Bluff

by Jane Stanton Hitchcock

Overview

One-time socialite Maud Warner polishes up the rags of her once glittering existence and bluffs her way into a signature New York restaurant on a sunny October day. When she shoots Sun Sunderland, the "Pope of Finance," as he lunches with "accountant to the stars" Burt Sklar-the man she's accused for years of stealing her mother's fortune and leaving her family in ruins-she deals the first card in her high-stakes plan for revenge.

Maud has grown accustomed to being underestimated and invisible, and uses it. Her fervent passion for poker has taught her that she can turn weakness into strength to take advantage of people who think they are taking advantage of her. It's uncanny how she reads them.

Her intimates in New York high society believe that "Mad Maud" accidentally missed Sklar, her real target. But nothing is as it first appears as she weathers the unexpected while following her script. And while Maud is on the run, the dark secrets of men who believe their money and power place them above the law will be exposed. Betrayal, larceny, greed, sexual battery, and murder lurk beneath the surface of their glittering lives.

One unexpected twist after another follows as we watch a fierce, unapologetic Maud play the most important poker hand of her life. The stakes? To take down her enemies and get justice for their victims. Her success depends on her continuing ability to bluff. And on who will fold.

Can she win?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982601508
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jane Stanton Hitchcock is the New York Times bestselling author of Mortal Friends, The Witches' Hammer, Social Crimes, and Trick of the Eye, as well as several plays. She lives with her husband, syndicated foreign-affairs columnist Jim Hoagland, in New York City and Washington, DC.

Lisa Flanagan is a classically trained soprano, comedian, voiceover artist, and Earphones Award-winning narrator.

Table of Contents

The Flop12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940The Turn41424344454647484950The River515253545556

Editorial Reviews

★ 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.)

Publishers Weekly

"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

From the Publisher

"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

"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

"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."

New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein

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

Booklist - Karen Keefe

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

MAY 2019 - AudioFile

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.

Kirkus Reviews