Scorched Grace

This mystery from poet Margot Douaihy has an unusual protagonist. Sister Holiday is a former punk rocker (band), Lesbian (current), and outright trouble maker (still is). When her drugging and drinking lead to the death of her terminally ill mother, Holiday turns to her mother mother's faith and petitions to become a novitiate. Nobody will accept her except the tiny order of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood in New Orleans. The only condition in addition to the usual restrictions on the sisters is that she has to wear a neckerchief and gloves to hide her elaborate tatoos. She has turned her musical talents to teaching music  at the Order's San Sebastian School. She routinely confiscates her students non-allowed cigarette stashes to supply her own nicotine habit covertly in the alley behind the school. While so engaged one evening, she becomes the sole witness to the breakout of a fire in the classroom building and the flaming fall from the 2nd story window of her friend, the janitor. She runs into the building and rescues two trapped students, one who ends up in the hospital and one who thereafter drops out of school. The fire is declared to be arson by the fire officials. When her favorite sister is the victim of a so-called accidental fall down the stairs and another fire, which is fortunately put out very quickly, Sister Holiday takes it upon herself to find out who the arsonist is. There are several other small story lines that I won't elaborate here. Her characters are richly drawn and the heat and feel of place of New Orleans are evocative. If you can stand all the cursing and occasional descriptions of sex (in her previous life only, of course), I recommend this book.

Publishers Weekly says of the book, "This briskly plotted master class in character development makes the most of its New Orleans setting, "the crucible... of miracles and curses." Douaihy ... is off to a terrific start."  As The New York Times says about this "showstopper of a series debut," Sister Holiday is constantly struggling with making a new life and home that is so different from her past: “I worked so hard to let people into my new life. But when you don’t know or trust yourself. How can you give anyone else the benefit of the doubt?”  Library Journal reveals that the book has already been acquired for a TV adaptation.