Second Nature

Celebrating 40 years of pseudonymous suspense from Joyce Carol Oates

Four decades ago, acclaimed literary author Joyce Carol Oates penned her first novel of psychological suspense under the name Rosamond Smith. In the Smith books, Oates explored themes of betrayal and deception, lust and murder, through stories involving twins, doubles, and hidden second identities—initially, keeping her own double identity a secret.

Hard Case Crime is proud to bring these extraordinary works of crime fiction, long unavailable in bookstores, back into print in definitive double editions. Each edition pairs two complete novels and two never-before-collected Oates short stories, all linked thematically, to weave a sinister web filled with dark reflections.

In This Volume...

A model suburban husband grows obsessed with a beautiful stranger in Double Delight, while an eminent professor preys on a vulnerable student in Nemesis—and the echoes continue in the rare short stories “A Girl Worth Twenty Million” and “First Death.”