★ 11/12/2018
At the start of this wry, sly caper novel from Hitchcock (Mortal Friends), 56-year-old former socialite and accomplished poker player Maude Warner, dressed in a vintage Saint Laurent suit (bought back when Yves was still designing) and thrift shop–purchased Louboutin shoes, walks into the Four Seasons restaurant in Manhattan, pulls a handgun from her faux Birkin bag, and fires. A bullet hits billionaire financier Sun Sunderland, who was lunching with his business partner, Burt Sklar, “accountant to the stars.” Sklar is also the man Maude blames for stealing her family’s fortune. In the chaos that follows, Maude drops the gun, calmly walks out of the restaurant, and catches a train back home to Washington, D.C. As she says, “Older women are invisible and we don’t even have to disappear.” Chapters vividly narrated by Maude explain what led her to commit her crime and offer hints about what her endgame might be. This delicious novel of sweet revenge reveals, with wit and stylish vigor, a world—New York high society—that the author clearly knows intimately. (Jan.)

"Jane Hitchcock pulls off another stunning tour de force in her newest crime novel, Bluff. Nobody writes high society and its down-low denizens better than Hitchcock - and this book is her best yet. It's all in the cards—and it's masterful." — Linda Fairstein, New York Times bestselling author

"With the heart-pounding suspense of a high-stakes poker game, Bluff is a vivid, compelling novel about deceit, seduction, and delicious revenge that will have you spellbound and cheering as you turn the last page." — Susan Cheever, author of Home Before Dark and Treetops

"Jane Stanton Hitchcock's Bluff is the royal flush of suspense novels! The queen of both writing and poker aces it again!" — Linda Kenney Baden, celebrated attorney, legal commentator, and author

"This delicious novel of sweet revenge reveals, with wit and stylish vigor, a world—New York high society—that the author clearly knows intimately." — Publishers Weekly STARRED Review

"Hitchcock pokes fun at the gossipy upper class, at the verbal tics of crass hangers-on, at the street-smart capability of former strippers and former advertising executives alike. The biggest takeaway: He who underestimates women of a certain age certainly does so at his own peril. Frothy fun with a backbone of feminist steel; as quick-moving and intricate as any heist movie." — Kirkus Reviews

"The axiom 'write what you know' deliciously foretells this poker-themed thriller...A smartly plotted upper-crust caper." — Karen Keefe, Booklist

"Jane Stanton Hitchcock's Bluff is the royal flush of suspense novels! The queen of both writing and poker aces it again!"

"With the heart-pounding suspense of a high-stakes poker game, Bluff is a vivid, compelling novel about deceit, seduction, and delicious revenge that will have you spellbound and cheering as you turn the last page."

"Jane Hitchcock pulls off another stunning tour de force in her newest crime novel, Bluff. Nobody writes high society and its down-low denizens better than Hitchcock - and this book is her best yet. It's all in the cards - and it's masterful."

"The axiom 'write what you know' deliciously foretells this poker-themed thriller...A smartly plotted upper-crust caper."

This audiobook is a unique, fast-paced thriller full of intrigue and unexpected humor. Narrator Lisa Flanagan creates a remarkable portrayal of its protagonist. Listeners will be drawn in by Maud Warner, a 50-something New York socialite on a mission. She is out for revenge against those she believes destroyed her family and stole her inheritance. As Flanagan depicts a large cast of well-developed characters, her vocal nuances and impeccable timing add to the listener's enjoyment. This story juxtaposes Maud's actions and their consequences with larger themes of retribution, financial scandal, gossip, family, and the rise and fall of members of high society. With parallels made between poker and life, BLUFF is a quirky, engaging listen. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

2018-10-28

An aging debutante and card shark commits the perfect revenge crime in Hitchcock's (Mortal Friends, 2009, etc.) social noir.

When "Mad" Maud Warner walks into the Four Seasons and shoots Sun Sunderland, "the Pope of Finance," then drops the gun and walks out again undetected, the upper-class grapevines in New York and Washington begin working overtime. It's generally accepted that she was probably aiming at Sunderland's lunch companion, Burt Sklar, a shady financial planner Maud blames for the fleecing of her mother and the death of her brother. It's also generally admired that Maud has taken advantage of her relative social obscurity as a financially disgraced older woman to evade arrest, especially when the victim is revealed to be a bigamist. For her part, Maud takes shelter in the dingy world of underground poker, where she has become a consummate player. There's a metaphor here of course; as an expert poker player, Maud knows how to plan and how to bluff, and soon the shooting is revealed to be part of a much larger plot to expose Sklar and punish both men for many egregious personal sins. The novel hums along with a chatty, sometimes hyperbolic tone; some chapters are written in Maud's first-person and others in third-person as the details of the crime and depth of the conspiracy are slowly exposed. Hitchcock pokes fun at the gossipy upper class, at the verbal tics of crass hangers-on, at the street-smart capability of former strippers and former advertising executives alike. The biggest takeaway: He who underestimates women of a certain age certainly does so at his own peril.

Frothy fun with a backbone of feminist steel; as quick-moving and intricate as any heist movie.