As a pastor who writes mysteries about a pastor who solves them, I found it hard to resist this new book by Hart Hanson, the creator of “Bones”. The Seminarian was published in May, 2024.
Hart Hanson, who began his TV career writing scripts for the CBC, may be best known for Fox series Bones. Hanson created and ran the show for all of its 12 seasons. It was loosely based on the life and novels of forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, and her protagonist, Temperance Brennan, who is also a forensic anthropologist.
I also remember Hanson for the sadly short-lived series The Finder. It was about Walter Sherman, an eccentric character whose strange gift allowed him to see patterns others could not, and who applied it to find things believed irretrievably lost. He also irked many of his clients along the way by uncovering what they were actually seeking, rather than what they said they were looking for.
I hate ending a sentence with “for”, but I love protagonists like Walter, who seem preternaturally able to peer beneath or around the veils of common assumptions and polite society, to see the deeper, and sometimes more sinister truth.
Hanson’s new hero, Xavier Priestly, who goes by “X” or predictably, “Priest” has a touch of the world-weary, but also slightly other-worldly contemplative, whose search for deeper meaning is masked by apparent cynicism about the true motives of people he encounters.
He’s a former Roman Catholic seminarian who abandoned training for the priesthood when he realized he did not believe the “truths” he was being prepared to promulgate. He now makes his living as a freelance investigator, often assisted by his shady sidekick, Dusty Queen, a tough as nails stunt woman/bodyguard. X is something of a misanthrope. He is slow to trust or even like other people, a stance that fits with his doubting nature.
Hanson deftly redeems his hero with two classic tropes of the genre. He makes the sidekick a bit less likeable than “X”, making him appealing in comparision. He also gives him a “stray kitten” to save. (The author conspires to make their character loveable by offering a teasing glimpse of their tender side.) In this case the endangered creature is a biological son “X” didn’t know he had, but who is in trouble, and needs help, whether he wants it or not.
I wasn’t surprised I liked this book, and I look forward to more in the series. I was a bit bewildered at how much I enjoyed the next book I want to discuss.
The Broken Truth was published in August 2024. I came across the title in a list of new mysteries, but in truth it’s more of a shoot-em-up cowboy story than the usual private detective or police procedural I might read. Tucker Snow is a former undercover Texas Ranger who now carries the badge and authority of a special agent of the Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. He is, for all intents and purposes a cattle cop, empowered to chase down rustlers who ply their nefarious trade in Texas and Oklahoma.
One reviewer characterized the book as “part Western, part mystery, all action”. This was my introduction to a sub-genre I had not before encountered, that I’d call “western thriller”. It’s one of those stories in which a clearly defined if wildly exaggerated despicable villain is doing dastardly deeds, and must be stopped, and the valiant, if slightly flawed hero must overcome great obstacles and risk all in order to make it happen.
Tucker has a sidekick in his brother Harley, a now-retired Texas Ranger who serves the same purpose as Dusty Queen in The Seminarian. Harley is more prone to pull a trigger, and has less of a conscience- which makes Tucker look reasoned and constrained in comparision. Actually, they are both gunslingers who are more or less willing to skirt the letter of the law, or slide through thin loopholes to further their version of justice. (Part of what surprised me about this book was I liked the Snow brothers, even though I disagree profoundly with their willingness to act like Old West sheriffs in the 21st century.)
The other thing that surprised me was that the “thriller” aspect of the novel- “will the intrepid heroes survive long enough to defeat the villain” had enough momentum to keep me reading, even when I felt the dialogue was stilted and the characterization shallow.
The Broken Truth is the second in Reavis Z. Wortham’s series about the Snow Brothers. The first was called Hard Country.
Such great recommendations that would take me out of my comfort "cozy" zone! (The wasn't my favorite slice of the mystery pie but since my books fit there, I stay up to date.) the first one sounds perfect, though the second might help me understand some of the culture in Colorado where my daughter Maria lives.