I requested this book after seeing it featured on the Today Show. It sounded interesting. A sleuthing nun (I'm Catholic) in New Orleans (my neck of the woods), who tries to solve arson and murder at the Catholic school she teaches at (whodunnit!).

What I wasn't ready for were the all the flashbacks to her life before the convent and all the lesbian sex. This is heavily LGBTQ and it really took away from the mystery-adventure for me. I think this may be the first book in a new series, and this is probably the reason for so much exploration of Sister Holiday's past. Every time she started wool-gathering about her bad-ass lesbian rocker past, family drama, etc. I was like, "Get back to the plot!"

Maybe future books will focus more on the mystery/plot and less on main character exploration. I'm still unsure if Sister Holiday was an actual private investigator at any point. So, as Sister Holiday is trying to track down a murdery arsonist she is also processing her complicated past drama. I almost DNF'd at around 50% done because of the constant shifting between her inner turmoil and the actual plot.

This also reinforced my distaste for New Orleans. The book focuses on the worst aspects of the city (oppressive heat, excessive pollution, out of control crime, generational poverty) and its residents (who are resigned to yet resentful of all of the aforementioned aspects of the city). It's sadly, quite accurate. In this book, even the nuns are sus.

This just wasn't my cup of tea. I couldn't find a character to identify with and everybody was mean/rude to everyone else. I didn't like ANYONE in this book., even Sister Holiday was hard to root for at times.

3.5 stars rounded up

A really fun (despite the subject matter at times), unique novel with an interesting protagonist. Loved that she was a queer nun, solid dialogue, good story. Admittedly, Holiday could have done with some intense therapy rather than joining a nunnery, but I suppose that would be a whole other novel. We all deal with trauma in our own ways, and I found this intense but believable. I will say that I cottoned on to the arsonist very early on, though I didn't know their motivation (and I still didn't fully "get" it when explained, though it was realistic in many ways).

This book was very quirky and unexpected in a lot of ways, which is why I've upped my score here. I feel like a lot of novels follow a prescribed formula that gets dull and uninspiring, but Douaihy did a great job at keeping me on my toes here.

Just to add: I can totally see this being turned into a mini-series or something. Heather Matarazzo as Holiday and Lily Tomlin as Sister Honor in my mind. Still working out the rest of the casting!

A queer punk nun investigates arson in New Orleans! Literally what else do I need to say about this book to convince you to read it? I thoroughly enjoyed this well-constructed mystery and its wonderfully charismatic narrator, and I definitely recommend it.

Sister Holiday is a nun and a music teacher at Saint Sebastian’s School – until the school is targeted by an arsonist, and she decides to add “amateur detective” to her already-unconventional persona. She was a wonderfully faceted, compelling narrator, and such a unique voice; her story was engaging in both the present and in the occasional flashbacks to her past. I do wish that some of the side characters had been a little more fleshed out, as I think it would have added some good layering to the story, but it was a relatively minor complaint.

The mystery at the center of the plot was very well-done; the end reveal was unexpected though not impossible to figure out (I got it, but I am a seasoned reader of mysteries!) and it didn’t experience any midway “lulls,” which is a common problem in mysteries. Once I picked this up, I didn’t want to put it down!

All in all, definitely recommended, and I am very much looking forward to whatever Douaihy does next. Thank you so much to Zando Projects/Gillian Flynn Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

What a fun mystery! It reminded me of why I love reading a good mystery. The main character has a lot of depth and you will fall in love with her.

Ever wanted to read a murder mystery where the main character is a tatted up, punk lesbian nun with a stormy past? Then you’re in luck, because Scorched Grace is exactly that. Set in New Orleans, it follows Sister Holiday who must investigate a series of arson/murders at her convent and Catholic school.
Scorched Grace is an incredibly atmospheric novel. It consistently uses heat and hot temperatures to add to the element of fire that is present in the book. I was practically sweating reading this book.
This book is also incredibly anti cop, which was so refreshing to see in a murder mystery. Sister Holiday is very ACAB, she vehemently hates the cops and the book does a good job at showing how useless and corrupt the police are.
Scorched Grace’s main themes are hiding from your past, atoning for your wrong doings, the idea of nuns vs the diocese(women vs the patriarchy). Its idea of god and Catholicism in terms of Sister Holiday and her order of nuns is very anti fascist, anti capitalist, anti incarceration, several of the nuns having been arrested for protesting and being involved in political protests. As an ex Catholic, this was a interesting view into progressive Catholicism, which is something I’ve never come into contact with before. Sister Holiday, of course, is a lesbian. She is very devout and also very gay, and for her, those two things don’t conflict. She’s one of the most fascinating characters I’ve read in such a long time. She’s tortured, violent, devout, volatile, sincere and driven. Driven by guilt, anger and the need to fix things.
The murder mystery part of the plot was extremely well done and had me guessing and racing to the end to find out who did it. A very satisfying ending and I cannot wait for another instalment in the series!!

Queer tattooed nun Sister Holiday investigates a series of murders at the Catholic school and convent in New Orleans. Sister Holiday is a unique and unlikely nun, confiscating cigarettes from students for her own smoke breaks. It was difficult to get a true sense of why she became a nun until the very end, which bothered me as I was reading. The mystery part of the book is interesting, and I definitely look forward to reading more about these characters in the future. The ending felt rushed, and I couldn’t really tell where the story was going.


Thanks to NetGalley and Gillian Flynn Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review,

“𝔒𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔯𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔨 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰, 𝔪𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔡. 𝔖𝔲𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔰 𝔯𝔲𝔦𝔫𝔬𝔲𝔰. 𝔓𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔩. 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢. 𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔱, 𝔞 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔰𝔬𝔫. 𝔑𝔬𝔱 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔦𝔣 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔩𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔱.”

I had a lot of fun reading this book! Sister Holiday did not come to mess around! She gave me all the bad*** nun energy that I didn’t know I craved until reading this book. The way she takes it upon herself to solve the case and make everyone else look incompetent was everything!

That being said, where this book fell flat for me was the murder mystery aspect. The final reveal wasn’t really shocking to me and kind of lacking in a lot of ways.

I still highly recommend this and I literally read it in one sitting!

I'm always intrigued by books that push conventions and I enjoyed my read through Scorched Grace. Sister Holiday, a queer, tatted, cigarette-holding, punk-rock nun attempts to uncover whodunit after the school she works at goes up in flames. Mysteries like these always interest me and this one was no exception. It had all the right elements, surprises, and intrigue, yet the ending didn't have me shocked and it took quite a bit for me to gain momentum while reading. Overall, an enjoyable read but not something I'll be picking up right away to read again.

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/ 5 stars

Themes of:
-LGBTQ protagonist
-religion
-mystery

Synopsis: “Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test in this debut crime novel.”

Favorite quotes: “loved the chase. Even Riveaux’s insane driving. Not just the velocity but the violence of it all. I liked speeding through red lights. Headfirst to the edge. Scraping enough skin to burn not bleed. Sleuthing was impossible sometimes, a doomed quest. It was godly, really. A gorgeous curse. Like a plague of locusts. Like kissing a married woman”

Thoughts:
-thank you @netgalley and @zandoprojects for sending me this ARC and happy publication!
-this book is the first book of Gillian
Flynn’s imprint (Ms. Thriller novel herself) and has already been purchased for television
-I loved the protagonist as a concept— the juxtaposition of a very conservative job as a nun with the gay, tattooed, cursing, smoking Sister Holiday
-the lgbtq representation felt genuine but the romantic tension felt forced to me at times
-admittedly, it took me a second to really get into this book but after chapter 4, it started to pick up for me in the mystery department!
-this was interesting in that it was a more character driven mystery rather than plot but the flashbacks sometimes felt random and disjointed
-still, I think that this will be very exciting to eventually watch on screen
-still worth a read especially if you enjoy mysteries and thrillers!

"Music was the connective tissue of New Orleans-there when you needed it, like prayer. Both prayer and music were holy...saved my sorry ass more times than I could count...I was a true believer, despite the optics, that's why Sister Augustine welcomed me to Saint Sebastian School." Sister Holiday had a gold tooth from a bar fight, wore a black scarf and gloves to conceal her tattoos, and her black roots pushed through her badly bleached hair.

"Like my Sisters, [but through teaching music], I did everything...to lift each student, to help them carry the light in their own hands...I knew how to clock BS because I lived it..." Holiday Walsh left her old life in Brooklyn behind "where my fingers bled for rent money, for tips, for my next whiskey...We reinvent ourselves...trying because transformation is survival...".

Sister Holiday had a secret smoking lounge where she smoked contraband cigarettes in violation of the Order of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood. Hidden in the alley smoking- "my front-row seat to the crime that would change everything, the first rip of the unraveling." Saint Sebastian's east wing was ablaze...a flaming body dropped from the second floor. Did the victim fall through an open window trying to escape the billowing smoke or was he pushed? Cries for help emanated from the burning building...two students unaccounted for.

More fires....another dead body. "I had the makings of a damn good investigator: equal parts methodical focus and capriciousness with the patience of a hunter..." Early clues-a gardening glove...a black blouse with a melted sleeve. Was I, Sister Holiday, being framed for the crimes? My gifts were "sleuthing and stubbornness...I'd figure it out but...no person nor saint nor psalm would save me. I'd have to do it myself." Whoever set Holiday up to take the fall underestimated her doggedness. She craved and longed to maintain her different kind of family, the Order of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood, however, in the case of murder and arson, "no one could be truly trusted. Not even herself....Unstable grace is wobbly, but it's still a miracle. Every blessing is worth fighting for."

"Scorched Grace" is the first book in a new series about a queer nun who questions her purpose in life. She is a music teacher and an amateur sleuth. The transformative power of music cannot be denied.

Thank you Zando Projects/Gillian Flynn Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic read! An intriguing story with really intriguing characters that were written, so raw and so real, that I was thinking about them even when I wasn't reading. The mystery was gripping and set against the absolutely unrelenting heat of New Orleans. The author wrote that heat so skillfully it became a secondary character to the story. The book is full of characters holding really painful emotion and maybe it was a bit too much for the short length of the book and I found the initial writing a bit choppy with very short, terse sentences that I thought were awkward to read. But, can I mention that cover? Gorgeous! It's been a very long time since I have seen one that so perfectly depicts the reading experience. TW: while in no way graphic, there is a disturbing animal death.

Sister Holiday is no one’s idea of the perfect nun. Queer, with bleached hair and tattoos over most of her body – not to mention topless photos from her days in a punk rock band easily accessible on the Internet – her desire to take holy orders was a tough sell to nearly every convent in America. When the Sisters of the Sublime Blood finally agreed to take her in, Holiday was more than thrilled to move away from her Brooklyn home in order to join their ranks in New Orleans.

Not that those ranks are exactly flourishing nowadays. Though the sisters are part of a progressive, teaching Order, applicants are few and far between, such that the only other nuns there besides Holiday are the aged Sisters Augustine, Therese and Honor. Sister Augustine is their Mother Superior and the principal of Saint Sebastian’s, the private Catholic school where they all teach. Holiday is the music teacher, and one who brooks no nonsense from her charges, as she harbors the following philosophy:

QUOTE
I offered my students the only thing that mattered in life–honesty–and I’d serve it the way I meted out revenge, ice cold. I was a fuckup about most things, but when it came to commitment, I was all in, like a python eating a goat, sinew and toenails and skeleton and all.
END QUOTE

So despite seeming an unlikely candidate for nunhood, Holiday is indeed devoted, both to Christ and to her kids. She’s not a total rule follower though, often indulging in sneaky smoke breaks with contraband confiscated from said students. It’s while on one of these one evening that she’s startled by an explosion from the school, followed by the fiery plummet of one of the maintenance crew from an upstairs window. Hearing voices calling out from inside the conflagration, she runs into the burning building to find two of her students injured and trapped in another room. She helps get them out, and almost immediately begins trying to figure out what happened.

When other fires begin targeting the school and the surrounding community, it becomes very clear that this was not an accident. With the fire marshall and the police seeming to move as slowly as molasses in putting a stop to the spate of deadly arsons, Holiday must endeavor to solve the crimes herself, even as everyone else is telling her to butt out. But Holiday feels like she was divinely inspired to investigate almost from the moment she laid eyes on the flames:

QUOTE
When the adrenaline burned off, I felt it, the battle–angels, devils, I saw Death and survived the flames twice now. No need to read the Bible to learn how the elements torment and sustain us. Fire, anger, water, redemption. What plot twist sparked it, the arson? I’d figure it out, eventually, or die trying. Sleuthing and stubbornness were my gifts from God, tools They knew I could use. Yes, my God is a They, too powerful for one person or one gender or any category mere mortals could ever understand. That day, God and the Holy Ghost opened the door, and I ran into the flames to help the boys. We were in the fire, inside its red-purple grip, the rhythmic walls of a beating organ. But it was equally obvious, laying there on that gurney [afterwards], half blind, half alive, that no person nor saint nor psalm would save me. I’d have to do it myself.
END QUOTE

As Holiday gets closer to the truth, she’ll find the shades of her own past – the very ones she’s been trying to outrun – coming back to haunt her. She’s had to work hard all her life to reconcile the many different strands of her belief. Will her discovery of a killer’s identity be the thing that finally breaks her faith in the power of good?

Scorched Grace marks the ferocious prose debut of Margot Douaihy, who introduces us to perhaps the most unique heroine in the history of the hard-boiled mystery genre. Sister Holiday is both devout and profane, caring deeply about her God and her faith and her mission, even if she doesn’t have much patience for the trappings of orthodoxy and tradition. I’m really interested in seeing where the rest of the series goes, in this first offering from Gillian Flynn’s publishing imprint.

“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔. 𝑬𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒖𝒏𝒔.”

When I saw that Gillian Flynn was starting a publishing imprint, as a huge fan, I knew I had to read what she published; the first book of this imprint does not disappoint.

Margot Douaihy creates a complex, multi-layered character in Sister Holiday: unapologically queer, sarcastic (“𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠,𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑦𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ”), selfish at times, but also observant and ultimately wanting to help people and find a place to belong. Since Holiday experienced a lot of conflict in the past, her teenage years in particular, it is understandable why she joined the sisterhood; the Order brings a different kind of family of her own choosing. As Sister Holiday dives into the fires and murders at Saint Sebastian’s School, she reminds me of a young, less polished Jessica Fletcher: undaunted in her fight for justice and getting herself into predicaments from poking around (like getting locked into the janitor’s closet); there’s even a fun Murder, She Wrote reference: “𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑂𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑖𝑛’𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑡 𝐶𝑜𝑣𝑒.” The atmosphere and stakes are high, with the multiple fires, and characters who keep you guessing at the secrets they hide. It does take a while to see where things are headed, but it is well worth the different paths it takes. I do wish two of the characters who were a part of the opening fire were a bigger part of the story. They don’t really make appearances again until the last third and only quickly; there was potential for more from them.

Scorched Grace is a story of belonging, struggle, faith, destruction and redemption. It is a unique and creative take on a traditional PI mystery with depth and a satisfying conclusion. I hear it is the beginning of a series, and I cannot wait to see what is next for Sister Holiday. Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you, Gillian Flynn Books, for allowing me to read Scorched Grace early!

Honestly the cover caught my eye but the story was so enjoyable, this was very very good!

Scorched Grace is a completely unique novel. With a character as unique as Sister Holiday one could expect no less. What’s not to love about a chain smoking, punk rocker, queer Catholic nun with a penchant for sleuthing and solving crimes. Getting to know her back story alone is worth a read. Then there was the mystery of the arson which was thrilling and kind of like a gritty, noir locked door mystery. Besides being a mystery, the novel is beautifully written with quotable quote after quotable quote and explores the nature of religion, how we learn to forgive ourselves, self hatred, and homophobia. Douaihy does a fantastic job of setting a mood for the whole book and drawing out the revelation of Sister Holiday’s character amidst the investigation of these fires. Her writing is nuanced and exciting and totally different from anything else I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

As someone who was raised Catholic and was extremely active in the church as a teen, I found the premise of this book absolutely intriguing and have fallen in love with Sister Holiday. I can’t wait to read more books about her and her journey. Scorched Grace was published yesterday and is now available for purchase and I definitely think you should!

I really loved the premise of this book - a nun murder mystery - and was so excited to get approved for an e-ARC copy. I can’t lie, the cover definitely caught my attention!

It did take me quite awhile to get through this one, it dragged a fair bit and I found I wasn’t reaching for it. But once the mystery element took charge it really captured my attention and I couldn’t wait to find out who the culprit was. I was a little shook but not completely surprised.

The flashbacks were a little disjointed and I felt a sense of whiplash trying to figure out what was part of the current timeline and what was from the past. I also found I wasn’t that emotionally invested in the characters but I definitely felt for Sister Holiday in the end and loved how determined and feisty she was.

I loved the setting of New Orleans, one of my fave cities - it definitely felt very atmospheric and made me want to go back ASAP!

If you enjoy a classic mystery with a twist I would definitely pick this one up!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and @netgalley for sending me this to review 🙏🏻

4.5 Stars rounded up!

Maybe it’s the queer former Catholic in me, but I can’t help but love a good blasphemous book. Queer, tattooed, and full of profanities, Sister Holiday is everything you would NOT expect a nun to be. When a series of arson takes over the Catholic school where she teaches, Sister Holiday knows it’s up to her to solve the case. “Scorched Grace” tells a story of determination, guilt, redemption, and betrayal.

Douaihy did a fabulous job encapsulating you within Sister Holiday’s obsession to uncover who was behind the crimes. While reading, I felt as though I was trying to solve the mystery alongside her. I needed to know who did it, and every time I thought I had figured it out, I was proved wrong. Though the pace sometimes lulled in between the major plot points, the straightforward yet descriptive writing was enjoyable enough to keep me engaged.
While boasting a unique main character and seemingly quirky themes, Scorched Grace also tackles difficult subjects that are intricately weaved throughout the storyline through flashbacks and unexpected reveals. Sister Holiday and the other characters were brought to life through their past and current struggles. Somehow both devastating and hopeful, the ending had me absolutely floored. This book was full of twists that will have you praying for a sequel.

Book trigger warnings: death, murder, animal death, addiction, mentions of rape and suicide

Thank you to Zando Projects and Gillian Flynn Books for providing me with an eARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Pub Day to this gorgeous book!!!

Chances are when you think of a nun that is a protagonist of a mystery/noir novel you don't picture them having tattoos, a gold tooth, or being part of the LGBTQIA community...but that's exactly what @neonmargot wrote the main character to be.

Sister Holiday at first glance seems like a walking oxymoron, but Douaihy manages to make Holiday one of the most relatable characters. I saw much of myself in her while simultaneously recognizing her battles as those that many I know have fought through. Finding your place in this world along with trying to find how you fit into a religion that doesn't seem to want you is more universal than we think.

The prose of this book was absolutely beautiful. I felt like I was transported right into New Orleans. Douaihy tackles tough subjects and doesn't shy away from delving into the plight of the under-served communities she is writing about. Not only are we given a great mystery but we are given complex characters with real world problems.

I really really loved this book and can't wait to see what else Sister Holiday is up to in the future. Check this one out asap!

Thank you so much to @neonmargot and @zandoprojects for the eARC of this on Netgalley!

#ScorchedGrace #LGBTQIA #ZandoProjects #NetGalley

4 / 5 ⭐️‘s

“Scorched” Grace by Margot Douaihy

I was worried at first that this one would be too much about religion and God for me. I mean its about a nun, so of course its going to cover some religion and does throw out a few bible verses but it wasn’t the main focus.

I found the concept to be unique and fun. I mean how can you go wrong with a chain-smoking, crime solving queer nun!

The ending provided a good twist and it was 🔥!

(Pub Date: 02/21/23)
This ARC (audiobook) was provided by the publisher via @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am obsessed with this concept because, in another life or in a later version of this one, I am a queer nun with tattoos who tries to right wrongs in a Veronica Mars-esque fashion. Therefore, I was delighted to receive this ARC from the publishers and NetGalley (Thank you!!). However, this didn't deliver for me. There were so many thinly developed characters, so much (traumatic!) backstory and so many random red herrings that the mystery fell extremely flat. This is meant to be the first in the series, and it really did feel more like it was setting the scene for future books rather than being compelling as a standalone in and of itself. This concept is important enough to me though that I will probably try and read any sequels because I want to like this so badly.