The Self-Made Widow

Nicieza’s uneven sequel to 2021’s Suburban Dicks opens with the death of New Jersey lawyer Derek Goode, who collapses in his backyard while his wife, Molly, looks on passively and smiles. Andrea Stern, a friend of Molly’s who visits her soon afterward, observes that the new widow “looked as upset by her husband’s death as she might have been by running late for a class at YogaSoul.” Andrea, an “investigative savant” who cracked unsolved crimes, including serial murder, before graduating college, had her dreams of joining the FBI derailed by her first pregnancy. Now, she juggles five kids with assisting the West Windsor police as a consultant. Her suspicions about Molly are bolstered when Kenny Lee, a journalist who worked with Andrea on a previous case, gets an anonymous call accusing the widow of murder, despite the coroner’s conclusion that a preexisting heart condition was the cause of death. Andrea and Kenny again join forces to uncover the truth. The plot twists aren’t remarkable, and Nicieza doesn’t make any of the characters more than types. Fans of suburban-set mysteries will likely be disappointed. Agent: Albert Lee, United Talent Agency. (June)