Northern New Jersey Author James Irwin Launches Second Novel
The psychological thriller Lucky Guy, set in Southeastern Pennsylvania, mixes gambling with murder in a tense and darkly comic story
- Features an undiagnosed neurodivergent anti-hero protagonist
- Fast-paced, sharply written, suspenseful
WAYNE NJ, 23 February 2026 — Wayne NJ resident James Irwin has released his novel, Lucky Guy, a psychological thriller that poses the question: what if you believed fate was on your side — even when the stakes are life and death?
“Lucky Guy is a compelling tale of passion, poker, and unrealized dreams, a dizzying roulette wheel of chaos and happenstance,” says Dinty W. Moore, editor of Brevity Magazine and author of Between Panic & Desire. “Irwin writes tight prose with sharp edges, and his newest novel is a stark reminder that choices almost always have consequences.”
The “lucky guy” of the title is Matt Martinez, and when we meet him he is not having a good day. He’s nearly burned through his poker stake, his girlfriend is threatening to leave him over his gambling, his father is dying in hospice, and he can’t seem to get along with his sister. To top it off, he accidentally murders two people, and it isn’t even lunch time yet.
Nonetheless, Matt’s faith in his own luck is as unshakable as it is seemingly unfounded. As Matt’s world teeters on the edge of disaster, he must outwit the police, his own conscience, and a cunning rival obsessed with pushing Matt to the edge.
“I wanted to explore what philosophers call moral luck,” Irwin explains, referring to how people often receive praise or blame for situations mostly outside their control. “I was interested in the gray areas, with fluid ethical boundaries.”
“The skill with which Irwin crafts this multi-layered character is one of the book’s great pleasures, and the fast-paced narrative alternates between dark suspense and dark comedy,” says New Jersey mystery writer Lori Robbins, an Amazon bestselling author.
An unexpected and unique detail of the book is that Matt, an anti-hero protagonist, is neurodiverse. “I teach a course at Wm. Paterson University on disability representation in media,” says Irwin, “and I wanted to create a character who has undiagnosed autism, and do so in a non-stereotypical way. It isn’t mentioned in the book at all, but informs a lot of what he does and how he thinks.”
This is the second novel released by Irwin, who the Los Angeles Times called “witty and ingenious.” His first, Nina’s Friends, an international crime thriller published in 2025, has earned an average rating of 4.8 stars on Amazon, with one reviewer describing it as, “Taut, fast-paced, full of intrigue and surprise.”
Lucky Guy is published by Vague Apparatus Press and is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and large print editions, as well as through Kindle Unlimited. Please consider ordering through your local independent bookstore.
About James Irwin
Before he turned to writing fiction full-time, James Irwin was a media artist, educator, and journalist, as well as holding leadership roles in national and international marketing communications for companies such as Comcast, EY, and Deloitte. His awards include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, National Endowment for the Humanities, Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He has published numerous short stories, essays, and creative non-fiction pieces over the years, and is associate editor of Atlantic Journal of Communication. He can be found at jrirwin.com
CONTACT:
James Irwin, james.irwin@gmail.com, jrirwin.com
Review copies of Lucky Guy available in ebook or PDF formats upon request.
James Irwin is available for interviews.
James Irwin press kit photos available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EwgZRyzYf0P2B9UffquX_hjefBezLAo6?usp=sharing
Cover images of Lucky Guy and Nina’s Friends available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O0NFg6DcTwSHBwAIZc24Hbd1_eK4SkrR?usp=sharing