Blessed Water: A Sister Holiday Mystery

Douaihy follows up Scorched Grace with another deliriously enjoyable, relentlessly plotted adventure for chain-smoking “punk nun” Sister Holiday Walsh. Sister Holiday spends her days teaching music at Saint Sebastian’s School in New Orleans, and her nights operating the newly established Redemption Detective Agency alongside former fire inspector Magnolia Riveaux. After a potential client stands the women up for a consultation, they stumble on a priest’s corpse floating in the Mississippi River. They go straight to the police, who hire the Redemption detectives to aid with the investigation. Over a rain-soaked three-day Easter weekend, Magnolia and Sister Holiday uncover a trail of secrets that may be linked to both the murder and the disappearance of the parish’s other priest—and that could mean danger for more clergy members if they don’t act fast. Douaihy is more concerned with Sister Holiday’s faith in this entry (a key subplot involves her preparing to take her final vows), but there’s still plenty of local color and high-stakes action to keep fans of the first book on board, and the mystery itself is even more gripping this time out. This series continues to impress. Agent: Laura Macdougall, United Agents. (Mar.)