A chain smoking lesbian nun? Solving crimes? SIgn me up! The first book in this series was so fun, that I had to read the second and enjoyed it just as much!

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A lesbian nun who smokes, is a detective and lives in New Orleans? Sign me up. I so enjoyed this book. I wish I had read part one in the series and will make time to do so. You will experience all kinds of emotions while reading the book and want more. An amazing read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🕵️‍♀️📿🚬⛈️🚔

I just really love this straight up, foul mouth, smoking, lesbian nun. Sister Holiday is a breath of fresh ear especially because she is trying her hardest to be different but at the same time, staying true to herself. She is queer, she is religious, she loves solving mysteries and is even an apprentice PI!

Things go bad to worse when Sister Holiday goes on her first investigation with a new potential client when she finds the body of her priest in the water. When she returns to Saint Sebastian's she also finds out the other Priest is missing. NOPD detectives, a torrential rain storm, the return of someone close to her, and secrets and coverups all make book two of A Sister Holiday Mystery, Blessed Water, another 5 star hit.

This book is very well written, engaging, nail biting, and again, hard to know who the killer is. I loved this book every step of the way.

Thank you to Netgalley, Margot Douaihly, Zando Projects, and Gillian Flynn Books for a copy of the ebook. I leave this review voluntarily.

margot douaihy is continuing my obsessive fascination with nuns and i'm here for it!!! who doesn't want to read a book about a chainsmoking lesbian nun who thinks she can solve every true crime case that she sees?

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando for the opportunity to read Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy. "Sister Holiday isn’t your average nun." Ha! And that's just the beginning. What a great character in a great new series

You know how sometimes, when you're reading a book, the language is just so beautiful that you have to stop, and read the sentence again, and sit with it. Something in the writing just taps into your universal truth of the world at that moment. If I kept a Commonplace Book (where you write down quotes that strike you in the course of your day), mine would be full of Margot Douaihy's writing.

Blessed Water is the second in a series of mysteries featuring the remarkable lead character of Sister Holiday. Former punk, tattooed, lover of the enigma known as Nina, present-day novice in the order of The Sisters of the Sublime Blood, assistant investigator in Redemption Investigations, all round walking disaster. I love this character. She is deeply flawed and utterly compelling.

Blessed Water starts on Good Friday with the unexpected discovery of a corpse in the water, and sends Sister Holiday and her investigative partner Riveaux on an Easter weekend search for answers and redemption through a biblically flooded New Orleans. Douaihy, who is a poet as well as a novelist, makes spectacular use of water imagery and the Easter weekend framework to structure the book.

The regulars from Scorched Grace are back with the addition of Moose, the sister's beloved brother, his own damage adding in to the mix of broken and lost souls trying to find answers.

There's a lot here - family dysfunction, generational trauma, sexual abuse in the church - but the characters, for me, are compelling because they are genuinely trying their best. Sister Holiday is still relying on love as a bedrock, despite the chaos of her existence. She's a mess, but man, she's a beautiful mess, and it's amazing to spend time with her, even though she frustrates the heck out of you.

This is not a quick read. The language is dense, things move slower than the characters want them to, there are always layers upon layers of information to peel back. It's worth it, though. The end of this one is powerful, surprising and, of course, redemptive.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Books for the e-arc. 4.5/5, rounded down.

“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐎𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐮𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.”

The follow-up to Margot Douaihy's Scorched Grace overflows with grit, intelligence, and the search for forgiveness.

Sister Holiday continues to be a total badass; her sarcasm made me laugh out loud a number of times, especially as she made pointed observations about the people around her. Douaihy's writing is poetic in feel, filled with metaphors and similies for the water that beats down constantly in New Orleans. The theme of water literally flows through the story between the torrential downpour that adds to the feeling of claustrophobia, finding a dead priest in the river, and Sister Holiday's overall feeling of drowning, with water as both an antagonist and a blessing. Douaihy balances her delicate words with a narrative that harkens back to the hardboiled Private Investigator genre, including Holiday's foul mouth, flawed and complicated characters, a stay-in-place order that feels like a nod to a locked-room mystery, and a puzzle that involves corruption in the church. Told like a three-act play throughout Easter weekend, the mystery of who murdered Father Reese and kidnapped Father Nathan plays almost in the background, with Sister Holiday's complicated relationship with her brother, Moose, and her faith, taking centre stage, with strong character development. I do wish the mystery was a bit more at the forefront, although the final reveal surprised me, even with the well-placed hints. I'm also anxious to see more of Moose, and to see how that sibling relationship continues to ebb and flow.

Blessed Water is a story of healing, loss, second chances, grief, power, and family. It is a beautiful follow-up to Scorched Grace, and I cannot wait to see where Douaihy takes Sister Holiday next in her quartet of tales. Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ecopy of this title. This is the second installment of the Sister Holiday series. Sister finds one of the priests from her parish floating in the gulf. In addition, the other priest is missing. She teams up with an ex-cop to try to unravel the mystery. Along the way, her brother shows up, having recently left the army. Sister Holiday discovers some dark secrets about herself, her fellow sisters, the parish, and diocese. She slogs through with her signature acerbic and profane wit. I love how she lives her truth, and look forward to another installment.

I love this series. The main character, Sister Holiday is a fun new take on the detective character and brings her own personality and sense of how to get things done. This continues in this book and I can't wait to see what happens next. Definitely a must read!

Would recommend for fans of…
⛪️ Gillian Flynn
⛪️ S.A. Cosby
⛪️ An updated take on classic noir

Scorched Grace was one of my favorite mysteries of 2023 and I was ecstatic to learn that Sister Holiday would be back again, this time working as a private eye to investigate the death of a local priest.

Blessed Water was very similar to its predecessor in a number of ways – the mystery starts quick, and blends well with the glimpses we get into Sister Holiday’s work and background. There are also a few appearances from fan favorite characters. As a note, you probably need to read Scorched Grace before this one, as there are several callbacks to plot points from that book.

Overall, these books are so short, but manage to pack a serious punch with lots of character development and a tight mystery. This series is a great one for anyone who’s looking for a noir with a bit of grit and a detective with a lot of heart.

Blessed Water is out now. Thanks to Zando and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tore through Margot Douaihy's first book, and I was so excited to be able to read the sequel in her Sister Holiday series. I always find Douaihy's sense of place in her writing to be strong, and I love the diversity of character. My only critique is that she consistently overuses similes and metaphor as way of expressing feeling to the point that I think it becomes overdone and weakens them, but that's a relatively small complaint. I continue find myself invested in Riveaux and Holiday, their adventures, and I'm excited at the growth that they went through in this book as characters overall. Can't wait for the next one!

Another fun mystery with Sister Holiday. I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first, but it was still a quick read and I loved Sister Holiday as a character just as much as in the first book.

Sister Holiday is a tattooed, chain-smoking, queer nun and has quickly become one of my favorite amateur sleuths. The way that water plays into this book washing away sins and moving the story forward.

I loved this sequel to Scorched Grace and I cannot wait for the Sister Holiday's next mystery.

Please give me more Sister Holiday stories so I can gobble them up like a greedy little pig. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy is the perfect way to progress the Sister Holiday Mystery series!

Sequels can be hit or miss for me - I need information to be repeated from the previous book(s) for a reminder, but I don't want redundancy - and this one was the perfect blend. Sister Holiday was portrayed the way readers are already familiar with, but without the need for her personality to be overly described within this book as well. I love how once a character is already established, they can exist in the world without over explanation as the series continues.

Once again, I was blessed to discover just how poetic Douaihy's writing is. It's elaborate and expressive, with a clear rhythm present in her words, a true cadence throughout. (Douaihy has a background in poetry, so of course this comes across in her writing!)

I'm not sure if I've ever read a book taking place over the Easter weekend before and this was the perfect religious timeframe for Sister Holiday to sleuth out another murder! (I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Sister Holiday's brother Moose shares an (ever-moving) Easter Sunday birthday with me!)

As this is published by Gillian Flynn Books, an imprint of Zando Projects, (and as a huge Gillian Flynn fan), I appreciated the nods in Flynn's direction within this book.

There is a subtleness to the sardonic way that Mara Wilson (of Matilda fame) narrates this audiobook; a lilt to her voice adding the slightest touch of humour. Wilson's voice is perfect in this way to embody Sister Holiday as it adds more depth to her already satirical demeanor. I’m so happy it is Wilson who is once again narrating this noir little story!

I'm already hoping for yet another book in this dark, tongue-in-cheek mystery series to publish soon!

Thank you NetGalley, Zando, Gillian Flynn Books and Dreamscape Select for the complimentary copies to read and review.

Content Warnings: Rape/Sexual Assault, Graphic Violence (Torture, Gun Shot), Drowning

Additional Note: This is the second book in a series, but it can be read as a stand-alone work. Events and characters needed to understand plot points are reintroduced.

Sister Holiday as a character, a punk, lesbian nun acting as noir-esque narrator, remains interesting to me, conceptually, and I like her voice. These are the positives of the book. However, as with the first book, I found the action and mystery weak. Events happen too fast to resonate much. For example, potentially poignant moments (like a car full of people drowning) happen with little set up or lasting impression. The “mystery” has few clues and tension isn’t held well, especially when Sister Holiday’s mind wanders to her past relationship or inner monologues. Likewise, characterization feels superficial and inconsistent. People’s levels of friendliness and trust turn on a dime, with honestly very little reason.

If you enjoyed the first book in this series, you will probably like this one as well. However, if you didn’t enjoy the first one, then I wouldn’t pick this one up, as it delivers the same vibe. If a third one comes out, I probably won’t review it, as I feel I’ve read enough to determine this series isn’t for me.

Sister Holiday of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood teaches music at St. Sebastian’s in New Orleans, and she’s so not what you’d expect. Tatted from the neck down with a gold incisor, this chain-smoking, punk rock Sister is back in BLESSED WATER, and she’s still badass, even as she struggles with her vows and her slips of tongue—even as she still mourns the end of her relationship with Nina.

Many characters in the first book of the series, SCORCHED GRACE, return. Now, she’s partnering with PI and former fire inspector Magnolia Riveaux at the Redemption Detective Agency. Riveaux is almost as quirky as Sister Holiday (she can “out-nose the swankiest perfumier in Paris”), and they make a hell of a team. It’s a good thing, too. On Easter weekend, Sister Holiday finds her parish priest floating in the water at the end of Pier 11. This cuts her to the core. He was one of the good guys…uh, good priests.

Being the topnotch detail-observant sleuth that she is, Sister Holiday jumps into the investigation with Reveaux to find who killed Father Reese. The Sister doesn’t trust the police, even when the police let them help with the investigation. Plus, there’s the patriarchal, untrustworthy Diocese who are not her fans.

Trouble is never singular. There’s the overindulged, unloved, misfit student Prince Dempsey, who terrorizes everyone, and Sister Holiday might be the only one who understands him. Add to the chaos and suspense her “anxious time bomb” of a brother who suddenly shows up, having left the army. Now she’s worried about him, as he’s hiding something. Let’s not forget the rain. The Biblical downpour that’s flooding the streets.

Sister Holiday has not taken her full vows yet and is determined that she will. When more people die and another priest goes missing, it tests her faith and her ability to solve the case. Her anger and determination rise when her nemesis, Detective Grogan of the NOPD, announces he no longer wants their PI services. Is he involved somehow? Now she has to find a way to solve the case on her own with her partner with no police resources.

Author Margot Douaihy gives us a Catholic sister who maintains empathy for the less fortunate and believes in God as love and kindness while recognizing how brutal both people and the deity can be. We identify with her because she questions everything, especially those in power. The author’s diverse characters, even the villains, are well-rounded and likable, and her ability to use details to engage our senses rivals that of some of the best authors. Add humor and plenty of plot twists to that, and you have a mind-bending, page-turner that is both fun and irreverent while taking on serious subjects and themes.

Douaihy’s writing stings and soothes, echoing Sister Holiday’s so-human contradictions. The author uses water as her main natural force and metaphor, just as she used fire in SCORCHED GRACE. I’ve always been a fan of rebels with a heart and anyone ready to take on the power elite, and what’s more powerful and untouchable than the Catholic church? Like a Trojan Horse entering Troy, so too does Sister Holiday enter the Catholic order to save herself and conquer its patriarchal stranglehold. Heaven help them and bring on more heroes like Sister Holiday. She might be my favorite character of all time.


Thanks to Zando Books, Gillian Flynn’s imprint, Margot Douaihy, and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very exciting and well plotted series. I'm enjoying it and loved this second installment.
Well done, gripping and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine