I wasn’t sure I could keep going. But I did. And I’m still thinking about it.

Told through multiple perspectives across shifting timelines, the novel gradually reveals the scope and impact of a teacher’s predatory behavior. What begins as disjointed and disorienting eventually forms a chilling mosaic of complicity, silence, and survival. Joyce Carol Oates doesn’t just depict depravity—she dissects it. She shows how easily a predator like Frank Farrell (now rebranded as Francis Fox) can slip between cracks, reinvent himself, and continue harming those most vulnerable, all while charming or evading those who might have stopped him.

The characters are distinct and unsettlingly real. Oates excels at making each voice feel unique, grounded in its own trauma, denial, or complicity. The result is a story that feels less like a plot and more like a psychological echo chamber—claustrophobic, but purposeful.

That said, this is not a book for everyone. It includes graphic depictions of grooming, sexual abuse, and the long tail of trauma. At times, the weight of it all felt like too much—even as I appreciated the precision of the storytelling. I felt the length (25 hours audio / 600+ pages), but I was also compelled to see it through, and I found the ending both fitting and quietly powerful.

Ultimately, Fox isn’t trying to be easy. It’s trying to be true. And it succeeds—but with a cost. Four stars for craft, complexity, and impact. But with a major content warning and deep reader discretion advised.

For decades, Joyce Carol Oates has been one of our brightest shining literary lights, providing readers with an array of brilliant books in a variety of genres. Fox is not her first mystery. In addition to the mysteries embedded in many of her novels and short stories, From 1987 to the mid-1990’s, Oates wrote conventional mysteries under the pseudonym Rosamund Smith. Except in a superficial way, Fox is not a conventional mystery. The mystery centers on the death of Francis Fox, failed (for plagiarism) PhD-student turned middle school English teacher at a pretentious private school in southern New Jersey, Fox uses indifferently uses people for his own advantage. Wealthy and/or lonely people are used to advance his career, which is disrupted when he is discovered to be using some of his young female students to sate his perverse sexual pleasures. After his body, ravaged by vultures and other creatures when left in his car at the bottom of a ravine, is identified, only Zwendler, the investigating detective, seems interested in finding out what really happened. Fox abounds with gorgeous prose and many illusions to art and literature, especially Nabakov’s Lolita, Poe, Kierkegaard, and many others. Now in her 80s, Oates is at the top of her literary prowess. Her prolific output astounds. Fox will appeal to a wide array of readers. Highly recommended,

Joyce Carol Oates has published more than 70 novels, but “Fox” is described as her “first whodunit.” Francis Fox was a middle school English teacher at an elite private school — until his body was discovered in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, surrounded by ominous vultures. As the mystery of his death unfolds, so does the mystery of his life, revealing disturbing secrets. Oates interweaves multiple perspectives to tell a chilling, dark tale.

Upfront warning: this book is about a pedophilic teacher! JCO doesn't pull her punches! It WILL make you uncomfortable, and honestly, props to her for that. We get a story of Francis Fox, a pedophilic teacher who cuts a swath across women and children alike in private boarding schools, and his eventual murder and the investigation around it. We get deep delves into all of our characters psyches, and frankly, some of those are truly horrific and will make you want to flense to cleanse. How all of this comes together is frankly amazing to watch unfold, and is definitely worth your time this summer.

During the summer months there isn’t much I love more than immersing myself in a thick, literary suspense novel. Joyce Carol Oates, newest release, Fox, which is part dark academia, part police procedural, and full-on, small-town horror, fit the bill for me. The fact that it was actually cold, rainy and dreary while I tackled this 672-page tome, only added to the sinister vibe that permeated this book.

Fox is dark academia at its finest, but please be forewarned, this story carries the “ICK” factor to the max. Pedophilia is never easy to read about, and that is the case even with the best written books. However, I knew I would be in good hands with Joyce Carol Oates. In Fox, JCO expertly weaves a complexly-layered story that shows us exactly how a predator hides in plain sight. It is JCO’s precise mastery of dark storytelling, that had me entranced with not only the elite, prestigious, private middle school, the small town in New Jersey in which it sits, and the characters encompassed within its confines; but also with the predator himself.

The story begins when a truly horrifying discovery is made in a nature preserve well-known to locals of this small community. JCO, in telling, Fox, from multiple perspectives, creates a literary horror story that gets under your skin and which is not easily washed off by soap and water. As gruesome as some of the descriptions were, I could not put this book down. If there was a way to prop my eyes open, I would have stayed up all night, every night, until I turned the final page.

As much as the reading experience was top-notch for me, I did feel it was unnecessarily long. Due to the page-turning nature of this book, it didn’t feel long, but there was some repetition in the retelling from the different perspectives, which could have been a bit more finely tuned in the editing process. Other than that, Fox, along with its characters, setting and plot will be a story I won't quickly forget.

Readers who love literary books of suspense, horror and mystery, and don’t shy away from dark, disturbing topics, will likely find themselves, as I did, burning the midnight oil. For this reader, Joyce Carol Oates, has written yet another masterpiece. I already can’t wait to see what she writes next.

4.5 Stars rounded up to 5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Random House – Hogarth for an ARC of Fox by Joyce Carol Oates in exchange for my honest review.

An utter sickening pleasure. I was thrilled by this novel from the first pages right up until the audacious epilogue. Impressive, unnerving, and beautiful.

When I saw this book by Joyce Carol Oates, I recalled reading her well written and provocative and prolific stories in my teen years and thought this looked promising. Of course, if you follow my reviews you know I always judge a book by its cover and never read the synopsis - though the synopsis would not have prepared me for this. I also did not recall that JCO is well known for tackling dark and disturbing themes… this book was dark and disturbing, yet so well executed.

In truth I had moments where I felt emotionally I may need to DNF, but ultimately I am glad I did not. Trigger warnings - this book not only addresses pedophilia, but also has sections that are written from the perspective of the perpetrator. These sections were deeply troubling to read.

Ultimately JCO writes (as written in the synopsis): “A hypnotic, galloping tale of crime and complicity, revenge and restitution, victim vs. predator… [that] illuminates the darkest corners of the human psyche while asking profound moral questions about justice and the response evil demands”. I find myself still thinking about the ending… in one regard perfect, justice is served and the innocent protected; but in several others justice is lacking and the spiral of Stockholm Syndrome and selective perception persists.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joyce Carol Oates's Mr Francis Harley Fox nee Frank Farrell teaches English class to privileged private school students at a rural New Jersey middle school. He also dominates, brain washes, harasses, and sexually abuses a select few of them until he dies.

Before his body is found, his boss, Langhorne Academy headmistress P Cady was walking her spoiled dog along the trail around Wieland Pond when suddenly Princess Di found a bloody organ of his, and loses her ever-loving mind over it. This scene is revisited and expanded upon several times, each time better than the last. I love the incredible level of detail Oates lavishes upon each of her characters, Fox's victims and their families.

Homely 13-yr old Eunice Pfenning yells at her estranged daddy Martin on the same trails, victims of a failed marriage, and the whims of Mr Fox. 12-yr old Genevieve "Little Kitten" Chambers is Fox's main prey. Over-developed 8th grade scholarship winner Mary Ann Healy's family is rooted in Wieland, NJ history, and integral to the story of Fox.

I didn't understand who were Fox's "Several aborted fetuses dispersed among several young women"?!? Nor who Detective Zwender was rumored to have killed years ago. I also didn't understand how eyes can be pebble-colored, zinc, agate, flat-metallic, or flat-zinc. But none of that detracted from Fox for me in the least.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this story. All opinions are my own.

This is not a book for all readers. I did struggle with the prose quite a lot. This was the author's first dip into whodunit territory. Once I found a quiet spot without interruptions, I could follow the intricate tapestry of the pacing. Take your time to read it, you will be rewarded for doing that.

Thank you, Joyce, for constantly changing the style of your novels. Keeps us readers on our toes!

This was a slow, dark, and at times very difficult literary thriller. Joyce Carol Oates certainly pulled no punches in examining a topic that is challenging to stomach reading about, but she did it in a compelling and thoughtful way. I did need to take breaks reading this, but I’m glad I saw it through. I can easily see this being made into a mini-series; it has some of the same eerie slow-burn elements that shows like The Sinner and True Detective are beloved for, and as far as books go I would compare its vibe to Long Bright River. I’m glad I got an ARC of this!

Fox is, in many ways, exactly what you'd expect from Joyce Carol Oates: provocative, disturbing, morally ambiguous. For me, this callback to Lolita was less about art and more about endurance testing. Getting through this one was a slog.

The story centers on Francis Fox, a middle school teacher with an obsession with prepubescent girls. And yes, it's every bit as uncomfortable as it sounds. I wouldn't exactly call Oates' depiction of sexual abuse graphic, but it's close. She gives us way more than enough detail to create a vomit-inducing mental picture. Fox's obsession with his victims, as well as the grooming and psychological abuse he inflicts on them, are laid out in enough detail to be suffocating. It's relentless and sickening.

That could be the point, of course -- the sickening nature of the subject matter. No matter how literary the framing, the story is no doubt meant to be both horrifying and fascinating. For me, it was just exhausting. If I hadn't gotten a eARC of this one in exchange for a review, there's no way I would have finished it.

I kept reading partly because I'd heard there was a twist at the end that made the whole thing worth it. It did not. The twist landed with a dull thud, and did not justify the grotesque journey I'd just been subjected to.

I read a lot of Joyce Carol Oates in the process of earning an English Literature degree, so her writing style and quirks aren't new to me. But good lord, this one contains some annoying tics. Oates seems to have developed an aversion to pronouns. The headmistress of the school, whose name is Paige, is referred to as "P. Cady" over and over and over and OVER AND OVER. Not "she" or "Paige." Almost always "P. Cady." I felt like I was in a bad sequel to Finding Nemo -- "P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney." The squirmy nickname Fox has for his victims, "Little Kitten," was so grating and cringe I almost put the book down just for that. And don't get me started on his references to Mr. Tongue <shudder>. If Oates was trying to get under my skin, I guess it worked, but not in a way that left me impressed.

I'm sure some people will say this book is a raw look at monstrousness, or a subversion of the predator/victim narrative, or some other English-major-sounding stuff. But for me it seems like less a daring work of fiction and more a deeply unpleasant one that mistakes discomfort for depth.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book.

FOX
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ms Oates is from Lockport, a town a few miles from my home. It's always fun to see what the local, prolific author has crafted. She's in her late 80s and still churning them out.
Oates has written all genres and has a very distinct, often challenging style, but her stories are consistently dark and psychological.

This brick is no different.
It is creepy, disturbing, and often highly uncomfortable. We are dealing with a teacher, a charmer, a groomer-- a pedophile.
There's a major ick factor to this one.
You'll need breaks. It falls somewhere between her books Zombie and Butcher in terms of content.
The story slowly climbs under your skin making for a very uncomfortable reading experience. There's a realism here that will turn your stomach. It is a very long book considering the unpleasant subject matter.

It utilizes different timelines, perspectives and sources to allow an unfolding three dimensional story, while exploring power-- its abuses and consequences upon a community.

Being Oates, I was expecting the drama, the exclamation marks, and endless parantheticals. (They are all here!)
I was pleased to also get a psychological, insightful, demanding work that is more character study than whodunnit.
Once you get beyond the opening, you'll slowly be pulled into a dark world of victims and predators.

Be warned this is DARK literary fiction-- realistic,  upsetting, graphically detailed-- a tense story that will keep readers too curious not to continue.

For fans of Highsmith and Nabokov.

Definitely be aware of content/trigger warnings.

Thanks to Hogarth and NetGalley for an eARC of Fox by Joyce Carol Oates, which I absolutely loved and was spellbound by until the final page. The greatest strength of the novel was the quality of the character work as it shifted viewpoints throughout its course. The novel starts with a murder and works backwards, slowly unraveling what happened to the titular Mr. Fox. I highly recommend Fox; if you love mysteries and/or thrillers, you will be left stunned, especially by the finale.

Fox makes it evident that Joyce Carol Oates is extremely skilled at crafting a story - there were many connected perspectives leading to a reveal made decent sense. But I was miserable reading this. Which maybe is the point? Though, I'm not entirely sure. Oates had readers spend a lot of time with Mr. Fox, who molest his pre-pubescent students. It was unsettling to be in his head.