[A] ceaselessly funny debut ... Suburban Dicks is a well-oiled mystery, throughout which stereotypes fly from the mouths and pollute the minds of even well-meaning characters trying to get to the bottom of Sasmal's murder and the decades-old crime it points to. Nicieza, co-creator of Marvel's Deadpool, has set out to expose prejudice in all its hairy, shattering guises, and in so doing, he never fails to find a laugh where it hurts.
The plot unfolds at a fast-paced clip and with a great amount of confidence ... Suburban Dicks may be one of the most enjoyable crime stories I’ve read in recent years. Nicieza achieves a difficult balance between sarcastic amusement and realistic tragedy, never letting the story become too heavy or too light, dipping momentarily into each end as needed. There are deplorable characters, lovable characters, and pitiful losers in between. We never truly doubt that justice will be fully served by the end, but the path we take to getting there twists and turns in interesting directions.
[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.
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.
