I’ll admit I wanted to read this book because it is written by Ottessa Moshfegh’s husband, and I believe that Moshfegh would not tolerate being married to a bad writer. I was correct.

This novel portrays the psyche of a woman named Susie who has been chewed up by the events of her life and is in the process of grieving while trying to continue living. I am wary of how male writers portray women’s inner lives, though Goebel did a fantastic job. The portrayal of Southern California made it the perfect setting for this satirical thriller. I couldn’t help but think of Moshfegh’s prose while reading this book. They share a kind of sharpness to the storytelling, like a sort of detachment that is more enticing than it is off-putting.

I think Moshfegh fans will love this book. It has the best of what makes Moshfegh’s writing enjoyable to me, with an experimental spirit and flair. I also think they are different enough as writers and storytellers that readers who perhaps didn’t connect with Moshfegh’s writing should try out this novel.

"Kill Dick" is sharp as a blade. Don’t go into this one expecting a paint-by-the-numbers thriller or mystery. This is a sophisticated literary novel involving a string of grisly murders targeting addicts in LA. Our heroine, Susie, is complicit in her own way. When she meets fraudster Peter, the plot thickens. The levels of corruption here are astonishing—and gripping. A savvy interrogation of wealth and capitalism, fraud and destruction, KILL DICK is not so much a genre thriller as it is a thoroughly modern satire that is not afraid to plunge into the depths of human depravity.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

"These men are nihilists, Donny. There's nothing to be afraid of."
A stream of consciousness rumspringa through the nihilism and opioids of LA circa 2016. I was reminded of the Coen brothers at points, Pynchon at others. The writing dripped with the consumerist nihilism of the era and asked some very heady questions about activist art, class and privilege and of course the experience of addiction. I enjoyed the wordplay and wink-wink-style, dark innuendo of Susie's narration. I've always found the above quote about nihilists from the Big Lebowski hilarious, but while reading this book I noted the irony of that moment from my favorite film considering Donny's imminent death. The nihilists in Kill Dick know better, but they're too rich and too stoned to care, and there's plenty to be afraid of as the world descends into chaos.

A fever dream in the best way.

Kill Dick is one of those books that feels both disorienting and deliberate, pulling you through a hazy, neon-lit version of Los Angeles where excess and decay blur together. The writing is sharp and immersive, with a satirical edge that keeps you slightly off balance—in a good way.

Susie is a fascinating, complicated presence at the center of it all, and the world around her feels uncomfortably real. The story weaves privilege, addiction, and corruption into something tense and atmospheric, without ever losing its dark sense of humor.

It’s gritty, stylish, and undeniably bold. Even when it unsettles you, it’s hard to look away.

Woah.
Where do I begin? This book lived up to its hype by being on Playboys Most Anticipated Books of 2026 list! I was counting down the days until it was published until I was lucky enough to receive the ARC through NetGalley.
I was invested in the story from page one and couldn't put it down. I felt every emotion as I turned the pages. Luke interwove many themes of systemic failure, privilege, exploitation, control and forces you to contemplate the life you are living and the corrupt systems surrounding you.
I have been waiting a long time for an author to hit every single mark. This book is bold, captivating, honest and raw. This book will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early and thanks to Luke Goebel for giving the world something truly unforgettable.
*All reviews are my honest and unbiased opinion.

If you read any book set in Los Angeles this year, it should be Kill Dick. Even the most languid scenes are set by Goebel with an intelligent fervor. He addresses the deep sickness present not only in addiction but in academia, art, the family unit, and even "rehabilitation." None of the characters in this book are fully present in their lives, but the author makes up for that with his sharp prose. Kill Dick is philosophical without being heavy-handed or pedantic. Goebel weaves in references to the art world which enrich the reading experience. You stay alert and engaged, the opposite of the opioid users whose inertia is likened to "captive audiences in traditional collegial learning environments." It's a very funny book. At one point, there's a quote from Gilles Deleuze: "A person's real charm is the side that shows them as somewhat unhinged, the side where even they don't really know their whereabouts ... if you can't grasp the root or seed of madness in someone, you can't truly like them. You can't love them." I think you will love Kill Dick!

unhinged, razor-sharp, and way too close to reality

This book doesn’t ease you in—it throws you straight into a version of Los Angeles that feels glossy on the surface and completely rotted underneath.

Susie Vogelman is nineteen, rich, untethered—and spiraling. The kind of character who has everything people chase, and still feels like there’s nothing there. She drifts through pills, parties, and privilege like it’s all background noise. And honestly? Watching her unravel is hard to look away from.

Then there’s Peter Holiday—a disgraced professor running a rehab setup that feels more like a scheme than salvation. The second their worlds collide, the story tilts into something darker, stranger, and way more volatile.

And hovering over all of it: addicts turning up dead across the city.

What starts as rumor turns into something much more unsettling—and the deeper it goes, the clearer it becomes that this violence isn’t random. It’s stitched into the same systems of wealth, power, and protection that people like Susie have always lived inside.

This isn’t just a thriller. It’s satire with teeth.

It’s brutal, darkly funny, and uncomfortably honest about how normalized excess, exploitation, and moral emptiness have become. No one is clean here. Not the elites, not the institutions, not even the people trying to escape it.

The writing is sharp, fast, and unpredictable—never letting you settle, never letting you feel safe.

It’s chaotic. It’s cynical. It’s disturbingly believable.

And somehow, it all lands.

This isn’t a story about redemption.
It’s about rot—and who gets to survive inside it.

Kill Dick by Luke Goebel feels exactly like the description promises: a fever dream. Chaotic, darkly funny, unsettling, and completely immersed in the uglier sides of privilege, addiction, and exploitation in Los Angeles.

Luke Goebel leans hard into satire here, using Susie’s spiral through wealth, corruption, and complicity to expose systems built on power and harm. The writing has this frantic, almost hallucinatory quality that matches the story well, making everything feel slippery and unstable in a way that fits the subject matter. It creates an atmosphere where you’re never quite grounded, which works for a novel so focused on decay beneath glossy surfaces.

One of the strongest aspects of the novel is how sharply it skewers privilege and moral detachment. Susie is not always an easy character to connect with, but I don’t think she is supposed to be. Her perspective helps underline just how insulated and destructive these worlds can become. Peter’s storyline adds another layer of absurdity and corruption, pushing the satire even further.

very interesting and super tense from start to end. it's by no means a predictable book and i think that's a strength. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

This one is not here to comfort you… it’s here to drag you.

Kill Dick is chaotic, brutal, and razor sharp in a way that feels too real. It exposes a story instead of telling one. And I was hooked and horrified the entire time.

Susie Vogelman is the definition of “privileged but unraveling”. Numbed out, floating through life on pills and denial, insulated by wealth but completely hollow underneath. Watching her slow collision with reality was like witnessing a car crash you can’t look away from. The deeper you get, the uglier it becomes.

And then there’s Peter… messy, manipulative, running a rehab scam that somehow feels both absurd and all very real. Their dynamic? Toxic, desperate, and completely gripping.

The backdrop of Los Angeles is dripping in rot. Glamour on the surface, decay underneath. It gave me those dark, sun-soaked noir vibes...like a modern descent into hell hiding behind palm trees and money. The writing is sharp, almost unhinged at times, but completely intentional. It cuts deep into addiction, wealth, exploitation, and the systems that quietly allow all of it to thrive.

What really stuck with me is how this book handles complicity. No one is innocent. Not fully. And it forces you to sit with that discomfort. To question where the line is between survival and self-destruction… and whether there even is one.

It’s violent, satirical, and deeply unsettling but there’s a purpose behind every brutal moment. Nothing feels like shock for the sake of it. It all builds into this suffocating, spiraling tension that just keeps tightening.
This is one of those reads that leaves you feeling a little sick, a little angry, and very awake.

I know addiction all to well so this one really sat with me. (Happy to say I am sober over a year now)


Thank you so much Netgalley, Luke B. Gospel, and Red Hen Press for the #gifted earc.
All opinions are my own 🖤