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The Sugar Man

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The Sugar Man

By: Nicolás Obregón
Narrated by: Barbara Barnes
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A serial killer in a small religious cult. A detective who has waited decades for justice.

Dakota Finch never really recovered from the day her best friend was murdered. Dakota and Flora were best friends – and Dakota has never confessed her own dark secret about what she did that day.

Years later, Dakota has become a detective, hiding her broken heart behind a rock-hard shell. When her latest misdemeanour sees her re-assigned back to her small home town, she can’t help but think it could be her chance to finally catch Flora’s killer – a man who’s only ever be known as “the Sugar Man”.

When another body is found, stirring up memories of her last summer with Flora, Dakota realises the truth may be hiding in the secretive Amish-like cult based in the nearby woodland.

But this is a killer who has stayed hidden for decades, and they won’t hesitate to kill again to protect their darkest secret…


'A masterpiece' Jeffery Deaver
'I'm awestruck' A. J. Finn
'A dark, brutal ride' Anthony Horowitz


©2024 Nicolás Obregón (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedurals Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Detective

Critic reviews

With a nod to the classic film Witness, The Sugar Man finds hardbitten cop Dakota Finch on the trail of a serial killer hiding in an insular religious community back in a place – and a past – she thought she had left behind. An unflinching and mesmerizing small town crime story.
How exquisitely rare to read a novel as original as Nicolas Obregón’s latest: a profoundly spooky thriller soaked in honey and horror, sugar and shivers, from a storyteller far too bold to write an ordinary sentence. Every turned page feels like a step taken closer towards something deep, dark, and irresistible. For readers of folkloric suspense (think The Wicker Man or Lucy Foley’s marvelous The Midnight Feast), for fans of flinty, fascinating heroines, for anyone who admires rich, risky world-building on the scale of Twin Peaks — take a trip to Nectar. This is a good one.
Brooding and intricately woven, The Sugar Man delivers a rich tapestry of characters and a deliciously claustrophobic small town setting. Addictive and oh so clever, this book is a masterclass in plotting and I inhaled it in two greedy gulps.
With The Sugar Man, Obregón delivers a deft and riveting mystery that I genuinely struggled to put down. This one will haunt me for a long time.
Nail-bitingly compelling and utterly engrossing, The Sugar Man keeps you turning the pages as worlds, pasts and secrets collide.
A dark read of serial killers and cults
Praise for Nicolás Obregón (:)
A masterpiece (Jeffery Deaver)
I'm awestruck (A. J. Finn)
A dark, brutal ride (Anthony Horowitz)
All stars
Most relevant
I first became aware of Nicolás Obregón in 2021 when I was part of the Penguin blog tour for Unknown Male, the third in the Inspector Iwata trilogy. I loved the book and, not one to settle for reading a series out of order, went back and read Blue Light Yokohama and Sins as Scarlet, books one and two respectively before re-reading Unknown Male. I was hooked by his writing and excited to hear that he was releasing a new, standalone novel: The Sugar Man.

Obregón is one of those rare writers who creates worlds that are dangerous and gritty yet uses gorgeous, almost poetic, prose. Despite the darkness in the novel, there is hope and beauty, and these elements are perfectly juxtaposed.

As a protagonist, Dakota is flawed and damaged, battling her own personal demons, with the feelings concerning her tortured past viscerally felt by the reader. We are drawn not only to her but also to the cast of richly drawn characters she is surrounded by. Obregón writes his characters in such a way that we truly live them.

The claustrophobic nature of the small town inhabited by Dakota is keenly felt by the reader and the secrets unearthed eked out expertly. The novel's pacing is spot-on, meaning that I inhaled it over the course of a single day. The mystery at the novel's heart was riveting and will keep even the most die-hard thriller fan guessing.

If you’re a fan of dark crime thrillers with beautifully emotive writing, which truly makes you feel something, then you need to get your hands on The Sugar Man. (And check out the Inspector Iwata trilogy. You’re welcome.)

Dark, gritty and beautifully written

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