When Saint Sebastian’s School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding community are thrust into chaos. Unsatisfied with the officials’ response, sardonic and headstrong Sister Holiday becomes determined to unveil the mysterious attacker herself and return her home and sanctuary to its former peace. Her investigation leads down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets in the sticky, oppressive New Orleans heat, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way.

Sister Holiday is more faithful than most, but she’s no saint. To piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must first reckon with the sins of her checkered past-and neither task will be easy.

IN A NUTSHELL
‘Scorched Grace’ is a skilfully written, character-driven novel that delves into issues of faith, identity, guilt, grief, trauma, anger, self-sabotage and a search for community and purpose, while delivering a solid mystery with a dramatic climax. What I liked most about the novel was that Sister Holiday wasn’t just a literary device- a nun with tattoos, a traumatic past and a talent for amateur sleuthing; she was a complex person who I’d like to continue to spend time with. 

I bought ‘Scorched Grace’ because the cover was gorgeous, Mara Wilson’s narration was engaging, and I was intrigued by the idea of a nun in New Orleans solving murders. I was raised as a Catholic, and some of my teachers were nuns, so this wasn’t exotic territory for me, although the nuns I knew didn’t have tattoos and hadn’t been in a punk band.

I loved that Sister Holiday’s layered identity was central to the story. Her choice to be a nun, her belief in herself as a sleuth, her anger, her faith, her love of music, which she sees as a form of prayer, her use of tattoos as a statement of commitment and her sometimes isolating queerness shaped the narrative, lifting an investigation into an arson-related death into something more than a puzzle-solving exercise.

The mystery, although punctuated with violent deaths and spectacular fires, was neither particularly twisty nor pulse-raisingly tense, but the exploration of who Sister Holiday is, who she wishes she was, and who she’s striving to be was compelling and complex.

I had a problem with the pacing of the disclosure of Sister Holiday’s backstory. At the halfway point, I considered setting the book aside,, not because of the writing, which was skillful, but because I couldn’t understand the source of Sister Holiday’s faith, both in God and in herself as a sleuth, Then, at about the 60% point, her traumatic history with her family and her closest friend snapped into vivid focus and everything started to make sense. Not necessarily rational sense but emotional sense, the kind of sense that needs and nurtures belief. From that point on, I believed in Sister Holiday as someone who desperately needed to change her life and who believed she could only do so with God’s grace to support her. 

The pace increased in the last third of the book, culminating in an ending that was unexpected, dramatic and quietly but fundamentally devastating.

It was a satisfying end to the novel, but it also left me with a strong desire to know what Sister Holiday will do next. Fortunately, the next two books have already been published, so I’ll be adding ‘Blessed Water’ to my TBR pile soon. 

I recommend the audiobook version of ‘Scorched Grace’, Mara Wilson’s narration helped bring Sister Holiday alive for me. Click on the YouTube link below to hear a sample.

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Margot Douaihy lives and works in Northampton, MA. She earned a BA in Writing from the University of Pittsburgh Writing Program, an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University.

Her debut novel ‘Scorched Grace’ (2023) was the first book published by Gillian Flynn Books. It was met with wide acclaim, including winning the Crime Writers’ Association New Blood Dagger Award.

There are currently three Sister Holiday Mysteries, all published by Gillian Flynn Books: ‘Scorched Grace’ (2023), ‘Blessed Water’ (2024) and ‘Divine Ruin’ (2026).