DNF@ 54%

I really tried with this book. The premise was very unique. A tattooed, chain smoking, queer ex-punk rock nun solves a mystery at her Catholic school. Her dark past is shown in flashbacks and she's clearly not your typical definition of a nun. Sister Holiday's character was something I wanted to read more about and we are told about her tragic backstory in bits and pieces, and what ultimately led her to become a nun teaching music at a school in New Orleans. Sadly, the writing made me lose interest in the weak plot and nonsensical police investigation. The arson investigator Rivaeux who was clearly meant to be Holiday's romantic interest also came across as bland. The plot and writing are very stilted and janky, the sentence structure is simplistic and events move in the A to B way which doesn't really make you invested in the story.

Apparently, this is the start of a sleuthing series, so hopefully, the sequels are better written than this one. Though I do seem to be in the minority in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

I picked this up for the cover, and because I love new Orleans.
Seems I rather like a tattooed guy nun who's hiding from her past too.
The more we went into the story, and delved into why our sister Holiday had found herself there, the more I liked her.
She's a character I'm going to be looking out for again.
The actual villain of this piece wasn't too hard to guess.
This book was a fun read.