Scorched Grace

A USA Today Bestseller · A New York Times, Apple Books, and The Guardian Best Crime Novel of the Year · An Indie Next Pick · Winner of the Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction and the Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Festival Emerging Writer Award · Longlisted for the Mass Book Award · A Finalist for the ITW Thrillerfest, New England Book, Left Coast Crime “Lefty”, and Anthony Awards · Best Author by Boston Magazine

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 readers guessing until the very end.