The publishing world welcomes a new voice in literary crime fiction with the release of 'Impulse,' the first novel in Don Francisco Bay's Recon Priest series. The book, published in 2026, introduces readers to Gunnery Sergeant Alvarez 'Dutch' Petersen, a Marine who, after his wife and son are murdered in a case of mistaken identity, applies to a Catholic seminary and becomes Father Alvarez Petersen. His first assignment at Mission Dolores in San Francisco plunges him into a web of corruption that reaches from the confessional to the docks.
Bay's protagonist is not a typical vigilante. As the author explains, 'Dutch isn't a soldier pretending to be a priest, and he isn't a priest with a violent past he's outrun. He's both, permanently, and neither one lets the other off the hook. That's the book.' This duality drives the narrative, which begins with Dutch burning hamburgers on a Coronado beach and ends with a harrowing scene at Saint Mary's Cathedral, where tactical teams interrupt Mass to arrest him.
The novel's plot is ripped from contemporary headlines: a woman's confession about her husband's abuse leads Dutch to uncover a criminal network involving heroin, American military hardware, and a cleric using the diocese as a stepping stone. The investigation takes him from a blacked-out bar off Market Street to a converted bathhouse on Cesar Chavez, and finally to shipping manifests at the Port of Oakland. Bay's prose is spare and observational, with grief described as 'the permanent weather.' The action is swift but impactful, as when a battering ram takes a door in Forest Hills on the first swing.
What sets 'Impulse' apart is its refusal to let either aspect of Dutch's life win. He counsels a battered mother and connects her with a shelter, but he also runs vehicle surveillance across the Bay Bridge. The tension lies not in whether he can catch the man, but in what catching him will cost the part of himself he went to seminary to build. This moral complexity is likely to appeal to readers of Nelson DeMille, Daniel Silva, and Greg Iles.
The book also sets up a larger series arc. In the final pages, a Vatican letter reassigns Dutch to a struggling parish in San Diego, the city where his world came apart. Neither he nor the archbishop knows who wrote the letter, hinting at a deeper conspiracy. 'Impulse' is available in paperback and as an e-book. For those interested in the e-book format, it can be found here. The novel is 304 pages and carries the ISBN 979-8-950148-49-1.
Bay's work arrives at a time when discussions about faith, trauma, and institutional failure are increasingly prominent. By placing a complex, flawed hero at the center, the author invites readers to consider how personal loss can lead to unexpected paths and how justice and mercy might coexist. 'Impulse' is a work of fiction, but its themes resonate with real-world issues, making it a noteworthy addition to the genre.
