Uncle Janice

By: Matt Burgess

Narrated by: Rachel Fulginiti

On any given day, Janice Itwaru might be found trolling the streets of Queens for drugs. Janice is an "uncle" - an undercover narcotics officer - trying to meet the impossibly high quota of drug busts needed to make detective, or be sent back down to uniformed patrol. So Janice is out there in her secondhand hoochie skirt, trying to get potential drug dealers - criminals, addicts, dumb kids, whomever - to commit a felony on her behalf. Other days are spent in the "Rumpus Room" at the precinct, trying to keep up with the bantering lies and inventively cruel pranks of her fellow uncles while coping with the insane demands of the big bosses. With an ailing mother at home, her cover nearly blown, four more buys to get her gold shield and rumors circulating that Internal Affairs has her unit under surveillance, Janice is running very short on luck as her quota deadline approaches. Now she has to decide which evil to confront: the faceless bureaucrats at One Police Plaza, or the violent drug dealers who may already be onto her identity. Bursting with the glorious chaos of the streets of New York, Uncle Janice is an uproariously funny portrait of how undercover cops really talk and act, and a compelling story of their crazy, dangerous and often nonsensical lives.

©2014 Original material by Matt Burgess. Recorded by arrangement with Doubleday, an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (P)2014 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Like Richard Price and the late, great Elmore Leonard, Matt Burgess is one of those cool, quick and funny writers who can turn a seemingly routine crime caper into something special." (Carl Hiaasen)

The characters were well developed then it ends.

I'm disappointed in this book. It had great potential, the characters were wonderful and believable, BUT the story left so many things undone. Why develop a character with such depth and detail, only to end the entire story the way you'd end a chapter? It feels like half a book. The narrator was great. She NAILED the accents. I'm from the area where the character lives and works and she made me laugh out loud at her accuracy. Truly outstanding. The storytelling was detailed and drew me back to my old neighborhood, it really was so- THE END. That's how disappointing the ending was!!!!!

Fantastic

Excellent writing and wonderful story. The characters in this book are so real it makes you wonder if it could be a memoir. I loved it almost as much as Dog Fight.

Great Uncle Janice

Uncle Janice is a book that simultaneously deals with some really heavy issues, and entertains you at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed its unique and wonderful characters, and the narrator perfectly captures the essence of Janice, our protagonist.