THE DEARLY DEPARTED
Kelsey Kingsley
• 28 August 2026
• Book #1 in the Patron Seints Duet
★★★★★
4.5 Stars
Welcome to Seint Manor.
Where villains are created and
devils are born ...
My name is Abraham Crowley.
My friends call me Bram.
And I never wanted to be
a bad guy.
From the moment I was
born on the streets, the cards were stacked against me. And ever since, I’ve
been forced to do things I never wanted in order to survive and protect those
smaller and weaker than me.
Now, as a man, that need
to save the people I care for has led to a deal with the devil. And with my
identity hidden behind a plague doctor mask, I know my mountain of sins greatly
outweighs any good I've managed to give to this world.
But there’s a yearning in
my blackened heart for the woman I spent decades searching for-—a woman I can
never have-—and with that longing, there’s hope that if I can hold tight to
what I feel for her …
Then, maybe it'll be
enough to keep me from becoming the devil hanging over my shoulder …
The Dearly Departed is the first book in The Patron Seints series, a dark and romantic saga that should be
read in order.
The book starts with 12 year old Bram talking with his eight year old foster sister.
She's trying to tell him that their foster father is hurting her. Bram would do anything to help his little siblings.
Fast forward through the years. New foster homes. New horrible people who are supposed to protect them. The girl is long gone.
When Bram is 16 he's had it with grown-ups running and ruining their lives and he takes his two little brothers and off we go.
They end up with the only decent human they have ever met.
Leonard. Who runs a funeral home.
It takes Bram a while to get used to having a real life and happy siblings.
He's still dreaming about his little foster sister. He hopes she ended up happy in a great adoptive family.
But Bram knows that happy is not really a thing he deserves and it's not long until he's more or less blackmailed into things that threaten to destroy everything. His life. His soul. His dream of ever finding her again and live happily ever after...
Bram.
We were already teased a bit in Finding Noah. But we didn't have the whole story.
And now we do. Well, the first part, at least.
I'm not the biggest fan of the morally grey / criminal hero in books. But...
Bram is adorable. The poor guy. He's so sad and broken and ugh. He's trying so hard to take care of his little part of the world and he's a bit in over his head. But he's also very good at it all.
I don't want to say too much.
Read it.
It's sad and heartbreaking and violent and sweet and adorable and dark and ugh. So many things. Just read it.
Can't wait to see where/how/if this will all end in the next book! I need that HEA for Bram and everyone! GIMME!
THE DEARLY DEPARTED was a beautiful first book in Bram's story. It was so very sad + dark + heartbreaking + dangerous + horrible + a bit mysterious... and so much more. READ IT!
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