Divine Ruin: A Sister Holiday Mystery

Douaihy delivers a crackling third installment of her series featuring tattooed queer New Orleans nun Holiday Walsh (after Blessed Water). As Holiday prepares to take her final vows while trying to keep her music classes running smoothly at Saint Sebastian’s School, the academy is shaken by the death of one of its star students from an apparent fentanyl overdose. Distressed and desperate for answers, Holiday launches her own inquiry into the school’s students and teachers with the help of her PI friend Magnolia Riveaux, and agrees to assist the police investigation by going undercover into the drug-fueled nightlife scene she used to haunt. Holiday remains a messy yet lovable heroine whose rough edges belie her unflagging moral compass, and Douaihy traps her in a series of pulse-pounding scenarios. When Holiday’s faith and strength of character carry her through, it feels fully earned rather than trite or expected. Though Douaihy brilliantly ties up this entry’s loose ends, there’s more than enough juice left in the setting and characters to fuel Sister Holiday’s future adventures. Agent: Laura Macdougall, United Agents. (Jan.)