Don Francisco Bay's debut novel, Impulse, introduces readers to Gunnery Sergeant Alvarez "Dutch" Petersen, a Marine whose life is shattered when his wife and son are murdered in a case of mistaken identity. After twenty-one years of service, Dutch applies to a Catholic seminary and, six years later, is ordained as Father Alvarez Petersen. His first assignment is Mission Dolores in San Francisco, a parish struggling with declining attendance and the aftermath of abuse scandals.
The narrative gains momentum when a woman seeks forgiveness for allowing her husband to beat her children. This confession leads Dutch into a web of corruption involving heroin trafficking, military hardware, and a cleric with a hidden lineage. Bay's prose is spare and observational, focusing on the internal conflict between Dutch's past as a Marine and his commitment to his faith. The tension lies not in whether he can catch the perpetrator, but in what catching him will cost the part of himself he sought to rebuild in the seminary.
The climax unfolds at Saint Mary's Cathedral during Mass, as tactical teams and news cameras capture Dutch's arrest. Simultaneously, a raid occurs in Forest Hills. The novel then reveals that a Vatican letter reassigns Dutch to San Diego, hinting at a larger conspiracy and setting the stage for future installments. Impulse is the first book in the Recon Priest series and is available in paperback.
This story matters because it delves into the complexities of faith, justice, and the lasting impact of violence. By presenting a protagonist who is both a soldier and a priest, Bay challenges readers to consider how individuals reconcile their past with their present, and how institutions like the Catholic Church grapple with internal corruption. The novel's exploration of these themes offers a nuanced perspective on the human capacity for both destruction and redemption.
For readers of literary crime fiction and those interested in narratives that treat faith seriously, Impulse provides a thought-provoking addition to the genre. Its release signals the arrival of a new voice in fiction, one willing to tackle difficult subjects with depth and restraint.
