(Apprentice House 2026) by Kennedy Weible is an oft-times zany crime caper novel set in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and it moves at a furious pace, filled with quirky plot twists, unconventional characters, and even quirkier twists of fate. In that regard, it is comparable to the zany crime caper novels of Tim Dorsey and Carl Hiaasen, yet it possesses a wonderful style and energy all its own. Weible has a talent for sly humor born of his diverse characters’ personality quirks as well as physical comedy derived from the layered plot. A scene in which a handful of misguided characters break into a trailer in the middle of nowhere perfectly illustrates Weible’s gift for physical comedy.
The storyline moves quickly, fueled by a near-equal balance of good intentions and evil ones, with a mix of crazy happenstance and a healthy dose of rank stupidity. Yet it is the characters who make the novel truly shine. From Sailor Cassidy, an air-conditioning technician with a fondness for marijuana who is struggling to emerge from the fog of a painful breakup, to her trying-so-hard-to-be-good sister facing a nasty divorce; from the Black police officer named Tuscaloosa, who is equally inept and skillful but mostly lucky, to the multitude of diverse and dueling villains; from the stoner podcaster-comedian whose live broadcast reveals what it never should have, to the over-his-head cheating husband who sets a dual kidnapping plot in motion, the shady banker con men running various games and who smash fingers, and even the man carrying a hatchet—the novel belongs to its memorable cast of characters.
Sailor’s life is a mess. Her house is a disaster. Her love life is, well, complicated. Her marijuana habit is substantial. Yet she is fundamentally a good person, one with considerable spunk and genuine concern for others. She is devoted to her sister, who is comparatively more conventional, and that devotion leads to the first complication in the plot. Against her sister’s wishes, Sailor decides to play detective and document the cheating behavior of her brother-in-law. Meanwhile, Detective Tuscaloosa—nicknamed Tusk—is asked by his chief to follow a young man who has only recently returned to the city after his criminal misadventures forced him to flee. Tusk is instructed to keep his surveillance off the books, and he is never told why he is following this charming miscreant. Inevitably, his mysterious surveillance and Sailor’s ill-conceived investigation collide, bringing them together in startling and dangerous ways…