The Prayer of St. Francis
Ex-convict Frankie Schumacher is a social worker who helps other ex-cons stay clean and adjust to life outside prison walls in St. Louis, MO. While investigating the disappearance of a former client, Frankie becomes involved in a mystery that’s much bigger than one missing drunk—one that puts his sanity, sobriety, and life on the line.
The Prayer of St. Francis, a slow-burn modern noir, won first prize in the novel category in the 2020 Utah Original Writing Competition.
Featuring cover art by Scott Stanley, The Prayer of St. Francis is available now.
Get the paperback at Barnes & Noble.
Get the eBook at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Borrow the print edition in the St. Louis area via the Municipal Library Consortium.
Check out the eBook on Biblioboard, available via many U.S. public libraries.
“I finished The Prayer of St. Francis a few days ago and still have Frankie, Rusty, Dan, and many other characters on my mind, like a roomful of old friends, damaged yet infinitely lovable at the same time. The story reads like a perfect marriage of Spillane’s hard-boiled grit and David Chase’s meticulous character study. Even though I’ve never set foot in the seedy motels, bars, and precincts of St. Louis, Petersen has an uncanny ability to make me feel intimately acquainted with these haunts, and all the vivid sights, sounds, and smells they are rife with. Anyone who is grappling with addiction, in recovery, or close to someone going through these struggles will find The Prayer of St. Francis particularly touching. It is a rare glimpse into a world equal parts heartbreaking and mesmerizing, a world seldom given the dignity it deserves. This is modern noir at its best. A truly superb debut.”
—Brian Jacobson, author of The Truth About the Moon and the Stars and Life Engineering