This was my first JCO but it certainly will not be my last. I knew this would be a difficult read and I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. But I got pulled in and ended up devouring this book.

Fox is set at a private boarding school and its surrounding small town in New Jersey. An enigmatic new English teacher, Francis Fox, joins the school at the start of the school year, but quickly tragedy strikes the community. After his disappearance, the members of the school community reckon with what has happened in the few short months he was among them. Though the book starts shortly after the discovery of Fox's car in a local nature preserve but then shifts back in time to the beginning of the school year. JCO has us follow several different characters: the headmistress of the school, some of the young girls, a girl's father, some of the local people in the town, and, of course, Fox himself.

This book is by no means an easy read. It is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. There were several parts, primarily in Fox's sections, where I had to put the book down and walk away. Without going too much into the details, Fox is abusing some of the young girls at the school and this is not his first time doing so. When you're with Fox's character, JCO is not shy about sharing the difficult details. But I think she also handles his character really well. He's an awful person (clearly) but also complex and she brings that across well without making him sympathetic. It's a delicate balance.

Similarly, several of her other characters are complex, not always the greatest people. This makes them feel real and well-rounded and just interesting. If you don't like morally gray characters, you will probably not like this book. But I found this to be an interesting character study with a hint of a literary thriller. JCO carefully traces what is right and wrong and where there are certain gray areas between the two.

There's a lot more I could say about this book but I don't want to reveal too much of the story either. Lots of trigger warnings here, so as I've said, this book might not be for everyone. But I couldn't look away from the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House | Hogarth for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest offering by Joyce Carol Oates. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Francis Fox is a charming English teacher at the private Langhorne Academy. boarding school. His students love him as do their parents and his colleagues. But when two brothers discover Fox's car half-submerged in a pond, the entire community begins to ask questions.

Oh my goodness. This book will gut you. But it's masterful in its execution, as to be expected from Joyce Carol Oates. It's dark, disturbing, frightening in its evil reality. What I loved most was how this story was told from the viewpoint of so many people in Fox's orbit, from a janitor, a child, even a dog! Your mind will wrap around all these people and the tentacles that can result from one person's actions. There are many suspects that I questioned along the way. It's a long, immersive book and I started reading the digital copy when my audiobook hold came in from the library. And I never went back to the digital. The audiobook is done with a cast and it was perfection. It truly brought these characters to life. Do not miss this one.

Let me preface this with….read the trigger warnings and really prepare yourself, this book is dark and taboo. Think modern day Lolita, or All the Ugly and Beautiful things. This story takes place in a small and typically quiet New Jersey town, we have a submerged car and a decomposing body discovered near a nature reserve. What starts out as a multiple POV crime solving, whodunit quickly amplifies into a dark academia story for the ages. Francis Fox is a new English teacher at Langhorne Academy and is quickly acclimated and revered by colleagues and students alike. When he is identified as the deceased party, local police begin investigating whether his death was an accident or something more sinister.

This book…it took me some time to sit with my thoughts before rating this one. I am not usually one easily triggered and turned off by taboo storylines but this one definitely had its claws in me. Joyce Carol Oates does not hold back and forces the readers to live inside this dark and secret monster. A book that tackles exploitation, child abuse, classism, and mental health. Each narrator leaving no part of their inner monologue untouched, exposing all vulnerable and real feelings, emotions and perceptions. JCO does a fantastic job balancing deep character development with the plot line and the ending is a whirlwind of red herrings up until the very last page.

I can’t say I would recommend this for everyone because I recognize that child abuse/exploitation is a very triggering subject for many but I really did love the writing style and character study in this story. Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for my copy; all opinions are my own.

Completely and utterly addicting, repulsive, and poignant. One of her best yet! Will recommend to everyone.

Joyce Carol Oates is such a clever and descriptive writer. Her latest book, Fox, is about a teacher in a prestigious private school for girls. Mr. Fox arrives on campus with wonderful recommendations and a load of secrets. He quickly wins over the students and faculty with his wit and charisma. Fox is almost too good to be true.

It isn’t long until Fox disappears and that’s when the story really starts to take off. Oates focuses early on a few students and various people from the town. This is where readers will want to pay close attention because after I finished the book, I realized Oates left me some clues, but I was too wrapped up in wanting the story to move along to recognize their importance.

This is a slow burn type of book, but I felt like the payoff was in the ending and this book is one I will think about long afterwards—even one I might possibly re-read. The characters were diverse and well-developed and added much to the overall story.

Readers should be aware that the book is reminiscent of Lolita in subject matter and there is a bit of gore described at certain parts of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am pleased to give my honest review and recommend to those who love a good Gothic Academia novel.

Fox is a haunting literary thriller with echoes of Lolita and the brooding dread of True Detective. Centered on the unraveling of a beloved teacher’s dark past, it’s slow-burning, unsettling, and impossible to look away from. Disturbing in the best—and worst—ways, this one lingers long after the final page.

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.