Suburban Dicks

By: Fabian Nicieza

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

*A finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel*

*A finalist for the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel*

From the cocreator of Deadpool comes a highly entertaining debut featuring two unlikely and unforgettable amateur sleuths. An engrossing murder mystery full of skewering social commentary, Suburban Dicks examines the racial tensions exposed in a New Jersey suburb after the murder of a gas station attendant.

Andie Stern thought she'd solved her final homicide. Once a budding FBI profiler, she gave up her career to raise her four (soon to be five) children in West Windsor, New Jersey. But one day, between soccer games, recitals, and trips to the local pool, a very pregnant Andie pulls into a gas station—and stumbles across a murder scene. An attendant has been killed, and the local cops are in over their heads. Suddenly, Andie is obsessed with the case, and back on the trail of a killer, this time with kids in tow.

She soon crosses paths with disgraced local journalist Kenneth Lee, who also has everything to prove in solving the case. A string of unusual occurrences—and, eventually, body parts—surface around town, and Andie and Kenneth uncover simmering racial tensions and a decades-old conspiracy.

Hilarious, insightful, and a killer whodunit, Suburban Dicks is the one-of-a-kind mystery that listeners will not be able to stop talking about.

©2021 Fabian Nicieza (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Satire is hard to establish and even harder to maintain, but Nicieza flawlessly critiques the pervasiveness of suburban racism, the challenge of stay-at-home motherhood, the toxic culture of White masculinity, and the self-aggrandizing role of the media, and he does it with a pair of completely flawed yet appealing characters and a diverse cast of voices. Delightfully irreverent and so very entertaining.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

“[An] outstanding debut novel.... Nicieza delivers a wildly entertaining blend of high-octane snark and brass-knuckle social commentary.... Mystery fans looking for something different won’t want to miss this quirky crime novel.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“Well-paced and packed with memorable characters.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Entertaining

Certainly not a "cozy" mystery. The story deals with death and dismemberment, racism, bigotry, sexism, and nepotism. It does so with compassion, a serious mind, and a lot of sarcasm. The very three-dimensional heroine is in the late stages of pregnancy, and the problems associated with getting her four existing children to where they need to be is treated as a complex problem second only to the murders to be solved. I look forward to other books by Mr. Nicieza.

Well done!

Enjoyed this book. A bit of mystery, cozy crime, societal commentary, and a dash of humor. A little different than the norm.

A great novel

This is the first novel of this author. It is a murder mystery and full of suspense. The some characters are easy to like and others easier to hate. The humor in the book is more the characters’ own traits rather than jokes. The narrator was very good and varied her presentation for each character.

Good a little slow.....

this is a fun story well written but it's just a little slow and very predictable

Triggering if you're not ready for the racism

so far the only thing this book has accomplished is showing how racist the author is.

Diversity at its best

Wonderful book!! The characters are amusing and entertaining. The author weaves an awesome story that held my attention throughout. I laughed out loud at some of the incidental comments made by the characters. Hope there are more novels to follow!!

Incredibly funny

I don't have kids, don't live in a suburb, but... it's the attitude and humor I love about this book. It takes me back to NY. The narration is perfect.

A debut to be celebrated

A fantastic read. Nicieza takes a solid mystery story and tells it with humor and sarcasm while avoiding absurdity. The characters are simultaneously relatable and flawed. Naudus delivers this story with just the right tone and pacing, allowing you to enjoy the wit before hitting you with the next line of tragic humanity. The writing and the reading were the perfect match.

Great fun romp, but..

The story was a lot of fun and I loved the tongue-in-cheek humor of the author. What would have made the Audible version better would have been a narrator with better ability to project the voices of the various characters and better comedic timing. Natalie Naudis is a fine narrator but maybe just not for this book. And I have to say - the voices she gave the children were like nails on a chalkboard.

intensely funny for a story about racist murders

truly enjoyed. laugh out loud clever at times. as the title suggests, the point isn't that you are supposed to like any of the characters. they are all thorny. but endearing in their own way. a fun read.