Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review!

Scorched Grace is a nun murder mystery. These are certainly words I didn’t expect to say in a sentence, but needless to say, I loved the concept.
The main character, Sister Holiday, might not be the typical nun (tattooed from head to toe and queer) but I was still able to see her love for religion clearly.
The book jumps back between Holiday’s past life, turbulent and tragic, to the present in which someone is setting fires to the church she works in, and the school attached.
The thing I love most about murder mysteries is not knowing who did it and being pleasantly surprised by the reveal in the end. Sadly, I was able to guess the correct person about halfway through the book and the actual reveal was pretty anticlimactic as well.
Mostly I enjoyed the past of Sister Holiday more than the present scenes, they just felt filled with more emotion whereas in some of the present the story seemed to fall a little flat.

I’m not catholic so I can’t comment on how realistic the portrayal of the religion was, but I thought the way it was written into the story was beautiful. Especially, because a lot of it revolves around religious hate and intolerance (especially homophobia) but still shows how Holiday was able to find peace in the very same religion that brought her so much pain.

I understand that the murder mystery was the driving force of the book, but during bits of the story, it seemed to be a side plot that was pushed into the story to give the book a driving factor.

The book is a tragic portrayal of life (definitely a dark one as well CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!) interwoven with a fun murder mystery and many lovable (or at least realistic) characters.
Definitely pick this one up if it sounds interesting to you!!


(Small addition I’m not yet 100% sure how I feel about: Nina was the only bi rep in this book and is only shown to cheat on her husband in order to be with Holiday. While this can obviously happen regardless of sexuality, I think it’s essential to think about if and how this representation of bi-woman is necessary.)

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

I love a good mystery book. I love trying to piece together all the clues and figure out who the culprit is. This book intrigued me as the main protagonist is a nun who doesn’t fit the conventional image of a nun. Sister Holiday is such a unique main character and I will probably remember her long after reading this book. I also enjoyed Sister Holiday’s perspective as the mysterious events unfolded.

While this book sometimes reads as a fun and lighthearted mystery novel, there are some disturbing backstories surrounding the characters. If people are seeking to read a light mystery, they may be surprised by some of the details provided in the book.

I really did want to like this book more than I did. However, the dialogue throughout the book sometimes fell flat for me. The author attempts to make jokes throughout the book but the humour was not my type of humour. This may just be my opinion as others may enjoy this type of humour. The characters (especially the police) are not great at their jobs and the professional boundaries are also crossed a lot of the time. If you are looking for a realistic mystery novel then this may not be for you.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read and it is a great book to curl up on the couch with.

Reading the premise of this book (a queer, tattooed former musician turned nun turned pseudo-detective) made me want to read it. But what really made it enjoyable was how New Orleans comes alive. You can feel the heat and humidity in the air, you can smell the lingering smoke from the fires Sister Holiday investigates. There are a lot of really interesting side characters who I hope to see pop up in later stories as I'm sure this is set up to become a series starring Sister Holiday. I hope New Orleans remains at the heart of the stories, and there could be lots to tell - Sister Holiday has a compelling secret from her past that roars to the foreground by the end of this book. There are themes of faith, spirituality, grief, friendship and community. So much to explore and dig into and Sister Holiday is just getting started.
My thank you to Zando Projects and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

ARC releasing 2/21/23. Sister Holiday is a queer, punk rock nun trying to solve the arson and murder crimes at her Catholic school. I requested this because I was wanting a new Gillian Flynn and saw her promoting this book. Not only did I not understand any religious talk in the book and found it rather annoying, but none of the characters are fleshed out, I couldn’t keep any of them straight, the narrative was choppy and I wasn’t curious at all about the ‘mystery’. Would have DNF’d but didn’t want to ruin my ARC percentage.

The description of Sister Holiday in the synopsis was what drew me into this book. I love unconventional nuns, and I loved Sister Holiday. She was such a treat to follow and read about. I also really enjoyed the mystery aspect. It wasn't half-baked or anything, it had so many twists and turns. It was confusing in the best way and it kept me guessing until the very end. I also really enjoyed the aspect wherein Sister Holiday's past was slowly revealed as you read through and it just added so much more layers to her character. My only note is that I felt like the other side characters weren't given as much attention and didn't have as much depth as Sister Holiday, and the flatness made their characters feel a bit cliché. Still, overall, an enjoyable book that mystery lovers would definitely enjoy.

I couldn’t continue with this book. The plot is interesting, but I’m 17% in and the book is dragging. There’s several sentences that are deep and meaningful but seem disconnected to the sections they’re located in. There’s too much detail focused on events that do not need extended detail and many filler repetitive prayer mentions. The main character made a grand declaration of becoming a pseudo-detective with awkward execution. DNF.

For anyone interested in reading I would definitely check out trigger warnings. I received Scorched Grace last week through NetGalley after seeing the book on Tik Tok. Scorched Grace is about a queer, punk, tattooed nun named Sister Holiday. She teaches guitar to kids at a school in New Orleans. Sister Holiday is set on finding the person responsible for setting fires at the school with her sleuthing skills. I enjoyed every second of this book, I was hooked as soon as I read the description. My only issue was the pacing, I was expecting a more fast mystery, I am very interested to read more about Sister Holiday if this turns into a series!

“Scorched Grace” is the debut novel by author Margot Douaihy and the first publication from Gillian Flynn (author of “Gone Girl”). A powerful story about religion and sin, family, and secrets so powerful they are literally buried in the ashes.
Sister Holiday is a novitiate at the Sisters of Sublime Blood convent, trying to instill in her students her love of music and the healing power of prayer. She is also a chain smoking, heavily tattooed member of the LGBTQ community, information she tries to keep a secret from her students, as she looks for a place to belong. Somewhere in their midst, however, an arsonist blooms, as one by one, school buildings are set on fire. After the loss of two of her close friends in these devastating fires, Holiday decides to rely on her previous skills and help the police find out who’s behind these devious acts. Hoping for redemption of her own, Sister Holiday must make amends with her own past before laying blame.
“Scorched Grace” is a unique and emotional novel, set against the backdrop of New Orleans in all of its sticky, sweaty heat and unrelenting beauty and charm. Douaihy reveals Holiday’s past slowly and teasingly, through snippets told in Holiday’s own words, as she helps the police investigate the crimes taking place at her home. Holiday blows all stereotypes out of the water, as she is the last person anyone would expect to see as a nun and the sisters of the convent are constantly fighting against the male-dominated Diocese to keep its community afloat, confronting major issues like religion and sexism head on.
Holiday is relatable in every way. Torn apart by a past of dysfunction and chaos, Holiday is smart, modern, and acerbic in all the best ways. Bitter yet desperate to see the world in a positive light, Holiday brings hope to a dark and grieving world. Her colleagues, both of the religious order and not, are devastatingly human and their vices and grievances only made them more likable.
As the quest for the arsonist continues, Douaihy makes every character suspect. Each police officer, teacher and even the nuns themselves have secrets they are desperate to keep, and “Grace” is a constant guessing game from the first page. When the ending hits, it is delightfully unexpected, bringing all of the plots twists and turns to one satisfying finale.
“Scorched Grace” has all of the makings of an award winning novel, and I see Douaihy skyrocketing to fame. Her novel is similar to creative, renowned works by authors like Douglas Stuart, and Douaihy’s unique and modern writing should receive similar accolades. “Grace” has the potential to take the novel into a sequel, and possibly a series, and I really hope Douaihy brings more Sister Holiday to the world soon!

An introspective thriller in which the main character is a heavily tattooed, queer nun. Sister Holiday is attempting to solve the mystery of arson at her school. The writing felt like a very old-school detective story, which I enjoyed. The twisty mystery m kept me guessing. I also really loved the side characters. This reads like it’s meant to be a series and I am looking forward to seeing what Sister Holiday gets up to next!

What a ride of a book. Margot's poetic writing painted a stunning portrait of the chain-smoking, heavily tatted queer nun and the intensely heated streets of New Orleans. I've never been a fan of detective/sleuth books, but the plot drew me in. I could se why Gillian Flynn picked this book as her first book under her imprint. Can't wait to see what happens in the next Sister Holiday mystery!

Scorched Grace by: Margot Douaihy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 stars

Release date: February 21st 2023

A queer, smoking, tattooed nun, an arson/murder mystery that needs to be solved, and it’s set in New Orleans. How could you not immediately want to read this based on the synopsis? Before even opening it the stained glass style cover is really beautiful and eye catching, it’s one of my favorites. Thankfully the book inside also delivers. I couldn’t put this book down. I saw someone say they thought this was going to be apart of a series, and I really hope that’s true because I need more Scorched Grace content. Sister Holiday is our really flawed protagonist, but despite her imperfections she just wants the best, and to solve the murder and serial arson at the church. I thought it was really interesting to see the really flawed character type that’s usually not how nuns in media are portrayed. Sister Holiday is in my top favorite characters. I just really loved everything about this book!

*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Absolutely loved this gritty mystery which a unique protagonist. This book is different to typical female led thrillers which are in an absolute abundance these days. This book was memorable and layered. Loved it and highly recommend! Can’t wait to get a gorgeous physical copy when it’s released.

Sister Holiday is not your average nun. Queer, heavily tattooed, and with a fractured past, she doesn’t seem like the type to abandon worldly pleasures and devote her life to God. And yet, here she is, living in New Orleans and working at Saint Sebastian’s School. Her life, however, is far from serene. When Saint Sebastian’s is targeted by a firebug, she decides to take matters into her own gloved hands and find the culprit.
******
I was extremely excited to read Scorched Grace. A queer nun? A mystery? New Orleans?! It sounded off-beat, exciting, and right up my alley. And it was…sort of. The overall premise of the book is fantastic, but the execution left a bit to be desired. Rather than a flowing narrative with memorable, fleshed-out characters, Scorched Grace felt like a bunch of scenes slammed together and populated by one-note characters. Reading it was a bit like a fever dream.
My first major issue was the lack of logic. This is a thriller, and Sister Holiday isn’t a member of law enforcement. In other books, she would be seen as a meddler, possibly a suspect. Although she is under suspicion, the lead detective quickly accepts her presence and takes her to active crime scenes. Readers are assured that Sister Holiday has always been a “snoop”, and has that reputation, yet in the numerous flashbacks to her pre-nun life, this is never shown, or even mentioned. This aspect completely took me out of the immersion of the story and removed any stakes regarding her meddling.
As the main character, you might expect to know a lot about Sister Holiday by the end of the book. Why is she so into solving crime? What caused her to become a nun? Unfortunately, the only adjectives I can find to describe her are Catholic, queer, and mean. Her faith is obvious, and is a consistent theme throughout the novel, which I did appreciate. Her queerness, on the other hand, seems to consist entirely of mentioning her knowledge of being in the closet, her long affair with a married woman, and a truly uncomfortable scene thick with sexual tension. As a queer person, it felt a bit like the author wanted to show how queerness can fit in with the Catholic faith, but her only way of doing so was having a nun be queer. There isn’t any real interaction between the two, so while I appreciate the effort, it fell flat to me. I don’t know if the author herself is queer, though, so it is possible that this is simply a reflection of her lived experience.
As for Sister Holiday’s abrasive personality and sense of superiority, her attitude towards those around her prevent any of them from having actual depth. A few examples include: Mean nun, atheist teacher, and bad student. The latter, whose name is Prince, acts out frequently, possibly due to the fact that he was stranded on his roof as a child during Hurricane Katrina. Rather than trying to understand and sympathize with him, Sister Holiday assumes he’s the arsonist, going so far as to physically assault him to make a point. She isn’t punished for this, and we aren’t meant to see it as an issue. She’s just “good at fighting”.
As the novel progresses, Sister Holiday suspects everyone around her…except the culprit. The firebug turns out to be Sister Augustine, the head of the Order, an elderly woman who believes she’s carrying out God’s commands. So why doesn’t the so-called “super sleuth” harbor suspicion towards the actual culprit?
Sister Holiday’s past is shown in fractured flashbacks, most of which involve her affair and hard-partying days. A few, however, touch on her familial situation. After coming out to her parents, who reacted poorly, she became estranged with them, but returns when she learns her mom has cancer. Sister Holiday feels responsible for her mother’s eventual death. Per her mother’s request, they had gone for a drive, before Sister Holiday decided to go party in a bar, leaving her mother locked in the car outside. The car goes up in flames, and she dies.
Sister Augustine, then, is meant to be Sister Holiday’s surrogate mother, but this isn’t really shown. She accepted Holiday into the Order, and was nice to her, but that’s about it. However, we don’t learn much about Sister Holiday’s relationship with her actual mother, so I suppose both relationships have an equal amount of depth.
Scorched Grace is the first book in what will be a series, and it’s already being turned into a TV show. Perhaps that’s why it feels so confusing and disjointed…was it written for TV before changing into a novel?
It’s received wonderful reviews, which I don’t quite understand. Have you read this book? Have I missed something?

Overall rating: two stars

I was really excited to read this debut novel--especially since it is the first book also published under Gillian Flynn's imprint!
The main character and the synopsis alone piqued my interest! I will say, it is a fun and interesting detective mystery. I was hoping for something a little more gritty and dark. The mystery was not as high-stakes as I was hoping, and it was a little predictable.
That being said--the prose was exquisite (as one might expect from a Gillian Flynn published writer) and Sister Holiday is endearing.
There is the possibility for a sequel or even a series. I'd definitely read more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. Overall I thought the book was enjoyable and I really enjoyed the characterization of Sister Holiday. The main issue for me was the pacing. I went in expecting a fast-paced mystery but that was not what I got. With the various flashbacks to Sister Holiday’s life before the order we get this really in-depth view of her life which was interesting at times but also really changed the pacing of the book. I also found myself wishing I knew a bit more of the side characters’ stories like we got Sister Holiday’s. I did love some of the commentary on the patriarchal issues of the Catholic Church and some of the MC’s comments about her perception of religion and God.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a review.


I think at 22% it's a fair marking point to say this book isn't for me. It didn't hook me in the first five chapters and I don't really think the writing will get better. The characters are all right so far, but I thought the way everything was written was a little confusing.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. Scorched Grace is a great concept - and more than that, a great setup for a series of mysteries with a stellar and unique protagonist.

Ultimately, it wasn't my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the potential. The pacing is a bit slow and some of the characters could use a bit more fleshing out. But these are best viewed as growing pains if this is to turn into a series - and I hope it does. Sister Holliday is a wonderful, complex and flawed protagonist full of contradictions, and I hope she has many more adventures to come.

I got really hooked on this book!

First let's talk about this cover, it's absolutely perfect and what drew me to the book.
Sister Holiday finds herself witnessing a fire at Saint Sebastian's School and gets herself into the investigation. She suspects everyone, goes looking for clues, is yet again a witness to another fire, becomes a suspect herself. All while she reminisces about her previous life. It was a great balance of past and present - we got the mystery solving in the present, and what happened in the past that led Holiday to this new life. This book left me wanting more.

Honestly I'm surprised how much I liked this book considering it's completely based on religion and nuns, but the storyline was much more than just God. We follow a group of teaching nuns who run a Covent and work with teens when there's a series of fires on the grounds all leading to different suspects. I did enjoy the book I just thought it was quite predictable. It was incredibly fast paced and consistently has chapters focusing on homophobic responses and family problems

Author: Margot Douaihy

Review Written By: Elliot Eatinger


Summary:

In the unconventional life of Sister Holiday Walsh, two profound factors begin to consume her

life: God, and fire.


Saint Sebastian’s School in New Orleans is stricken with tragedy when a rogue case of arson

leaves two students (and the nun who saved them) injured, and a beloved custodian dead. The

problem is that the death looks to be far from an accident. This series of unexplained events

sends Sister Holiday on a determined path of crime solving, fueled by a complex admiration for

the Holy Ghost and truth-seeking, while ghosts from her own past chase her down at every turn.


Review:

(without major spoilers)




Sister Holiday is a queer, punk nun from Brooklyn who relocated to New Orleans after an

inexplicable string of tragedies and come-to-Jesus moments, following in the footsteps of her

former devotee mother. If that isn’t enough of a character pull, I don’t know what it is.


This story undoubtedly has a complex relationship with Catholicism and devotion, saddled from

the perspective of someone who has found guidance in faith even when it’s tested. It might be a

complicated read for anyone who has left a faith of religion – and I say that speaking from

experience. I think it’s well worth the read regardless because it provides a unique perspective

that I haven’t seen in contemporary fiction in some time. Sister Holiday’s faith – along with the

unwavering faith of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood – is one that drives the story through every

slow climb, sharp turn, and freefalls into the unknown.


This is also a story with blood in its teeth and grit under its nails; Douhaiy unapologetically

explores the shades of gray in every single character, especially its lead in Sister Holiday. These

are deeply flawed, complex people who go through the motions of this increasingly strenuous

time and dig their nails into the story, as it haunts and follows them just as they might follow it.

The other three Sisters of the convent, along with Saint Sebastian’s other staff, all prove to be a

surprising supporting cast that you don’t want to let go of. Honestly, I could’ve done with the

book being longer in order to spend more time with them.


There’s one part in particular – with a couple of tense encounters between Holiday and Prince

Dempsey, a delinquent student with a troubled past, foreshadowing written all over him (just not

the way you’d think) – that had me set aback. It’s made extremely clear through the narrative

that Sister Holiday is someone who is constantly seeking penance for her messier past, while

trying to use those breakneck instincts to solve what feels like an unsolvable case; whether you

like her or hate her, she certainly drives forward. The overarching narrative, interwoven with

flashbacks of Holiday’s life prior to the convent, and ghosts of her making new appearances

provides the reader a chance to decide for themselves.


I wanted to spend far more time with Maggie Riveaux, the sharp and sardonic fire inspector with

messes and secrets of her own. There’s a dichotomy presented in between her – a Black woman

prominent in her field – and one of her deeply ignorant, casually bigoted white counterparts in

the police department that proves itself as a clear set of cracks in this fictionalized setting of New

Orleans’ public servants, but doesn’t quite sink its teeth into a deeper commentary in favor of the

relentless pace of narrative pursuit.


There’s a fascinating landscape right behind her that is shown with great love and complex

admiration, through Douhaiy’s rich poetic prose – and it was another one of those moments

where I found myself asking for more attention to the gems hidden in the cracks. My next

question for Douhaiy might be about what would she do, if we spent more time in this world?

There are a lot of open ends left, and maybe it’s on purpose, with the Gillian Flynn book deals

wide open.


Overall, I think it’s a deeply rewarding novel. The ending and final sets of twists hurled me back

to the very beginning of the book, and demanded attention to what I might have missed along the

way. Scorched Grace is brutal and brilliant and one hell of a debut prose novel. I’m looking

forward to what she does next.


xx


Content warnings for: violence, graphic depictions of injury and death, homophobia.