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Scorched Grace
Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery | Margot Douaihy
36 posts | 26 read | 17 to read
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 (…more)
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KathyWheeler
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Pickpick

While I‘m glad I read this for #nunlit, I didn‘t like it as much as I wanted to. Love the LGBTQ+ representation, but didn‘t like Sister Holiday that much, although I could get used to her. She makes many seriously dumb decisions. There are a couple of scenes with a character, Nina, that I didn‘t see the point of. Many of the secondary characters aren‘t that well-drawn. Mara Wilson, however, did a great job narrating. #audiowalk

jlhammar I started print and I‘m not sure what to make if it yet. Very noir. I might switch to audio. 6mo
KathyWheeler @jlhammar I really did like the narrator. 6mo
23 likes2 comments
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kspenmoll
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Two wildly different books so far this month.#weeklyfavorites

Read4life Wonderful! 🤓 6mo
38 likes1 comment
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kspenmoll
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The End.
#nunlit

dabbe 💙💚💙 6mo
Texreader Gorgeous 6mo
35 likes2 comments
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kspenmoll
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Just wow. Sensory descriptions… Not a surprise the author is a poet. #nunlit

Texreader I love how you did this graphic! What a great idea!! 6mo
kspenmoll @Texreader 💕💕 6mo
jlhammar Love this. Can‘t wait to get started! 6mo
41 likes3 comments
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kspenmoll
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This book is a wild ride with funky punky sister Holiday, musician extraordinaire, and dogged,self-appointed detective. #nunlit

41 likes2 stack adds
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kspenmoll
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Before dinner, soft breezes cooling me down. Aha.. the day is finally done. A full one: work, MD appt, PT. Treating myself to rice crackers, rose Prosecco. #porchlife #nunlit #litsolace #midsummersolace. Breathe, sip, read. Listen to the birds.

TheBookHippie 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚love it!!!!! 7mo
Chrissyreadit 😍😍😍😍 6mo
jlhammar Looks lovely! Excited to start this one, probably in the latter half of the month. I‘m still making my way through this memoir (good so far) 6mo
AllDebooks Sounds perfect x 6mo
64 likes4 comments
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MicheleinPhilly
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The first book from Gillian Flynn‘s imprint? And it‘s about a queer, tattooed, chain-smoking nun?

SOLD!

TrishB What‘s not to like! 11mo
LiteraryinPA Whoa, this wasn‘t on my radar at all and sounds great! 11mo
jlhammar I‘m planning to read this in June. Looking forward to it! The second in the series will be out in March 11mo
See All 6 Comments
marleed I really liked this book and will continue with the series! 11mo
Caroline2 Ohhh 😮 11mo
Caroline2 Meh it‘s not on special here. 🙄 but I‘ve added it to my tbr list. Thanks for the heads up! 👍 11mo
40 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

The protagonist in this is a heavily tattooed lesbian nun. It's not the best story and it's highly repetitive but if you enjoy cozy mysteries it's fine. Narrator on the #audiobook is Mara Wilson.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Megabooks That cover! 🤩🤩 12mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 12mo
36 likes2 comments
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Ericalambbrown
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Pickpick

I really liked this one! While it spends a lot of time flashing to Sister Holiday‘s back story, I felt the character development was necessary and helped make sense of a character who may otherwise seem unbelievable. I liked the secondary characters as well. This is bleak in places and not something to pick up if you are looking for a Sister Boniface type mystery. “Cozy murder” this ain‘t.

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CaitlinR
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Mehso-so

Sister Holiday, fleeing the wreckage wrought by her life choices, is a novitiate with The Sisters of the Sublime Blood, teaching guitar licks to Catholic School students in New Orleans and hiding her tats under black serge. Someone is lighting fires, people are dying, and Holiday investigates.

The first third is beautifully written, language and plot in the middle are muddy but the end is surprising. I hope this is the start of a new series!

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JoyBlue
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Mehso-so

This debut mystery starring a lesbian punk nun didn‘t live up to its promise (nor justify its long spot on my hold list). Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#scorched-grace

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Robotswithpersonality
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Panpan

I can fully admit this was simply a misjudgment on my part. I'm really not down for books that focus this much on religion/faith, or people deeply in need of therapy not getting it, or traumatized people becoming violent/murderers. ⚠️ Big warning for SA, homophobia, but I can't give more adequate cautions than that because I skim read the second half just so I could get the whodunnit out of my head. Just too much ugliness for me.

Bklover Yuck. 1y
7 likes1 comment
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Robotswithpersonality
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Going to be thinking about that one for a while...

5 likes1 stack add
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AlizaApp
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Pickpick

A noir in which a formerly punk nun (lots of tattoos and cigarettes) sets out to solve a series of crimes, including arson and murder, that happen at her convent.

31 likes1 stack add
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Jen2
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Pickpick

Wow!!! That was intense!

charl08 Looking forward to the next one of these! 2y
57 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Tea_and_Starstuff
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Mehso-so

This is a noir book with a noir voice, and I ultimately bounced off of that. I found the idea compelling: a detective who is a punk musician…and a nun! She has a complicated relationship to her past, to the idea of grace, and to religion. Unfortunately, I found the ending unsatisfying-it undercut those themes of religion and conflict that I most enjoyed while reading. Mostly meh, but still compelling enough to make me late for work one day. :D

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monalyisha
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Mysteries aren‘t typically my thing & I noticed that @TheKidUpstairs wasn‘t a fan of this one, which doesn‘t bode well…but I just learned about the book‘s existence and can‘t help but feel excited! A punk rock nun? OKAY!

@JamieArc Had you heard of it? Seems like something we should both make note of!

📸: Hayley Rabe, PangoBooks

TheKidUpstairs I hope it works better for you than it did for me! 2y
monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs I‘ll be sure to borrow it instead of buying it. 😉 2y
ChaoticMissAdventures I am hearing such mixed things, but I have it on hold at the library. Going to read it. The concept sounds so good. 2y
See All 8 Comments
monalyisha @ChaoticMissAdventures Crossing fingers for you & me both! Do you typically read mysteries? I feel like the fact that I don‘t *might* work in my favor. 2y
JamieArc Yes. It definitely caught my eye between the cover and the premise. But then I think I saw a few less-than-stellar reviews and held off. I think @mitch was one. I often like books others don‘t though, so still thinking about it. Definitely tag me if you review it! 2y
JamieArc But looking again, @mitch gave it a pick! 2y
marleed I liked this. There is a mystery here but really I thought it was more about the characters. 2y
monalyisha @marleed That‘s exactly how I prefer my mysteries. 💯 2y
66 likes1 stack add8 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
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Panpan

I so wanted to love this one. And it started out so strong, with a wonderfully punk rock nun of an MC and a strong noir tone and atmosphere. But it just fizzled and flailed from there.

Not for me 😒

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charl08
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I discovered that if you pressed your face to Mary's face in the Nativity glass, you could peer right through her translucent eye and see New Orleans shimmering below like a moth wing....I saw Faubourg Delassize and Livaudais unfold to the left, Tchoupitoulas Street and the hypnotic ribbon of the Mississippi River to the right....

at dawn, I was astonished by the wattage of color that vibrated in the silken light.

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kissmehardy
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Pickpick

This book was my freakin' CATNIP. Sister Holiday had a great voice and so many interesting layers, and I had no idea who the arsonist was. If and when this becomes a whole series, I'm in. And I appreciated that Sister Holiday had a sincere belief in God without being preachy or losing sight of the gray areas in life. #mystery

charl08 Looking forward to reading this! 2y
kissmehardy @charl08 Hope you enjoy! It's not for everyone, but I think it's still for more people than you might expect. 2y
9 likes2 comments
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Mitch
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Pickpick

An exciting premise - a lesbian, former punk rocker, tattooed, chain smoking novice nun turned amateur investigator in New Orleans! But she‘s a poor investigator and a even poorer judge of character! Her back story gives her interest and intrigue - but the ‘mystery‘ element is a let down. I believe in her - and maybe book two she‘ll find her stride for that reason I made it a ‘pick‘!

JamieArc That sure is a great cover though! 2y
Soubhiville Like @JamieArc I love this cover! 2y
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AVChrista
Pickpick

I really enjoyed Sister Holiday‘s story. I was a little foggy on how Sister Augustine was “sticking it to the man” beyond just destruction, but that made for a fun twist.

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AVChrista
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I am super excited to read this book! I‘ve known Margot for years and am so proud that her book has been published.

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janeycanuck
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Mehso-so

This was okay enough… The writing was really full and descriptive, which I liked at first but then wore on me when I just wanted the story to move forward or give me a bit more to work with in terms of suspects & clued. And I didn‘t really like how there would be a flashback with no visual marker besides a standard paragraph break, I found that jarring and confusing.

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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Bailedbailed

DNF at 25% in. My interest in this just kept waning, I'm not entirely sure why, but I have too many books on my TBR to continue with one that isn't really doing it for me! I think maybe too much of this book was weighing on the novelty of the protagonist being a queer, tattooed, smoking nun and once that wore off, I didn't find much to actually keep my interest. Gorgeous cover though!

#QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks

marleed Haha - I liked but get your perspective. If Sr. Holiday isn‘t doing it for you, the mystery itself is just okay. 2y
33 likes1 comment
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Booksandtea23

“Like beauty evil is in the eye of the beholder.”

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Booksandtea23

“We are like stained glass. Beautiful and complicated and fragile as fuck. We all need care and some of us don‘t get what we deserve. “

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Booksandtea23

“If we can‘t make our own choices we are nothing more than marionettes.”

😌

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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My kid's abuela is visiting while my partner is away for work, so I'm getting some much deserved bath and book time after my first week back at work at the library after maternity leave!

"If the Lord cherishes us, why are we so fragile and fire so grand? Pointless debate. We are the fire, and the fire is us. We were born with electricity in our hearts, the divine flame."

Clare-Dragonfly 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 2y
TieDyeDude Hope you enjoyed the soak! 2y
46 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Booksandtea23

“Revenge is a stupid way to feel in control. Like all drugs it doesn‘t last but, it sure is fun in the moment.”

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marleed
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Pickpick

I‘m participating in #NunLit hosted by @jhammer and when I saw @Mitch post this newly published book about a current-day gay (with feelings for former gf), smoking, tattooed, faithful, sleuthing nun in a progressive order in New Orleans I had to go there. I liked it! The mystery itself is fine enough, but it‘s Sr Holiday‘s story that drew me in. Kudos to the author for writing this without getting bogged down in current day politics.

jlhammar Yes, I have this on my to-get soon list! Love that cover. 2y
marleed @jlhammar It‘s an interesting juxtaposition against The Corner That Held Them! 2y
Mitch So glad you liked it - I have it on order, it‘s out here in the U.K. in a few weeks 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 2y
70 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Booksandtea23

“Everybody‘s got secrets, especially nuns.”

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Booksandtea23
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Happy Sunday 😃

jlhammar Very interested in this one and such a cool cover! 2y
Booksandtea23 @jlhammar yes the cover is amazing and the book is really good. I‘m listening to the audiobook and really enjoying it. 2y
11 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Mitch
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A couple of great sounding ones this week! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

https://crimereads.com/10-new-books-coming-out-this-week-february-21-2023/

marleed @jhammer I just had to put a hold on a new #nunlit book from this list! 2y
54 likes1 stack add1 comment
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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
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Pickpick

Faith, fire & female rage - Sister Holiday is a young woman with a harrowing past who is clinging onto her second chance at a Catholic school in New Orleans - when she finds herself fighting to clear her name when there are a spate of arson attacks at the school she teaches at, the first of which kills a janitor and hospitalises 2 students.

I love a debut, I love a amateur sleuth, and I‘m also very partial to Murder, She Wrote references👌🏼

41 likes1 stack add
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DrexEdit
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Pickpick

Hey, I read a thing!
I was awarded this #ARC through the Publisher's Weekly Grab-A-Galley giveaway and accessed it thru #Netgalley.

This description--“Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test.“--grabbed my attention immediately. This is a first-in-a-series title for Gillian Flynn Books at Zando Projects Publishing so you know it's going to go to some dark places, and it does. ⬇ ⬇

DrexEdit Sister Holiday investigates arson and murder at St. Sebastian's in New Orleans. This book has a heavy noir feel to it and Sister Holiday is about as hard-boiled as they come having been knocked around in the school of life. Plenty of quirky and unsavory characters to enjoy and as we learn more about Sister Holiday's back story, the more heart-breaking the overall story becomes. ⬇ ⬇ (edited) 2y
DrexEdit Overall this is a really good read and a great start to a character motivated series and I'm looking forward to more. I've heard that this title has already been acquired for TV by the same people that produced Station Eleven and The Lincoln Lawyer (the McConaughey film version).

PUB DATE: February 21, 2023!
(edited) 2y
29 likes2 stack adds2 comments