| Title | : | Suburban Dicks (Suburban Dicks, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 400 |
| Publication | : | First published June 22, 2021 |
| Awards | : | Edgar Award Best First Novel by an American Author (2022) |
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 bumbling local cops are in way 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 readers will not be able to stop talking about.
Suburban Dicks (Suburban Dicks, #1) Reviews
-
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!
“Time changed our prejudices, but it didn’t change the fact that we were prejudiced.”
Pretty profound and introspective quote from a character in a book called Suburban Dicks that is written by the co-creator of Deadpool. This is a book that will have you laughing out loud one minute and angry at the injustices of minorities the next.
Andrea Stern is a wife and mother of four young children, and about “47 months” pregnant with her 5th child, judging by the size of her belly. She happens upon a crime scene at a gas station, which is hardly contained by the two officers in attendance. A young Indian man who worked at the station has been found gunned down. Andrea, who was once studying to become an FBI Profiler, has solved many mysteries in her day. Although her days are now filled with screaming children, she wants in on trying to solve this murder whether that’s her job or not.
Disgraced journalist Kenny Lee wants to solve this case as bad as Andrea, but for different reasons. His career took a major tumble, and he needs to write a really great story to get his life back on track. After running into Andrea while both of them are doing research, they decide to work together to solve the murder.
After some unusual and suspicious events take place that Andrea feels might be the result of racism, she and Kenny uncover part of a skeleton from years ago that might have ties to the fresh murder of the gas attendant...and they might uncover a decades long conspiracy and cover up that delves into racial tensions of the past and present.
As mentioned earlier, this book is at times hilarious, but with depth and suspense as the mystery plays out. It dives into the always relevant topic of systemic racism and doesn’t shy away at all. I would feel anger and sadness, and a minute later I was laughing again. That takes skill, and author Fabian Nicieza expertly balances it all with an intriguing mystery that is both heinous and compelling.
There are definitely parts of the novel that defy logic. For one, I don’t think cops or FBI agents would let Andrea and her children be present for arrests or suspect questioning. However, it’s so much F-ing fun (There’s A LOT of F-bombs...most of which are hilariously said by Andrea. There is also more derogatory and offensive language, so reader beware)! Andrea and Kenny are amazingly paired, and their interaction with each other was extremely entertaining. I loved both of them at the end of the day, and would love to read more about them in a sequel.
The buildup to the conclusion is definitely intense at times, and the ending is extremely satisfying...with the very last sentence cracking me up again. This one exceeded my expectations.
4.5 stars.
Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on: 6/22/21.
Review also posted at:
https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com -
(The fact I keep having to change autocorrect from Suburban DUCKS is driving me a little bonkers. This is not a wildlife book.)
⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Andi Stern traded in her life as an up-and-coming FBI profiler for one of SAHM. Except she stumbles on a murder scene and realizes the cops are bungling the scene. Tenaciously, she pursues this case she can NOT let go. She eventually teams up with a former Pulitzer winning journalist, now local ignominious news reporter Ken Lee in order to bring the culprits to justice. Body parts are found. Racism is rampant, and the suburb of New Window, NJ is spun into a tizzy.
💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💡: I love books that are MORE than mysteries… more in a sense of a lesson learned or a historical angle, social issues, etc and this one fits. The “tongue-in-cheek” title is apropos. Having humor (done well) interlaced with a pretty dang capable mystery is a tough accomplishment and here Nicieza deftly weaves the two. Andrea is a mother bear - feisty and feral (though in all honesty she COULD eat one of her cubs, I think, if they annoy her too much). Ken is a bit of a prat and doesn’t care for much except himself and his tarnished reputation.
I enjoyed the ride mostly due to Andrea - her perseverance and pride and refusal to be anything other than what she wanted was admirable. The honesty in her character is downright lovable - that she is in an unhappy marriage because her husband doesn’t support her goals and her desire to be a mom but maintain her intelligence outlet is a battle to which many women will relate. Andrea realizes how she misses her career and mostly that she shouldn’t HAVE to choose. Lots of issues to discuss about the cliche of “having it all” and what that means.
On the flip side I also don’t understand what Andrea is thinking, how she becomes a baby-making machine and then 10 years later wants to flip her life upside down. From that angle, I feel for her husband. Perhaps he never really knew her - these loose ends demand a second novel.
The race/ethnicity social issues in the book were superbly written - realistic to my personal experiences, and I love the moment when Andrea breaks the barrier. It was a pivotal moment and lesson - sometimes simply talking to someone unlike you reveals truths neglected, haven’t experienced, or were completely unaware of. A lesson for everyone I think.
𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
🅶🅴🅽🆁🅴: Mystery
😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: It’s a classically well-written mystery so all the peeps in that dept need to holla.
🙅♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: I suppose if you’re not into the social issues aspect.
ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ, ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ᴀɴᴅ ɢ.ᴘ. ᴘᴜᴛɴᴀᴍ’ꜱ ꜱᴏɴꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴍʏ ᴀᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇᴅ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴍʏ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ-ʜᴏɴᴇꜱᴛ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴍᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴀᴛ ᴍʏ ʟᴀᴡɴ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛʟʏ. -
True confession time: I've never seen a Deadpool or X-Men movie. So when I picked up this book, I had no idea what to expect. And maybe that's the key to reading happiness because I really enjoyed it. Part of that was down to a layered murder mystery that kept me on my toes. But a lot of it was due to spending time with Andie, one of the 2 MC's.
That would be Andrea Stern, former FBI profiler & current mother of 4. Yup, she gave up the job she loved for the glamorous life of a New Jersey housewife. She's also about 17 months pregnant with #5. Her days are spent dropping off her husband & running their brood to a plethora of school recitals, appointments & soccer games. Which is how she ended up pulling into a gas station moments after a dead body was found there by local police. Andie immediately realized 2 things. The cops have no clue what they're doing. And there's something very wrong with the crime scene.
Oh well, not her problem, right? Except her analytical brain leaps at the chance to chew on something other than what to make for supper. She can't help picking away at the case in her "spare" time but her investigation really kicks into gear after she runs into old school mate, Kenny Lee.
Kenny used to be a high flying Pulitzer winning investigative journalist. That was before one of his stories turned out to be more fiction than fact. Now he's back in West Windsor NJ, lucky to have a job at the local paper. A murder in town is big news but the police chief is oddly eager to close the case. When Kenny runs into Andie, they can't help but compare notes & agree to join forces on their own private investigation. That's right....they're suburban dicks.
Prepare to be entertained. Andie's big brain & prior experience provides direction while Kenny does the leg work (let's face it....it's easier to get around without 4 wee varmints in tow). But it's amazing what Andie uncovers during casual chats with other soccer moms & neighbours & the pair soon realize they've stumbled across something far more complex than the "simple" murder of one gas station attendant.
I'll be honest....some of the plot twists seemed a bit out there & in less assured hands, I'm don't know that I could have suspended my disbelief that far. But I was enjoying some of the characters so much I found it easy to just go with the flow & enjoy the ride (plus a couple I seriously wanted to see get body slammed by karma). Andie's thoughts on suburbia & motherhood in general are sharply observed & delivered with just enough snark. There's no doubt she loves her kids but she also mourns the woman/life that came before & craves the mental stimulation you just can't get from listening to the Minions sing "You Really Got Me" for the 4000th time ( even if it is a killer version IMHO 👍 ).
There's an interesting dynamic between the 2 MC's. Neither is living the the life they envisioned & this contributes to their mutual desire to crack the case, perhaps relive their "glory days". Kenny sees it as a chance for redemption, a last attempt to regain some credibility & self respect. Andie is motivated by the sheer pleasure of having an intricate puzzle to solve & her unshakeable belief that scumbag criminals must go down.
So there you have it...a smart, entertaining story enhanced by sharp dialogue & a wide range of characters. If you have a long plane/train/car/bus trip in your future, it's the perfect book to pack along with your snacks, Advil & duct tape. -
The quest for “different” has been successful again with this amusing, and really down to earth story which is neither a thriller nor a cosy. But it is a very entertaining murder mystery.
Andrea Stern, heavily pregnant with her fifth child, is the first witness (apart from her 4 other children) at the scene of a shooting death at a gas station. She has stopped there because her youngest needed the bathroom. Two patrol officers are at the scene doing everything wrong and Andrea has no hesitation in telling them exactly that. Andrea is whip smart and, before falling pregnant with her first child (accidentally I would imagine), she was blitzing a criminology degree and was accepted as a cadet profiler with the FBI. She had also managed to identify the perpetrator of a series of brutal killings. Now she is a housewife and mother who is chaffing at the constraints on her life.
Kenny Lee is a self confessed scumbag journalist whose career started with a bang and has gone downhill steadily since then. The police are peddling the drug deal or robbery gone wrong angle for the murder but Andrea knows that is rubbish. Kenny tries to verify the drug angle but comes up empty because there is nothing there. These two unlikely accomplices team up to work together to solve the murder. Along the way they get more than they bargained for.
The dialogue in this book is very crisp and full of acerbic humour. Andrea herself is a wonderful character. She loves her children but kind of hates her life as it suppresses her keen intellect as a necessity of mothering four young children with a fifth on the way. She lumbers her way through a subversive investigation and plots out, with Kenny, the best way to force a chink in the armour of police and administrative solidarity. She also gets the Indian community on board and co-opts her friends for surveillance duty!
She soon has a motive for the murder but that is only half the story. Along the way she and Kenny, along with her first love, Ramon from the FBI, uncover a decades old crime that is still being covered up today. It all comes down to that ugly old trait of racism and the entitlement of the white male ruling class. This was a very different take on the old murder mystery story and I really appreciated that and enjoyed the book immensely. While it was written in a comedic way it was no comedy as there were some very serious issues in play. I think this book would appeal to a wide variety of readers. You just have to accept a view of motherhood that is not very saintly to enjoy it. I could certainly relate. I love my children to bits but there were times.... I received an advance copy for free from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. -
4.5 Stars
That was honestly such an entertaining murder mystery with two main characters that absolutely deserve a series. The social issues made for tricky reading at times because Fabian certainly tackles homomisia and racism within our communities, both in a historical context and in the present day, in a confronting but thought provoking way. This sounds pretty heavy but it was written by the co-creator of Deadpool so it was also irreverently funny. "57 week" pregnant mother, Andie, was so single-minded in her determination to act according to who she is and not who her husband expects to be that she ended up making some questionable parenting choices whilst dragging her kids along in the pursuit of justice. Kenneth, former Pulitzer Prize winning journalist now disgraced reporter for the local rag, was also such a brilliantly written character.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will definitely be reading book 2.
CW: -
This was a most creative, unique and well written story. Andrea is a former FBI profiler who pulls up to a murder scene because one of her four children has to pee. Her life is mundane with her children (and one on the way) and her husband that she could care less about. Andrea decides that she is going to figure out who killed the young gas station attendant and why. Insert a weary newspaper reporter who is down on his luck. Together these two set out to uncover the truth and solve not only one, but two murders. I found this story to be compelling and full of funny moments and witty dialog. I loved Andrea and admired her determination.
-
A recent shooting at a gas station turns out to be linked to an old crime. The suburban New Jerseylocale is home to residents of multiple ethnicities that do not always get along as well as it appears on the surface. Andrea Stern is the hugely pregnant mother of 4 who stumbles on to the new crime scene. At one time she had hoped to become a criminal profiler, but that career was derailed when she became pregnant and decided to marry Jeff, the father of her child. Andrea is compelled to find the shooter and she is joined in her investigation by Kenneth Lee, a prize winning reporter who is now scraping by in the lowest rung of journalism, after having falsified a story.
The plot of this book wasn’t bad and if it had been written by someone else, someone who didn’t try to turn the horrific linked crimes into a cosy domestic comedy, I might have enjoyed this book more. As it is, I didn’t find anything even slightly amusing about the book. I didn’t understand why Andrea, who hated both Jeff and parenting, would have decided to spend her entire life pregnant. We are constantly being told how intelligent she is, but she sure doesn’t act like it. She drags her children along as she investigates murderers, and has the nerve to get snippy with Jeff when he objects to this. Frankly, I sided with Jeff (even though he was a crook). And then there was the brigade of housewives running around like the Scooby-Doo crowd doing surveillance on the suspects. The author even mentions Scooby-Doo, so he knew exactly what he was doing, and liked it. I also wasn’t crazy about Kenneth who was both pushy and snotty. I would not be interested in a sequel.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. -
I'll start with the brilliant title which gets 5 stars from me and is what lured me into reading this book. The premise: Andie Stern, a former FBI profiler who gave up her career to be a stay-at-home mom, now very pregnant with her 5th kid, she stumbles across a murder scene while stopping at a gas station so one of her kids could use the bathroom.
As a protagonist, Andie was mostly likable. She was clever, sarcastic, and witty, and it was easy to relate to her wanting a little more excitement in her life. What bothered me was how all of the suburban moms felt like they had to give up their careers to have kids, like there was no other choice. Perhaps it was just my mood when I read it, but as a working mom, this just rubbed me the wrong way.
Suburban Dicks is a mystery at heart, but it also tackles some current social issues. While some of the racial issues were realistically written, others were very over the top. The opening chapter was really good, but the ending dragged on bit and lost steam for me. This is one of those books where you have to put reality aside and just go along for the crazy ride. 3.5 stars. -
Here's another one that I can thank GRs for getting my attention. It's a title that is, although eye-catching, one I would probably skip over at the library. But then when I saw it was penned by the co-creator of Deadpool plus Michael David's glowing review, I knew I had to check this out.
A very pregnant already mother of 4 and former wonderkid FBI profiler recruit Andrea Stern teams up with Kenny Lee, a disgraced journalist looking to get back to his glory days when he won a Pulitzer as a college student. Together they're trying to solve a local murder of an Indian gas station attendant with a possible connection to a murder over 50 years ago.
The humor is very much in the vein of Deadpool but with more depth and even heart. Our two MCs aren't the most likeable and you'll scratch your head at every personal decision they make. But you can't help but to love them at the same time. They're flawed but relatable.
The author tackles deeply heavy topics on racism but balances it with a slew of witty zingers, keeping the mood light.
The mystery was compelling and kept me guessing until the satisfying conclusion. It's not one where you can pick up on clues and solve it yourself, unless you just select a random character and say THEM. All will be revealed and it adds up... mostly. The motive was a little weak, IMO. The journey there was entertaining enough though.
You'll have to suspend belief quite a bit on the realistic part of the police work. No way Andrea is involved and recognized as much as she is here as a civilian. But hey, it's fiction. And I'm here for it. Can't wait for the 2nd in this series in just a few months!
I'm a sucker for a good final sentence, and Fabian Nicieza pulls off one of the best final punches I've ever read! (Note - this may be a polarizing take, depending on your taste in humor 🤣) -
It’s always a pleasure to stumble upon a book that is simply a joy to read and that’s exactly what happened when I opened to the first page of Suburban Dicks. Fabian Nicieza peppers a great mix of inappropriate humour and drama throughout which serves to ensure the story rolls along at a tremendous pace creating a narrative that is as high in impact as it is entertaining.
Andrea Stern is seven months pregnant, looks like a beach ball and is further encumbered by 4 out of control kids under 9. She’s also an outstanding detective who has had to park her career aspirations in favour of her family.
Kenny Lee is a former Pulitzer Prize winning reporter whose career has been in a death-spiral after fabricating sources in a bid to remain relevant in the face of the dreaded downsizing of the industry.
These are two of the investigative minds outside of the official law enforcement channels who christen themselves the Suburban Dicks as they unearth a potential long-standing crime.
When Andrea stumbles into a murder scene at a local gas station she immediately notices the uniformed police are doing a particularly poor job at securing it. The station attendant, who is originally from India, had been shot in the head in what appears to be an execution-style shooting. When she later watches the police press conference regarding the murder she knows that more than a few lies are being told about the victim and the nature of the crime. It screams cover-up. But why?
In the meantime she and Kenny come across a pattern of apparent discrimination in the local area. Pool construction requests filed with the local government by Asian residents have been rejected on flimsy grounds. There’s something going on and it’s setting Andrea’s antennae a-twitching.
There is a 50 year old secret hiding in the ground around the New Jersey towns of West Windsor and Plainsboro and Andrea and Kenny are putting together a plan to uncover it. On top of that, there’s the matter of the gas station murder to deal with.
This was a really entertaining murder mystery in large part due to the sharp capability and unflinching honesty of Andrea. She has a mind that’s as quick as a whip when it comes to crime detection and, also, doesn’t hold back when discussing her 4 monsters, aka her children.
One of the key themes that shouldn’t be missed is the ever-present problem of discrimination and prejudice against people of Chinese and Indian descent as well as African-American racism dating back to the ‘60s.
The pairing of Andrea and Kenny is inspired and the dialogue is consistently entertaining. While there are some serious themes covered as the story plays out it is also clearly meant to be approached with a more lighthearted attitude in mind. For this, I can forgive some of the more fanciful leaps of faith that were taken in the investigation as well as the less than likely shunning of proper police protocol that takes place.
I’m definitely down for getting my hands on the sequel to this well put together debut. Suburban Dicks was a finalist for the 2022 Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel. -
Andrea Stern was once on the fast-track to become a talented FBI profiler, but is now hugely pregnant with her fifth child. Kenneth Lee once broke a major sex scandal as a reporter, but has since floundered in his career. When Andrea pulls into a gas station to find a restroom for one of her children, she happens upon two police officers overseeing an active murder investigation. Needless to say, all of her FBI-worthy instincts are activated and quickly takes in key details. Kenneth and Andrea knew each other when they were teenagers; and soon, the two ‘suburban misfits’ team up to conduct their own investigation.
Interestingly, the key to solving the gas attendant’s murder may lie with certain Indian Americans being denied approval to put in backyard pools. Is it due to suburban racism or something more ominous?
Nicieza satirizes the pervasiveness of racism, the challenge of stay-at-home motherhood, masculine toxicity, and modern-day media self-promotion. This is one quirky thriller with appealing—but flawed—main characters. Enjoy! -
This was a very enjoyable read, and I can't help wondering what might come next. After all, the hero is a NJ housewife with 3 or 4 kids, and just about ready to produce another, so how will she have time to do any more detective work. In fact, that might be the saddest part of the story, because she is questioning her love for her husband and stuck raising kids instead of doing what she most wants to do, which is solving crimes. Or it would be the saddest part if some innocent people had not died for very bad reasons, none of which was their fault.
The story starts off on a pretty humorous track, with said pregnant housewife's baby girl peeing all over a crime scene at a gas station when all they wanted was to use a restroom - fast. There was more humor mixed in, but also some pretty serious stuff, with racial hatred, killings, and people getting caught up in things they did not want to be in. It was an interesting story, although the ending was a bit messy. But you'll have to read the book to learn more about that.
EDIT: I forgot to add that I thought this was reminiscent of The Thursday Murder Club series, by
Richard Osman, a favorite of mine. Both have an experienced dominant woman leading a group of amateurs. -
Oh, my, I enjoyed this book so much! What happens when you pair a disgraced journalist with a woman who once had a chance as a brilliant criminal profiler but now has four children and one on the way? Utter hilarity and hijinks!
I knew this was going to be hysterical when at the start, very pregnant Andie Stern pulls up to the murder scene of a young Indian man at a gas station in her minivan with four screaming children in tow. She climbs out to take her youngest to the bathroom, and the female cop on the scene, Michelle Wu, describes Andie exiting the minivan as:
“if the minivan was oozing an egg yolk.”
Wu ,who is childless, also talks about the minivan and its screaming occupants,
“the van door seemed like a portal into hell” and “the minivan was a rolling advertisement for Ortho.”
I was already laughing hysterically and knew this ride was going to be fun! And it was. It was a crazy, up and down, roller-coaster ride of crazy proportions, but there were serious sides to the story as well. One being the over-the-top, offensive racist stereotyping. It was so bad that I soon realized that the author purposely did this to enlighten the reader on how horrible and outrageous systemic racism is and the damage it causes.
Secondly, Andie’s sadness was palpable, and her knowledge that the possibility of doing what she loved was slim. Her husband’s indifference was disheartening and I disliked him immensely!
But in the end, the combination of Andie and Kenny and their interactions were hilarious. Throw the kids in the mix, and it was a recipe for disaster! As they investigated the murder in the remarkably diverse community they lived in, they would discover something deeper and darker that existed.
This book was well worth my time, for the laughter, the enlightenment, and the very last sentence, which made me laugh so loud my husband thought I was losing my mind. Well done.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for the opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review. I gave it four stars. -
I don't usually review books I DNF, but this one was just...I'm baffled by the high rating. There was nothing entertaining or funny in the 120 pages I read. It seems to want to tackle the racism and bigotry in suburbia by *being* racist and bigoted. It feels like the author thought taking an "I'm not racist if I make fun of everyone equally" approach would make it less appalling, but it was just really distasteful.
Additionally, the main characters are awful. The references to the ungainliness of a pregnant woman's body just felt very much like a man writing a woman.
Maybe everyone has a come to jesus moment at the end where they realize they're all awful people, but I'm just not willing to wade through another 200 pages to get to it. -
I could spend a lot of time talking about why SUBURBAN DICKS is such a great novel, or I could simply urge you — regardless of your reading tastes — to buy it because it's the novel that's truly got something for everyone. It's funny but it's not a comedy except in a dark-but-not-quite-black way. It's got hints of noirish darkness but isn't dominated by them. It's a story of time and place, but that place — West Windsor, New Jersey — has shadings of pretty much every place in America. It's about institutional racism but only the most histrionic white supremacist would file this book under "critical race theory." It's about marriage and it's about singledom and it's about the long tail of bad choices and about about forty-seven other things, all incredibly entertaining and interesting without ever being frothy or flyweight.
What I like best about SUBURBAN DICKS is its room for character nuance in a crime story that isn't chained to crime-fiction character tropes. The clueless, passive-aggressive husband has some fair points. The killer earns some measure of sympathy. The officious bureaucrats show some humanity in the face of demonstrable wrongdoing. The whites and the Indians find some common cause without being performative about it. The talented reporter is really kind of a dick, and he's kind of a dick because he's sad and lonely and awkward in a way I, at least, found painfully relatable.
Also, SUBURBAN DICKS is charming as balls without, thankfully, being a bit cozy.
Also, SUBURBAN DICKS is insanely tweet-quotable, which, over the course of several hundred reviews, I have found to be a reliable benchmark of commercially literary quality. It's going to be hard not to drop about eighty-seven of these, but here's a handful of good ones in case you're still on the fence about whether to read SUBURBAN DICKS:
"Fifty years ago, it was a bunch of farmers angry at the thought of a black teenager and a white teenager being in love. Now most people would shrug their shoulders at that. Time changed our prejudices, but it didn’t change the fact that we were prejudiced. At least Kenneth Lee knew that the one thing he could say for himself was that he was self-aware. He had grown up apart from both the Asian community and the American community. To the mostly immigrant Asians, his family was American. To the average white-bread American, he was Asian. Kenny had always been comfortable in the knowledge that his true identification was as an A***ole American."
"Andrea tried not to blame her husband for her unhappiness, but it was hard not to, since he was responsible for her unhappiness."
"He knew he had opened the town up to months of turmoil and uncertainty. He had set in motion something that would generate deep fissures and resentment in their community, but like most things in suburban America, it would crawl back into the comfortable cobwebs of the soul. It would lie dormant, as it usually did, until something else cropped up and gave it a chance to crawl out and see the sun again for a few minutes. Belligerent ignorance for the comfortably ignorant. Kenny loved New Jersey."
"They sat down and Andrea wished she could say something about the murder, about her frustration, her sadness, and especially the excitement she felt because someone had been murdered."
“What about the kids?” she snapped. “Jeff, you have no clue what I’m doing with them all day long. For all you know, Thursday at ten a.m. is when I normally zip-tie them and lock them in the closet for an hour while I mount the UPS man.”
"In her real life, Molly had been a systems analyst for Wells Fargo. She tried to run her household like it was an entity-relationship model, in which a causal relationship between every action and reaction could be predicted and manipulated. She maintained absolute disciplinary control of her husband and her kids. Andrea both admired and was repulsed by her."
“You’re sorry for asking me? Are you kidding? A day without the kids, a road trip in search of a murderer, and the absolute possibility that I might deliver your baby somewhere on the New York State Thruway? Sounds like a dream come true.”
"He watched her leave, wondering why he had ever loved her more than the stars and the skies and Jessica Alba and, for some odd reason that confused him to this day, George Stephanopoulos."
"He was a dick, but he was good at it."
"She came to his cubicle twenty minutes later holding the hand-edited printout of his article. She preferred to copyedit on the page, and he was fine with that. It was the only aspect of her performance he found charming."
“'The half-a**ed way you get s**t done is simply amazing,' she said."
"She didn’t want the attention, but not for the reasons Jeff didn’t. He was just insecure. But for her, it was about privacy and process. And also, because she looked like a hippo with a black Chia Pet on top of its head. Her process was internal and negligently intuitive. She didn’t like talking about it, not the least of which was because it was hard to explain and harder to understand. And she wasn’t comfortable speaking in public. And she hated the usual stupidity of reporters’ questions. And she didn’t like being used as a political prop. But most of all, it was because she looked like a hippo with a black Chia Pet on top of its head."
"Speak slowly. Don’t get mired in detail. Mention your kids and family at least once. Don’t speak too smartly. People don’t like intelligence anymore.”
"Andrea thought of Kenny, looking like a panther ready to pounce. She respected his tenacity and his utter disregard for what people thought of him. She thought of how sad and lonely he was, and how she had likely contributed to that by the way she had treated him when they were younger. Would this be a real opportunity for him to get his life back on track or just another excuse for him to f*** things up all over again?" -
Suburban Dicks is a compelling, satirical and insightful crime debut from the co-creator of Deadpool featuring two unlikely and unforgettable amateur sleuths. When gas station attendant Satkunananthan Sasmal is shot at point-blank range while pumping gas for motorists at a garage in the small town of West Windsor, New Jersey, Andrea "Andie" Stern, a mother of four currently pregnant with her fifth child who was once predicted to become a prominent FBI Criminal Profiler and once responsible for netting a vicious serial killer before unexpectedly conceiving and giving up her dreams to become an attentive full-time mum is the first on the scene. She had stopped to find a bathroom for her kids to relieve themselves when she discovered the body. Local police believe it's a botched armed robbery but Andie needs only one glance at the crime scene to see that it was clearly a cold-blooded execution. The inconsistencies are glaringly obvious in the police work, but you can be willingly blind to them if you're a copper just looking to close a case. For Andie, though, it's more about justice so she decides to begin an investigation herself and vows to find the killer using her expert analytical skills and acute perceptiveness.
Meanwhile, disgraced newspaper investigative reporter Kenneth Lee is in the process of trying to resurrect his stalled career with a story uncovering the three-decades-old murder that occurred in the West Windsor–Plainsboro area and the perpetrator responsible for it. Kenny and Andrea soon team up and they discover that the 30-year-old case seemingly has connections to the recent racially motivated shooting. Can they solve it? This is a compulsive and richly entertaining crime thriller and an investigation uncovering the creeping darkness of American suburbia. Full of wicked black humour, but razor-sharp beneath the laughs, Suburban Dicks casts a scathing eye over modern-day America. It’s a one-of-a-kind mystery that will charm, harrow and grip the reader to the final pages, is predicated on a thematic foundation and is actually about the fears we have of changing cultures in our towns: fear of immigrants and the fear of loss of control and power. A quirky, raucously entertaining and topical thriller touching on cultural and racial diversity, institutional racism, the culture of white supremacy, toxic masculinity and the self-aggrandizing role of the media. Highly recommended. -
Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza is an excellent murder/mystery procedural that kept me glued to my chair, forgetting all else until I could finish this gem in less then 2 days.
I have read my fair share of detective novels, but this one just fit the bill for me. It checked off every box I need in order to have a great experience, and then some:
1. Interesting and intricate (but not too complicated) murder/mystery plot.
2. Fantastic cast of characters, especially the main duo: Andie Stern- mother to a full minivan (soon to add one more) of children that she has ended up choosing over her history in the FBI-though secretly missing that facet of her life, and Kenneth Lee-a now diagraced and bottomed out newspaper journalist that is hoping to find his “it can only go up from here” moment from within the bottom of the current barrel that is suburban NJ.
3. A beyond awesome narrative, banter, one-liners, sarcasm, dark, sassy, fiesty, and literally laugh out loud moments that could have only been written by the author himself
What the reader then gets to experience is a witty, fast-paced, but yet perfectly timed, dark yet humorous story that kept that perfect balance throughout. It almost makes you feel guilty to laugh at some of the gritty, dark, and mildly inappropriate thoughts, actions, and verbiage...almost. It most certainly did not stop me. Ha.
Beyond excellent. I highly recommend this, and am so glad there is a follow up, because there has to be after that hilarious ending. And there better be more then just one...this could be an epic series in the making.
5/5 stars
Thank you EW and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this awesome ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR, Instagram, and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 6/22/21. -
Suburban Dicks marks the debut novel for long-time comic book writer, and co-creator of the Marvel Comics character Deadpool, Fabian Nicieza. If you're at all familiar with the latter creation, either via comics or movies, you'll know one thing about this mystery book already -- Suburban Dicks is a freaking blast!
After a gas station attendant is murdered, former would-be FBI profiler Andrea Stern teams up with local disgraced reporter Ken Lee to get to the bottom of things after it becomes clear the police are either incompetent or corrupt... or maybe both.
Suburban Dicks perfectly scratched that Veronica Mars-sized itch I seem to perpetually have thanks to its snappy, snarky humor and whip-smart lead. Andrea herself shares a lot in common with Mars, having been a teen sleuth herself, responsible for solving several high school cases involving missing phones and locating the keys to various parents' liquor cabinets, but her biggest claim to fame came in helping identify and capture a notorious serial killer before graduating college. Before she was able to join the FBI's Behavior Analysis Unit, though, she found herself pregnant and torn between work and starting a family.
Now, Andrea perpetually kicks herself for being a fat broodmare as the mother of four and pregnant with the fifth. Her marriage sucks and while she loves her kids, she hates her life. It's not until the murder of Satku Sasmal that she begins to find purpose. For reporter Lee, it's a chance to make amends for sabotaging his own career, with an eye on fame and fortune via an eventual Netflix documentary unravelling the decades-long conspiracy he and Andrea have uncovered.
Suburban Dicks is a consistently enjoyable page-turner, and I dug the hell out of the brash, ballsy humor on damn near every page here. Beyond that, it's also pretty damn smart, and Nicieza kept me on my toes with some intriguing, well-timed reveals and a rich, deeply layered mystery. Add in some pointed commentary on the prejudices and racism of white suburbia and corrupt police, and you've got yourself a terrific whodunnit. Highly recommended. -
3.5.
If you are looking for a serious, structured and realistic mystery, then go someplace else. On the other hand, if you enjoy slapstick, gallows humor, good characters and social commentary, then you will enjoy this book. As the title suggests the plot takes place in suburban New Jersey and the “dicks” are a mother of 4, expecting a fifth, that was an FBI profiler and former Pulitzer Prize winner who has fallen on hard times. -
I am a sucker for a snarky suburban mom story - add in an amateur sleuth murder mystery and I was totally sold on this book!!!
Andie Stern is heavily pregnant with her FIFTH child when she stumbles across a dead body at a gas station. Unable to let the mystery of what happened go, she starts digging into the past and uncovers another body that ends up being linked to the one she found.
I loved so much about this book! Smart dialogue, memorable characters, criticisms of the casual and entrenched racism found in small town predominantly white neighborhoods. It's also a moving look into the challenges of modern marriage, especially when one partner gives up so much of their former identity to be the caretaker.
This was a twisty, clever murder mystery that I won't soon forget. Great on audio narrated by my fav Natalie Naudus too and highly recommended for fans of Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan series!! -
For me the first 3rd was 4 stars, the middle 3rd 3 stars and the last third 2 to 2.5 stars tops.
The humor makes you laugh until it doesn't. Sarcasm coupled with body function humor can only go so far with me. Too much becomes slapstick juvenile overflow dressing. Like a great salad with one gloating and dense thick ingredient drowning the whole until one next mouthful becomes sickening.
Loved the N.J. mixes of groups designated and the suburban mores flows. But not so much of the inherent stereotyping of judgments parsed in some of the ways that were nuance inferred or implied. But that is author's choice and didn't really effect rating. Some were funny. Some not so much. For instance, in my suburbia- every single racial or ethnic group is at the gun range. Not a one hates the gun club entity either. Black and Asian ethnic predominate actually there. Too much of that type of continual bottom lining to reality of the present to "all"=real or reality here. Certainly vast stereotyping predominates. Generalizing became disgusting at points.
What really centered making this less than a fun read for me was both the plotting curve and the heavy language spoken to Jeff in front of their kids. Ugh! All my laughs stopped. Flawed both but that role modeling is destructive. What a self-described dichotomy too. No one of such hubris about their own smartness and superior intellect gets pregnant by "accident" more than 3 times. Let alone 5. And there is not a path to Andrea's assurances re the evidence finds several times too. Many other avenues could have had play. Like land contamination knowledge or other past liabilities of use to title. To tell more would be spoilers.
The plot also held some flaws. That many people (any group over 3) can never hold tight mouths for 50 years. It's impossible. That has been studied too. Doesn't occur unless 4 or 5 are dead within 5 years.
Regardless there was some extremely specific and memorable scenes in this entertaining tale. At least two or three of them. The picture posited of that pee/ urination hold being one.
This will be VERY popular as it plays full boat with blame game times too. And the toilet and lowlife humor fans, as well. Most likely that I will not be drawn to another of his. Too many arrogant. Too many rude, selfish. And almost entirely soulless. And funny that becomes not in short order. Very quickly. Too glib.
Absolutely hated the last page and double that for the last paragraph too. Cheap trick technique to end a longbook! For me it becomes gross cartoon when writers do that kind of thing. -
The plot for this book is creative and moves at a good pace. The author has inserted lots of sarcastic humor and where it hit the mark with me it was laugh out loud funny. Some of it went wide of me, and that left me with mixed feelings. There are great twists and turns throughout which keeps the book fresh and the characters are well developed with both good and not so good traits. It also feels very contemporary as it deals in part with racial injustice and divisiveness within the community as well as the police and government who are supposed to be working for all the citizens of the area.
.
There are lots of references to jokes and body parts/functions, some of which were a bit too graphic for my tastes. It was difficult to get through the first few pages of the book which focus on Andie, the lead protagonist of the story who is a frazzled, heavily pregnant mother of four. She doesn’t like parenting, and would prefer the children be more “free range”. There is a graphic recounting of when Andie arrives at the crime scene, in search of a bathroom for her youngest. I could have done with less details about the toddler’s solution. In the midst of this, Andie is also viewing the scene, making mental notes, and drawing conclusions as to what took place.
The murder is eventually tied to events of nearly sixty years ago and Andie, along with Kenny, a reporter who is working to solve the crime, write up the story, and redeem himself, exposes the ways in which two crimes, separated by sixty years, are connected. In both time periods, racism is at the heart of the crime, but now a New York Jew and an Asian-American reporter are working to uncover the murderer of a young middle eastern Indian man which in some ways indicates how society has changed.
At the book’s close, a press conference is held. As Andie steps up to the microphone, the author returns to his pattern of graphically detailing some bodily functions, in this case Andie’s water breaking. In effect, this “bookends” the telling of the mystery with two short stories designed to be funny, however for me they fell flat. I would have enjoyed the story more without the more graphic depictions both at the start and end of the book. My thanks to Penguin Group’s G P Putnam and Sons and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy for this review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. -
Giveaway Win!
-
HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME!! And I shudder to think how easy it would have been to pass on this debut novel by the guy with the unpronounceable name.
I was just literally a few pages into the book when I realized I'd stumbled on to a pretty special book. I wanted to know who the author was, clicked on his name on Goodreads, and saw him credited as the author of 1,227 books. That's not a typo. While this is his debut novel, he's a prolific and successful writer of comic books. Which is kind of funny to me, because this nuanced and--yes--humorous mystery is the furthest thing from comic book writing.
At it's heart are the characters, which is exactly what I say about all the best books, regardless of genre. The main character is an amateur detective, a suburban mom of four--soon to be five--and really no amateur. Her partner is a down-on-his-luck journalist. The case(s) they uncover are for each, in their own way, a shot at redemption. Now, I understand what I've described above isn't exactly reinventing the wheel, but what's the other thing I always say? Execution is everything.
So, often when a mystery is driven by absolutely terrific characters, the actual mystery part takes a backseat for me. Not so, here! This is a great plot that kept me turning the pages at breakneck speed. Just everything about the structure, the pacing, and the power and timeliness of the story being told was deftly handled.
There's nothing about this book to indicate it's the first book of a series. The way it ends, there's certainly an opening for further stories. And obviously, should they materialize, they will be must-read for me. But I'm of two minds. I remember feeling this way about Peter Heller's Celine. She was an amazing character, and he never returned to her. And as much as I would have enjoyed seeing more of her, there's something deeply satisfying about that one really fantastic novel. So, regardless of what Mr. Nicieza writes next, I'll be reading it. Unless it's a comic book. But let's hope he's got more novels on the way, because I am officially a fan! -
From the first page of SUBURBAN DICKS, I knew it was a winner. All the usual parts of a detective story were there — smart amateurs, dumb cops, no apparent motive, etc. — but they were put together in a zigzag way, hilarious on one hand, serious racial questions on the other. Definitely a five star read, even though I kept asking myself as I read: “Why did Andrea marry Jeff? And why did she keep having his children?” Jeff was slimy, loathsome, and boring. Andrea admits that she never loved him, even when they started dating, and now, a suburban wife and mother of his children, she hates him (although not the children). She reveals this several times throughout the story. So why does she keep having his children? This question is never satisfactorily answered. Still the writing was so good and the zigzags so amusing, that I’m giving this five stars. But I expect to see Jeff murdered on the first page of the next instalment. I’ll be very disappointed if he isn’t dispatched immediately, and Andrea has to spend the next book proving that she didn’t do it, although she had reasons galore for doing so.
-
It’s an amazing accomplishment to me that a funny, smart, edgy who-done-it could so seamlessly and logically thread the huge social issue of racism into its telling that it feels so right and so balanced … and only adds to how fascinating the story is. One aspect of racism examined shown in this quote: Does the institution lead the individuals to act in a certain way, or do the consistent actions of many individuals create institutionalized, systemic racism?
Two struggling amateur detectives working this case – a New Jersey genius woman, tied down with many kids, and a disgraced, socially-inept reporter who crossed an ethical line after early fame. Excellent characters who I hope to meet again. -
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this. I'm familiar with Fabian Nicieza's work—he being my favorite Marvel Comics writer from the early '90s—but writing for what is primarily a visual medium doesn't always translate well to prose.
I needn't have worried. With the exception of one very awkward simile, I enjoyed everything about this. I think I sat with jaw dropped during the last half of the gas station scene, wondering what I had just gotten into, and there were multiple times throughout the book that I quirked an eyebrow in "did-he-just-write-that?" mode, interspersed with a few chuckles here and there.
But that ending....
I don't recall the last time I sat up in bed and laughed out loud at the end of a novel (particularly when it's after 1 a.m.)
If you like Deadpool's sarcastic tone, you'll probably enjoy this as well. It's more of a crime/comedy fusion, but at the heart are 2 protagonists who have a history together, and both are stuck in circumstances they're not enjoying, mostly because of their own self-sabotage. These two uncover a conspiracy with racial overtones that links two murders over generations.
Definitely one of my favorites so far this year. Excited to read the next in the series!
5 out of 5 stars. -
Oh, please tell me this is the start of a series. I haven’t had this much fun reading a mystery in a very long time. Fantastic characters, a terrific whodunnit, and the perfect amount of laugh-out-loud, super dry humor. Highly, highly recommend!
-
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Suburban Dicks.
I won't lie. I requested this because of the title.
Yes, the blurb sounded interesting, especially since the author is a co-creator of Deadpool so I knew this was going to be funny, at least.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
Andie Stern, a mother of five, stumbles into a murder by accident when one of her children needs to use the potty at a gas station.
Sadly, the gas station attendant was just gunned down and the first responders are incompetent, to put it nicely.
Andie is not your typical suburban mom; she's wily, resourceful and smart.
And, when she teams up with Kenneth Lee, a former star journalist, now disgraced and working at a local rag, the unlikely duo uncover a murder conspiracy spanning five decades, based on systemic racism, social class and status.
Andie is a likable character; intelligent, wise-cracking, and a good mom.
The author offers brief glimpses into Andie's Oliver Twist-like childhood, keeping it vague and mysterious, making you want more.
She's smart, way smarter than her husband; she's resourceful, capable and living a cliche life of motherhood and wife, leaving behind a promising career in the FBI once she got pregnant.
It was also refreshing to read about Kenneth Lee, a person of color as a main character is not something I see or read often in novels.
He plays off Andie's self-sufficient personality, offering help in areas she needs assistance in and she does the same.
The story is engaging; it's funny, serious, darkly comedic and offers a diverse supporting cast, including an Asian mayor.
The only caveat is near the end where the narrative began to drag; it took too long for loose ends to be tied up and the rest of the suspects rounded up.
The ending is satisfying and funny, exactly what I expected from the author.
I hope this means there will be a sequel. -
More like 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this enough to want to read (listen to) the next book.
