⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I received an Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley and when I downloaded and saw it was 650+ pages about a pedophile I said I wasn’t going to read it. But I reconsidered and decided to honor my commitment and give it a try. So glad that I did. This is a captivating read. Oates takes on a very touchy (no pun intended) subject and approaches it brilliantly from several perspectives. This is also a thriller, dead body found in the first chapter, that holds the reader’s interest throughout. The characters are very well developed. Along the way we meet victims, perpetrators, family supporters, deniers, and enablers. This is a sensitive topic but Oates treats it with respect. It is a real page turner and reads very quickly. It resolved with a very satisfying conclusion., as well. I have not read much of JCO but I expect this novel will have me going back to read more of her works.

Few authors plunge into the darker recesses of human nature with as much skill and intensity as Joyce Carol Oates, in her forthcoming novel, Fox, scheduled for release on June 17. Billed as her first murder mystery, Fox is about Francis Fox, a charismatic middle school English teacher at a private, elite school in Wieland, New Jersey, who ends up dead in an apparent single-car wreck.

Readers should be prepared to be shocked by the dirty deeds of Fox who lures young girls into his den, er, his office in the basement of the school. His shocking manipulations of the select seventh and eighth graders in his four classes are not for the faint. Little is spared in the descriptions of what he does to the girls who he first drugs.

Detective Howard Zenger is charged with solving the circumstances surrounding the death of Fox. Methodically he pieces together the clues that lead up to what happened not only to Fox but to his students. The girls seem not to fear Fox but rather seek his adoration. None tell their parents they are being abused because Fox has brainwashed them into thinking he loves them.

Oates seems to be creating her own Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov) story rather than a murder mystery. Overall, in a blurb comparing Fox to Tom Ripley, a fascinating character who lives long in the mind of readers, Fox is found to be lacking. This is a story you must choose to push through or you throw up your hands and mark it DNF.

Joyce Carol Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published 60 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. She also writes under the pseudonyms Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly. She lives in New Jersey.

My review will be posted on Goodreads and Instagram starting June 11, 2025.

I would like to thank Hogarth, an imprint of Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

3.5 rounded up! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the arc.

This book was deeply disturbing and dark. Please proceed with extreme caution!

This was both gripping and made me want to look away. Oates’ style is new to me. It was honestly tough to get through because I struggle with thrillers (I’m scared!) but she certainly succeeded in scaring tf out of me!

I think the strongest parts of the book were the plot, switching narratives, and setting. The parts I would change are some of the graphic scenes. I just…don’t need to know (if you know you know). I didn’t rate this higher because I found it so hard to stomach and it didn’t add to the story in my opinion.

The ending was good!!!

If you like dark thrillers this is for you. If you don’t, stay away.

This was one of the most difficult books I’ve ever read. I went into it having forgotten the premise and was in for a shock. Highly recommend reading trigger warnings as this book holds nothing back.

That being said, I flew through this book despite the 640 page count. I’ve never read Joyce Carol Oates before but now I understand the hype and praise for her. The writing was enchanting, difficult to put down even when discussing horrible topics. I hated the main character and felt the revolution Oates intended. I believe this book achieved exactly what it set out to do.

It is hard to recommend this book given the graphic content, but if you are able to stomach it I think this is an absolutely worthwhile read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for access to this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Wow. This is one of the darkest, most triggering book I've ever read. Relentless, disturbing, and eerie. JCO needs no introduction and you can tell this story needed to come out bursting out of her. This book isn't for the faint of heart. Check the triggering warnings.

As a longtime admirer of Joyce Carol Oates, I opened Fox with high expectations. Her command of language is, as always, undeniable—but here, eloquence couldn’t disguise what ultimately felt like an overlong, unnecessary retread. The narrative meanders, circling familiar terrain—most notably Lolita—without offering much in the way of fresh perspective. Even in the hands of a writer as gifted as Oates, I’m not convinced we needed yet another iteration of that particular story.

The characters, with the notable exception of Demetrius, were uniformly tedious—either emotionally flat or so stylized as to feel almost parodic. And while the setting of Weiland and the exclusive Langhorne Academy could have been immersive, the prose was so dense and self-conscious that it pushed me out rather than drawing me in. The novel seemed more interested in its own cleverness than in building a world or deepening its characters.

One moment that perfectly encapsulated my frustration: “‘Inappro-pitly’—what’s that?” This from a seventh-grade girl, attending a prestigious private school, described as relatively intelligent? It defies credibility and disrupted whatever suspension of disbelief I had left.

Despite Oates’s literary prowess, Fox felt like a chore to finish. I considered abandoning it more than once—not out of outrage, but sheer boredom. I remain a fan of her work, but this novel simply didn’t earn its length or its premise.

Quintessential Carol Joyce Oates. One of the first books I read when I was transitioning from YA to adult was We Were The Mulvaneys. It helped to cement my love for contemporary literature. At the time it very heavy but it stayed with me.

Fast forward nearly 30 years, this one did the same. I was thrilled to get to read this one early. I had to read it in parts and doses. It's heavy, it's complicated but it's also written so beautifully you need to keep going while trying to find time to digest it..

This is what I call the book lover's book. This is not a beach read or something for the causal dabbler, this is a book for the voracious reader. In the right hands it will be greatly appreciated.

Joyce Carol Oates’s writing is, as always, incredible. She knows exactly how to get under your skin with just a few words. Fox is no exception in that regard. The prose pulled me in right away and kept me engaged throughout.

That said, I found the subject matter pretty difficult to sit with. The story is unsettling, emotionally intense, and at times disturbing. I can appreciate what Oates was doing. She is clearly not afraid to confront uncomfortable truths, but it made the experience more emotionally draining than I expected.

Definitely a powerful read, but not an easy one. Recommended if you’re in the right headspace and want something that lingers long after you put it down.

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

This is an uncomfortable book. Any book dealing with grooming should be. As expected, Joyce Carol Oates is able to masterfully tell this story, showing the true harm that grooming has on a person, a school, and a community.

This is an epic book and does take time to get through, but as with all JCO's books, it's worth it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House-Hogarth for the ARC!

I have not had the pleasure of reading works by Joyce Carol Oates before, but I will definitely do in the future. The writing style is unique, and both enticing and off-putting, just like Mr Fox, the subject of this book.

It is revealed upfront that the remains, seeming to be that of Mr Fox, a private school English teacher, have been found. The whodunnit aspect does not appear to be the point - the mystery, while technically not fully revealed until epilogue, is clear to the reader really early (although not to the detectives). This is a character study first and foremost. We learn a lot about Mr Fox, as at least half of the book is from his POV, and the rest of the book is about other people thinking about him. We meet a lot of other characters as well, some with a POV, and some seen through other character's eyes. Given how unreliable of a narrator Mr Fox is, I've been taking his opinions on people and events with a large grain of salt.

Even though I enjoyed the book, the repetition of same thoughts occurring to the same character was somewhat grating and the pacing was uneven (this could have been 150-200 pages shorter, easily).

I found it hard to disentangle whether these were author's opinions, or how, she was indicating, the world sees certain characters, but she made a point of saying one character was overweight every time she mentioned him (it was not necessary after first one or two), and another character was ugly ("ferret-faced", this very specific description was used by multiple different characters, which leads me to question whether it was written on the girls forehead, or perhaps, an editor could have made some changes here).

5⭐️ This psychological thriller had me on the edge of my seat! Creepy charismatic Francis Fox is the new English teacher at an exclusive private school. All the young girls love him!

The first half is from the POV of Mr Fox. The second half picks up from the POV of police Sgt H Zwender investigating a mysterious murder/accident. Interspersed chapters from the POV of several young female students and female friends of Mr Fox.

So much to love about this book, the gorgeous writing, the interesting characters, the plot and mystery. Big twist at the end I did not see coming! Highly recommend!

Warning: pedophilia, mental illness, murder, suicide

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

summary:
In FOX, Joyce Carol Oates returns to her signature style of gothic realism, weaving an unsettling yet all-too-familiar portrait of working-class families trapped in cycles of pain, silence, and complicity. At the center of the novel is a middle school teacher whose charm, intellect, and position as a respected white man allow him to hide in plain sight, leaving behind a trail of damaged lives.

Told through a stream-of-consciousness narrative that shifts between the adults and children caught in the predator’s orbit, the novel exposes the layers of secondary victims that abuse creates—those who are harmed directly and those who live with the reverberations. Oates masterfully explores how systems and power structures enable predators to continue unchecked, often for years, until someone—inevitably—reaches a breaking point.

Though there are a few morally upright characters trying to intervene, their efforts often come too late or at too great a cost. Justice, if it arrives at all, feels compromised and hollow. This lack of redemption, while true to life, leaves a lasting ache, especially for female readers or parents of daughters.

FOX is undeniably powerful and impeccably written, but its unrelenting darkness and emotional weight make it a difficult read. It’s literary fiction of the highest quality, but without much light in the tunnel—a story that stays with you, and not always in a comforting way.

Thanks to Random House and Hogarth for the advanced copy. If you love this type of book, check it out when it releases on June 17!

Joyce Carol Oates’ novel Fox is a purposefully challenging exploration of trauma, power, and human responsibility. Set in contemporary times, the fictional narrative delves unflinchingly into the abuses of power.
As always, Oates’ prose is characteristically sharp and psychologically astute. She crafts a world where memory and reality blur, while emotion shapes every interaction. The novel’s pacing and depth compel readers to confront difficult questions about innocence, agency, and the evasion of responsibility for those placed in positions to protect children.
Note: Due to its explicit themes, this novel is best suited to mature readers prepared to engage thoughtfully with challenging content.
Thanks to NetGalley for this copy. My opinion is my own.

Okay, I acknowledge that Joyce Carol Oates is a wonderful writer, but this book just didn't work for me. I don't want to spoil anything, but the subject matter was too disturbing for me. Ms. Oates is a talented writer, although I do thing some of her descriptive sentences are a bit over the top. I'm sure this will be a hit with many of her fans, but it just wasn't a book I enjoyed.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Hogarth/Random House for the eARC and the opportunity to read and review this book.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this book. And when I realized what was being described I wasn't sure I even wanted to read it at all. But I've read many of Joyce Carol Oates's books and I know she is excellent at her craft, though I certainly hadn't realized how old she's become.
That said, I have to say that this is an admirable work. It is beautifully crafted and goes deep into society and personality. But can I recommend it to people? I'm just not sure. You really have to steel yourself with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. She really went there....

Did not finish. I knew this was going to be dark and mysterious but was not expecting pedophilia and repeated descriptions of sexual abuse of young girls. I did not care to continue with it past about 15%.

Thank you so much to Hogarth for the gifted book.

The good; the writing, wow! I can tell Oates is beyond talented.

The bad: the content. extremely extremely graphic description of child sexual abuse told from the abusers perspective made this impossible for me to continue on with. I think this level of detail is sick and completely unnecessary and makes me wonder how it's even allowed to be in a book.

Would have loved the story with milder content.

Woweeee! This book was so incredibly interesting. Truly an ignoreyourfamily read. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded in a back and forth timeline and character to character progression. I learned a lot about the mind of a sick, twisted f*ck. Scary to think there are many like him out there. I also learned new aspects of about law enforcement. I loved many of the sentences. This author definitely knows how to write to ensure there is attention retention. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Francis Fox has captivated the students and his fellow teachers at his elite private school but he has secrets of his own which will come out now that his car and assumed body are found.

This was a good read; difficult at times and intense but I found it way longer than it needed to be. I left if it was shortened I would have enjoyed it a lot more. That said, it was very genuine and felt true to life, especially how the investigation proceeded. I thought the many nuances involved in the situation among the families were well displayed.

“The serial pedophile is like a serial killer: hiding in plain sight. He’s usually a nice guy, everyone likes him. It’s rare that a young girl isn’t in love with her abuser, that’s how the abuse is possible.”

Fox comes out 6/17.

Dark subject matter. Explores what it means to be a villain, what it means to be a victim, and at what point can/do they intersect. Some of the storylines remain unresolved.
Wasn’t impressed by the stereotyping of people on the spectrum.


Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book.