Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2023
320 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
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 New Orleans community are thrust into chaos.
Patience is a virtue, but punk rocker turned nun Sister Holiday isn't satisfied to just wait around for officials to return her home and sanctuary to its former peace, instead deciding to unveil the mysterious attacker herself. Her investigation leads her down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way. And to piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must at last reckon with the sins of Scorched Grace is a fast-paced and punchy whodunnit that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
"Stunning fiction debut and series launch...This briskly plotted master class in character development makes the most of its New Orleans setting, "the crucible... of miracles and curses." Douaihy (Bandit/Queen: The Runaway Story of Belle Starr) is off to a terrific start." - Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
"The first book from suspense novelist Gillian Flynn's imprint at Zando. Sister Holiday's violent, sexually provocative past life and her current language and behavior might be too outrageous for some readers, but the series has already been acquired for a prestige-television adaptation." - Library Journal
"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." - Mystery & Suspense Magazine
"Margot Douaihy's chain-smoking nun Sister Holiday may be the most original character you'll come across for quite some time. Douaihy wanted to reclaim pulp tropes for a female protagonist, and I have to say, Sister Holiday is punk AF. Set in New Orleans, Scorched Grace takes place at a Catholic school where an arson attack has harmed several students. Sister Holiday, a fan of detective fiction, is ready to solve the case (or else face suspicion herself)." - Molly Odintz, CrimeReads "The Most Anticipated Crime Books of Fall 2022 (and Beyond!)"
"Within five pages, I was in love with this novel. The voice is unique and confident, the sense of place deeply present, and the plotting completely assured: every time I was about to ask a question about Sister Holiday, her background, her drive, the mystery—the answer magically appeared. Sister Holiday is simply a joy of a narrator—and definitely my kind of character: flawed, dark, buoyant, and often laugh-out-loud funny. I feel like she and Camille Preaker from Sharp Objects should go on a road trip together. This novel is so much more than a mystery (which is my favorite kind of mystery), it's an exploration of faith, love, and the worthy struggle to be a better human. I just loved it!" - Gillian Flynn, Gillian Flynn Books
"Margot Douaihy's bold entry into the hard-boiled genre revitalizes it for our times. Skillfully plotted, propulsive, and deeply engaged with the communities it represents, Scorched Grace is one of the best crime fiction debuts I've come across in a long while." - Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Power of the Dog and City on Fire
"Douaihy's prose is fresh and energetic, and she brings the delightfully original character of Sister Holiday vividly to life. Holiday believably leads her own investigation, and the story satisfies right up until the very twisty end." - Karin Slaughter, New York Times and internationally bestselling author
"Margot Douaihy's Scorched Grace is pure, hard-boiled delight, and so is its protagonist, Sister Holiday. I can't wait for the next installment." - Kelly Link, MacArthur Fellow and bestselling author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Get in Trouble
"Scorched Grace burns with the wholehearted energy of faith, love, and transgression. Sister Holiday embodies the frailties of faith, the contradictions of humanity, and the joy of sisterhood in all its forms." - Sophie Ward, Booker Prize–longlisted author ofLove and Other Thought Experiments
This information about Scorched Grace was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Margot Douaihy is a Lebanese American originally from Scranton, PA, now living in Northampton, MA. She received her PhD in creative writing from the University of Lancaster in the UK. She is the author of the poetry collections Bandit/Queen: The Runaway Story of Belle Starr, Scranton Lace, and Girls Like You. She is a founding member of the Creative Writing Studies Organization and an active member of Sisters in Crime and the Radius of Arab American Writers. A recipient of the Mass Cultural Council's Artist Fellowship, she was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, Aesthetica Magazine's Creative Writing Award, and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation's Hemingway Shorts.
Her writing has been featured in Queer Life, Queer Love; Colorado Review; Diode Editions; The Florida Review; North American Review; PBS NewsHour; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Portland Review; Wisconsin Review; and elsewhere. Margot teaches creative writing at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH, where she also serves as the editor of the Northern New England Review. As a coeditor of the Elements in Crime Narrative Series with Cambridge University Press, she strives to reshape crime writing scholarship, with a focus on the contemporary, the future, inclusivity, and decoloniality.
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