SOLVED. Fiction from 70's, possibly Joyce Carol Oates

[Stephen B. Kutzer]

This is diving me crazy.

90% sure this is Joyce Carol Oates from the 70s. A child is picked up from school by her (?) father, which is unusual. Creepy vibe on the way home. As the child turns the back door knob, she has a flash that something horrible is about to go down. So she runs through the house and out the front door. I think dad has killed mom, and was going to kill her and then himself. I think he ends up killing himself.

I thought it was Wonderland, but can only read a few pages on Amazon and it doesn’t seem right. It’s a boy, for one thing. I may be conflating this with another book, but I thought the protagonist was an overweight girl who was a math genius.

Any help so greatly appreciated!

[0possum]

Could it be by Shirley Jackson?

[Stephen B. Kutzer]

I don't think I've ever read anything by Shirley Jackson

[Stephen B. Kutzer]

I just got a dead tree Wonderland out of the library and it is indeed the book I was thinking about. The protagonist in the opening is a boy named Jess. Not sure if there's a female math genius in it or if I am conflating another book.

Hmm, how do I mark this thread as SOLVED?

[Kris]

Glad you found your book, Stephen. I marked your request as Solved by clicking the small "edit" link beside the header on the desktop website (this doesn't work on the mobile app).