“This biography of the fascinating Aimee Semple McPherson, America’s most famous evangelist, takes religion, fame, and power as its subjects alongside McPherson, whose life was suffused with mystery and scandal." —Sophia M. Stewart, The Millions (Most Anticipated Books of Winter 2025)

★ “A revelatory study of how power, religion, and fame intersect.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[An] empathetic—and dramatic—account of [McPherson’s] life . . . Hoffman’s discerning biography is as much a work about faith, self-mythologizing, and ambition as it is, in Hoffman’s words, ‘a cautionary tale about fame.’” —Kirkus Reviews

“Sister, Sinner is a wild ride of a biography, part mystery story and part scandal—but also a penetrating examination of the rise of evangelical religion in America. Along the way, Claire Hoffman explains much about popular culture in America today.” —Kai Bird, author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

“Claire Hoffman is a master storyteller. In this riveting tale, she evokes the noir style of its LA setting and revives one of the paragons of twentieth-century Christianity, Aimee Semple McPherson. The result is not only a page-turner about one of the most fascinating and mysterious lives of the era, but also a cautionary tale about the complicated, even dangerous interplay between faith and fame, messengers and the media frenzy that can ensnare them. Hoffman’s Sister, Sinner has all the elements of a suspenseful thriller and brilliant character-study.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Box: Writing the Race

“From the instant that Claire Hoffman casts Aimee Semple McPherson into the sea in an emerald-green swimsuit, she sets us on an extraordinary journey into the makings of a modern prophet who continues to dominate the American religious landscape. Knowing McPherson's story is essential to understanding the Pentecostal movement. With rigor, grace, and moxie, Hoffman renders its complicated founder in technicolor.” —Eliza Griswold, author of Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church

“Pioneering evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson had moved multitudes by the time women won the right to vote. But her improbable life includes a mystery at its core. And Claire Hoffman has accessed new sources to uncover a story in which megachurch meets film noir.” —Cynthia Carr, author of Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar