Cover Art For The Acolyte
Cover art for The Acolyte, a novel by Richard Dooling

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The Acolyte: A Novel

I like the spooky face in the smoke.
Publication date is June 16, 2026. You can preorder the Kindle ebook on Amazon.
Cover Copy
His Faith Is Their Weapon.
The FBI closes in on a Catholic priest running a Darknet child exploitation ring.
Hank is thirteen, head altar boy at a flagship Catholic parish, and devoted to three things: the Church, his brotherhood of altar boys, and Nora, whose father is the archbishop's lawyer. When the FBI raids the cathedral and seizes evidence, they need Hank. So does the Church, for opposite reasons.
Caught between Adrienne, a young federal prosecutor building the case, and an institution that demands his silence, Hank goes looking for the truth in the catacombs beneath the cathedral. What he finds shakes his faith in everything but his true love.
Available June 16 on Kindle and in paperback. Audiobook coming soon after. Preorder the Kindle ebook on Amazon.
Grizzly Bears
I was in the middle of writing an essay on grizzlies, when the recent bear attacks in Yellowstone and Glacier National Park made the news. I'll get the article to you soon. I thought I'd send the cover art along first.
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