The Seminarian

by Hart Hanson

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.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Humor

300 pages, Hardcover

Published May 21, 2024

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC via NetGalley.

My expectations were high for a book by the man who created one of my favorite TV shows ever, and this was exactly the combination of mystery, ridiculousness, and twists and turns that I couldn't have guessed even if I tried.

It takes a bit to get into because Priest is an odd guy - he's not quite eccentric, more like irreverent. There's definitely emotional baggage to his family life and the adjustment of his faith that's made him keep a river between himself and other people. It's nearly impossible to cross and he enjoys being obscure and hard to understand to other people.

Life gets crazy for Priest. His bestie Dusty Queen has a missing girlfriend, he gets attacked and drugged in his own garage and can't remember anything except it was a woman in a Blue Wig, and then the surprises KEEP ON COMING. There's a lot of layers to this story and some of them connect to the bigger mystery and some of them don't, and some of them you're sure they have nothing to do with anything and then they're super important.

The group of people Priest surrounds himself with is fun and diverse in skill set, identity, personality, and feelings regarding legality. It was an enjoyable romp.

There's one plot point where everyone was mad at Priest, and I kind of get why, but at the same time...like...Priest had a point.

This is also pretty bloody and violent in certain points, so be ready for that.

Anyway, this was fun, and if he decides to write another Priest book I'd read it.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a character driven story that reads as a script for a TV program. The action is fast, the humor was spot on. This story screams book two (a series).

This is a very Southern California story with lawyers looking the other way, cops who walk on the beach in cheap suits, killers and detectives who stop for a smoothie, meditation and breathing exercises.

I loved the pace and the writing, the many subplots that were equally interesting, the story kept me laughing and engaged. I am looking forward to more books by this author!

[Ann Margolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel! Thank you author,Hart Hanson,publisher Blackstone and NetGallery for the opportunity to read the ebook,The Seminarian. Every character was quirky,interesting as you may find in many black comedies either in books or movies.You really never expect what the next page will be suddenly brought into the storyline’s action.The main character is a private detective who lives in Venice,CA bythe beach boardwalk near the Venice pier. I could picture where a lot of the story takes place having been to Venice many times when living in the LA area. The author,H.H. writes with a great sense of humor and had written several tv shows in the past that were quite successful.
Book on sale May 21,2024

[Kostas Kanellopoulos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great dialogue, funny characters, meh crime story.

[Teresa Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never have watched the TV show bones, but if it's as well written as the novel, perhaps I should go back and give it a chance.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

We enjoyed this as an audiobook on a road trip. And it was recommended to me by a fellow former seminarian (who also didn't become an introspective private eye). All the characters were engaging, including the villains. Reminiscent of Florida's Carl Hiaasen, only Southern California has its own share of unique, zany characters. Fun read.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Private investigator Xavier "Priest" Priestly does not lead a quiet or normal life in Los Angeles, which makes this book a wild ride from start to finish. Priest's life spirals after his friend, Dusty Queen, asks him to find her missing girlfriend, he is almost killed by a woman in a blue wig, and a son he didn't know he had shows up looking for him. Heartwarming in a wacky way, full of action, mystery, and quirky characters, this is a refreshingly unique read. Fingers crossed this is the start of a series!

[Janet Hutchinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had some trouble keeping the secondary characters straight, which, for me, means the characters weren’t strongly developed. Or at least not so well developed that they stood out. But I hope there might be a second book, where the key characters (Xavier, his son, Dusty, Baz, and Diodoti) are the main standouts. Because those were the ones that were the strongest.

[Dori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous book by this author. Saccharine and very weak plot. Also, the audiobook reader mispronounced place names which seems like quite slapshod editing.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witty and entertaining but completely forgettable

[Leane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky, action and CH-driven, this cinematic PI and Relationship Mystery/Thriller is also filled with droll banter and violence. Hart’s screenwriting chops are well-displayed as Xaxier Priestly (X, Priest, The Seminarian) who is a very good freelance Private Investigator for his lawyer, Baz, helps his friend Dusty Queen, a gay stuntperson, find her lover, Nikki—a paid escort—who has gone missing. This thread unravels all sorts of trouble involving the art world and other assorted criminal activities, and ricochets from X’s Venice Beach home; the nearby pier and beach areas, other CA and Nevada locales, including the desert and Las Vegas. Lots of driving, lots of violent assaults, fights, and duplicitous feints. Good PI and procedural and police details. Entertaining—X and his hijinks scream out for a sequel as the combination of great cast of CHs and the added drama of a father in prison for armed robbery and a son X never knew about turns up to complicate his life and also made me want more adventures and possible closure in a sequel. Excellent literary references/allusions run the gamut from popular culture like The Karate Kid to Sun Tzu and the Bible. The Tone is LOL funny, especially the conversations with his arch rival, Figo; fishing buddy, Yorban; his lawyer, Baz; Dusty; and the various police detectives involved. The Tone rides the humor wave back and forth from ominous and dangerous to the realities of prison life. Embedded in the narration are also thematic explorations of religion, faith, family, loyalty, grief, and sexuality. RED FLAGS: Graphic Violence; Vulgar Language; Child Endangerment. Readalikes for Robert Crais’s Elvis series, Joe Ide, and Lee Goldberg.

[Biff Van Cleve · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Seminarian," Hart Hanson:
(For the record, I’m a male senior citizen who enjoys a good mystery. My taste runs from Sherlock Holmes to the Murderbot Diaries. And I’m a big Jonathan Kellerman fan. So I may not be the target audience for this book.)

Hart Hanson is an excellent writer, but I think his talent was wasted on this convoluted story, with multiple plot lines concerning too many worthless people. The two main characters, Priest and his sidekick, Dusty, are so self absorbed and lacking of a moral compass that I began to hope the worst for them. Yes, there is good dialogue and Yes, they have flashes of compassion, but I found few appealing qualities about their personality.

The three most interesting characters were Baz, a feisty defense attorney, Cody Fiso, the no-nonsense head of a private investigation and security firm, and Yorben, Priest's philosophical fishing buddy that was much wiser than the protagonist.

I think Fiso's character deserves a book of his own and hopefully without the over abundance of “F” bombs so liberally used by most of these characters, including a 12 year old boy supposedly deserving of our compassion. (Both Fiso and Baz would be great lead for a series.)

About two thirds through the meandering story arcs I lost interest and jumped to the last chapter. Should have done it sooner.

[Kim Hornsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hart Hanson has woven a tale of a criminal scavenger hunt around a fascinatingly compelling main character, Xavier Priestly, a former seminary student turned gritty investigator out of Venice Beach, CA. Surrounding him with a cast of questionable and colorful characters, Priest goes looking for a missing person along with a larger than life companion but finds way more than he bargains for.
The author who also wrote The Driver, is a master of telling tales, painting pictures of lost souls looking for the meaning of life in the underbelly of Los Angeles and The Seminarian delivers in the form of a complicated, twisty storyline that is as gruff as it is charming, disturbing as it is delightful and worth the money to get yourself a copy to devour.
If you like crime, mystery, police procedurals, sleuthing, and just plain excellent writing, you're in for a treat in Hanson's The Seminarian.
Make a spot for it on your "favorite novels" shelf.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so laugh your sox off funny that giggles and guffaws can't come close to my reactions reading this book! Xavier "Priest" Priestly was a seminarian now works as a free-lance Legal Investigator for both sides of the bench as well as private clients. His friend Dusty needs him to find an escort, Nikki Celeste and investigating her disappearance leads to Priest being attacked and drugged. He only remembers a woman in a blue wig. Then there's this young boy who turns up claiming that Priest is his father. The characters most certainly are, and the plot twists and spirals like a double helix! Crazy fun!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Blackstone Publishing via NetGalley. Thanks!
Pub Date May 21 2024

[Matt Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, irreverent, humorous, and cleverly plotted…
Reminds me somewhat of both of Robert Crais but with better drawn sidekicks. Also of Carl Hiassen, with the slapstick blended into a plot which makes the whole closer to compelling than Hiassen’s cartoonish. The plot and sidebars are inventive, the characters interesting and engaging…. For me this book was actually hard to put down… and the main character Priest’s overarching spiritual journey in reverse, complexed and then contradicted by his sudden new personal relationship and his eventual embrace of its responsibilities is delightfully clever. Can I read the next one yet?

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the best time I’ve had reading something in a long while. The book is funny, exciting, funny, heart warming, funny, and did I mention funny?
Most mystery/crime novels contain variations on the same characters and tropes - some we love, some we’re tired of. The author has done a brilliant job of creating fresh and unique versions of these characters along with some we’ve never seen before!
I’m not talking about the plot or story here because it doesn’t matter. What matters is how much fun this book is. And it is a ton of fun.

[Dennis Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished The Seminarian by Hart Hanson, the creator of the TV Show Bones. I stumbled upon this book and the book notes said a twisty murder mystery perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen. I love Carl Hiassen novels so I bought it. It exceeded my expectations. The lead character is a private investigator who left study for the priesthood. This novel is full of odd characters who are believable and frequently laugh out loud funny. The plot is indeed twisty but a fun ride. I hope he writes more books involving this cast of characters.

[Gail Barrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun detective story about Xavier Priest,a smart-talking, irreverent investigator and his crazy friends. He reminds me of Elvis Cole and Harry Dresden (of course, he is a wizard, but still), two of my favourites. His sidekicks are really well portrayed, especially Dusty Queen, the dirty princess; Yorben, the criminal fisherman; and Priest's own father, a bank robber currently serving an extended sentence. And then there is the foul-mouthed kid who is the long-lost son he never knew he had. Someone wants Priest dead, and it's going to take some doing to figure out who that is.

[micki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook
Narrator: Evan Sibley

3.5 stars. I don't mean this in a disparaging way, but you can tell that Hanson writes for TV. I can totally picture this as a TV series.

It took me a little while to settle in with this story. The TV angle mentioned above, combined with not liking some of the characters' behavior (yeah, I was being judgemental lol), kept me from fully engaging. By the end, however, I was wondering if Hanson has plans to continue Priest's adventures. I hope he does.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oddly one of the few books that I think would have been better as a TV series or movie than it was as a book. The book had an interesting setting, cast of characters, and twists and turns, but didn’t quite feel fleshed out enough. Again, the kind of thing that could have been explored more in a TV series rather than a single book. It was like the pilot episode where you get a good intro to everything but the real connection with the characters and story is formed further along in the show.

[Montez Oudenaarden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner of truest kind. I got whiplash from the unexpected twists and turns in this inspired tale from Hanson. A suspense novel, a laugh out loud comedy and an action packed novel all in one. I want more stories about “Priest”, a former Seminarian, and Dusty, a bodyguard/stuntwoman, chasing the bad guys.

[Lorelei Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Elmore Leonard had settled in Los Angeles, he would know these characters. Hopefully this will be a series. The writing is delightful, the pace is fast and perfect, all the characters manage to be quirky while remaining real people I care about. I can definitely see this becoming a movie, but if it remains in the pages of fiction, I will keep buying and reading.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read with some memorable characters

The Priest and all of his friends encounter many life threatening crises and The Priest has to decide whether he is going to make a lifetime commitment to a son he never knew existed. This novel is full of action and has some great character development and description of life in Venice California, I enjoyed this book for all of that.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just an OK read in my opinion.I was hoping for more. The plot was thin. There were a couple of amusing moments but overall it was a "meh" read. The kid, Quinn, was absolutely annoying and unbelievable. I can understand the grandfather's influence on the kid, but can't imagine a mom putting up with such behavior.

[Kathleen Ducharme · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist of this story was the only part of the book that I enjoyed. His dry humor and sense of self kept me going despite my desire to not finish. So many other characters were introduced but their development was lacking. The story was hard to follow and much longer than it needed to be. I do not recommend this book.

[Janeen Swart · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE SEMINARIAN is an interesting read full of quirky characters. Add in the attacks on the main character and a son he had no knowledge of until twelve years after his birth and you get an action-packed story full of humor and sarcasm. I enjoyed the book, but it was a little hard to get into at first and hard to follow the story at times throughout.

[AngelaGay Kinkead · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very mehh.
The Publisher Summary and reviews were "oversell". Didn't find it "that" suspenseful, engaging, LOL funny or filled with literary references. Overkill on use of F***. Story was a 2* but didn't hold my attention. The vague connection to the PI having dropped out of seminary was pointless. Glad the audiobook rolled along to a quick conclusion.

[David Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action, humor, colorful characters, unexpected twists, and an ongoing mystery…..who could ask for anything else in a novel? Indeed, Hanson did an incredible job of juggling all these variables to create a story that was nearly impossible to to put down. All in all, this was a very fun read, which I hope will become the first of a series.

[Marta Aldrete · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in this story were amazing and each came with such backstories I thought this was continuing a series. It is not, but could definitely start a series. Fast moving, a lot of action, hilarious dialogue, just a great listen. The only reason it’s not five stars is it went on a bit long with the violence. I want more of these characters.

[Tess Mertens-Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xavier “Priest” Priestly is an ex-seminarian turned private investigator. His friend Dusty’s girlfriend goes missing Along the way of the investigation, The Woman in the Blue wig tried to kill Priest. A 12-year-old boy claims to be his son, and lawyers become involved. Action packed, fights and resolution. A page turner.