Scorched Grace

A Sister Holiday Mystery

By: Margot Douaihy

Narrated by: Mara Wilson

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test in this “unique and confident” debut crime novel (Gillian Flynn).

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.

An exciting start to Margot Douaihy’s bold series for Gillian Flynn Books that breathes new life into the hard-boiled genre, Scorched Grace is a fast-paced and punchy whodunnit that will keep listeners guessing until the very end.

©2023 Margot Douaihy (P)2023 Zando

Great start to a new series!

Absolute noir-nun fun! Mara Wilson narrates to perfection - her voice is like honeyed tea with a splash of bourbon, creating the best noir-narrator vibes!

Nuns, New Orleans, Noir

I enjoyed everything about this book: the damaged and finding-her-way Sister Holiday; the sweltering city, which is so much a character here; the brilliant narration by Mara Wilson, such a serene counterpoint to the chaos raining down on the school.

None of this is to say Sister Holiday is particularly likable, forcing herself into situations and on people where she is unwelcome. For me, that makes her much more interesting. I see her trying to do the right things, especially for her students. She genuinely cares about (most of) the sisters, but is frequently thwarted by what they need from her and what she has to give them.

The tension between old and new Holly is relentless and I appreciated how Wilson's even narration never got in the way of that. I used "noir" in my headline as shorthand for morally ambiguous, flawed, angry, self-destructive. Her past is a nightmare, her present only marginally better. Still there is hope for her, the school, and I plan to be around for the next book.

The ending is 🔥

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 expected better

I bought this because I adore Gillian Flynn, and this was the first publication from her imprint. However, I was sorely disappointed. This is a rather flat, predictable mystery, and the main character seems contrived to appeal to marginalized demographics- which is not automatically a bad thing, but she goes on random political tangents that are clearly meant to rope in readers while adding nothing to the story.

Did Anyone Fact Check This Book?

The author has talent. Her ideas are interesting and there are many beautifully written sentences. An editor needed to help her tighten up the trajectory of the plot. There were places where the timelines between incidents were unbelievable and suggested a sloppy way to push ahead the plot. One cannot rush to a trial days after an arrest! Please inform the author that giving insulin to a person with low blood sugar is likely to kill him! Mara Wilson is great!

Hot New Writer

I look forward to more great content from Gillian Flynn’s new publishing label. A gritty and engaging tale of a twisted kind, my favorite.
I enjoyed the book and all of its contrasting energies between good and bad, and the things the characters tell themselves to either justify or punish themselves.

Pretty flat

The whole time I read this book I kept asking myself “do I like this?” And felt pretty unsure until the end. It lacked the depth needed for a truly great story, and I found the characters lacked dimension as well. Even Sister Holiday felt a bit one-note. I figured out the mystery pretty early on but held out hope there would be some cool twist… alas. No.

Mixed review

The denouement is a bit far-fetched, but the back story is completely compelling and shocking in all the right ways. Whoever said the narrators voice is honeyed is absolutely spot on.

Didn’t Do It For Me

Loved the idea of an edgy, alternative-type nun-sleuth, but wasn’t able to get attached to any of the characters. Story never pulled me in. Underwhelmed overall.

Nothing Special

I finished it so it can't have been that bad.
On the other hand there was nothing special about it.
The Characters and writing were flat. The mystery and it's precursors overdone at this point.
Maybe a fun read for someone interested in New Orleans or Catholic schools but even those descriptions were either dull or unbelievable.
Maybe I went in expecting too much and if you just want a readable murder mystery you'll enjoy it?