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

Faith moves mountains, but trembles before the face of evil.

Hank is thirteen, head altar boy at a traditional 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 a case against a cybercrime network, 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.

In The Acolyte, National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Richard Dooling tells a dark, funny, and fearless story about innocence, holiness, romantic love, and the nature of evil.

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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