SOURCE: Tager, Marcia. Review of Jack of Diamonds, by Elizabeth Spencer. Library Journal 113, no. 12 (July 1988): 96-7.

In the following review, Tager provides a positive critique of Jack of Diamonds.

Longer than average, Spencer's five stories [in Jack of Diamonds] are dense, richly layered, and a long distance away from the minimalist tales so pervasive in modern collections. Two stories deal with the members of a cohesive group: Cousins is about five young cousins from the same small town who travel to Europe together, while “Business Venture” examines the insularity of a group that shields its members from the changes the world has brought to their small southern town. The other stories—two set in Montreal, one in Lake George—focus on an individual who is very much alone. The stories are difficult to recapitulate because they are so complex, so extraordinary. A great pleasure, not to be missed...