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The Seminarian

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

From the creator of the TV show Bones, The Seminarian is a twisty murder mystery perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen.

Xavier "Priest" Priestly is a snarky former seminarian turned private investigator. Dusty Queen is a hard-as-nails professional stuntwoman and freelance bodyguard. When Dusty's girlfriend suddenly disappears, a woman in a strange blue wig tries to assassinate Priest, and a twelve-year-old boy shows up claiming to be his son, the two friends are thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue and high-stakes violence that's as convoluted and dangerous as it is hilarious.

Thankfully, Priest and Dusty don't have to navigate these tangled mysteries alone. Aided by a lawyer who's underwhelmed by their extra-legal methods, a straight-laced detective who doesn't trust them as far as he can throw them, and Priest's father, a notorious bank robber, they are well equipped to deal with potential kidnapping and attempted murder. But whether Priest is up to the challenge of a son with a gun, a backpack full of weed, and a major attitude problem ... well, that's a different story.

With its unforgettable cast, parade of twists and turns, and breakneck pace, The Seminarian showcases Hart Hanson at his best. Packed with action and glistening with snappy dialogue, surprising tenderness, and (mostly) good people doing some exceptionally bad things, this distinctive thriller is as entertaining as it is insightful.

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    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2024

      Xavier "Priest" Priestly is a former seminarian turned licensed legal investigator. His best friend Dusty Queen, a stuntwoman who moonlights as a bodyguard, has been mooning over an escort, Nikki Celeste, and Nikki's disappearance forces Dusty to hire Priest to find her. Priest is attacked with a stun gun and left in the trunk of his car after being injected with several drugs. When he comes to enough to talk with the police, he only remembers a woman in a blue wig. The searches for Priest's attacker and Nikki are sidetracked when Tarquin, a 12-year-old boy shows up, claiming Priest is his father; friends insist they can see the family resemblance. When Priest sends Tarquin back to his grandfather in Vegas, everyone in Priest's life disapproves, from Dusty to Priest's fishing buddy to his lawyer. It's going to take some lying and fast work to find Nikki, the attacker, and bring Tarquin home, but smart-alecky Priest is up to it. VERDICT The creator and writer of the TV show Bones introduces a wacky cast of characters in his second fast-paced, action-packed novel (after The Driver). For fans of Tim Dorsey's Serge A. Storms novels.--Lesa Holstine

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      March 15, 2024
      Xavier Priestly had a normal childhood, with a used-car-salesman dad and a stay-at-home mom. But then he learned his dad was a bank robber, and with Dad eventually jailed for life, Mom ran off to the South Seas. Following these upheavals, devout Catholic "Priest" entered the seminary. After two years, he lost his faith, left to pursue a degree in criminology, and became a respected legal investigator. He's a reserved guy, with only a few friends: fishing buddy Yorben, lawyer pal Baz, and his best friend, tough-as-nails Dusty, who's always got his back. So when Dusty asks him to find her latest girlfriend, sex worker Nikki, who's disappeared, Priest can't say no. The search will lead him into violent, deadly territory; he'll be shot at, punched, drugged, knifed, pursued by a blue-wigged assassin, and confronted by dangerous gangsters. But during the case, Priest learns to his shock that he has a son from a fling a decade earlier, and that gives him pause and a chance to reevaluate his life. A study in contrasts, this book is by turns bloody, gritty, and violent, heartwarming, thought-provoking, and laugh-out-loud funny. An unusual, inventive, unforgettable read that will appeal to mystery aficionados looking for something different.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Kirkus

      April 15, 2024
      An eccentric Los Angeles detective rolls with all the zany punches. Laidback private eye Xavier Priestly is hanging out with his fishing buddy Yorben Ybarra on Venice Pier, watching the sea lions play and listening to Mexican music, when an old friend, stuntwoman Dusty Queen, bursts his blissful bubble with a job offer: Find her missing girlfriend Nikki Celeste, a voluptuous escort Dusty first met while working as her bodyguard. Priest is clearly not in this investigation for the money; he requests $1 as his retainer, just to make it official. Priest and Dusty's long and winding road begins with Nikki's "manager," Parris Ferrer, an encounter that abruptly jumps to Priest waking up in a hospital and getting questioned by the imposing Det. Garnet Diodato and squat defense attorney Baz Amberson. Hanson's mystery has more quirky characters than a whole season of Twin Peaks, with Priest himself perhaps the quirkiest. He spent time in a seminary, regularly visits his incarcerated father in the penitentiary, and has never gotten over his long-lost love, Rachel Orange. This last wound is reopened when profane, violent 12-year-old Tarquin X. Orange shows up at Priest's digs, claiming to be Rachel's son, and further claiming that his mom is dead. When Priest finally locates Nikki, the relevant question is whether she's a captive or a victim of Cupid's arrow. By this time, the reader is likely distracted, albeit highly entertained, by the off-center, colorful world Hanson's created, overflowing with rat-a-tat dialogue and deadpan humor. An audacious and auspicious novel.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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