Tattooed from her neck to her toes and sporting a gold tooth as sharp as her wisecracks, Sister Holiday struggles to stay on the righteous path. She’s committed both to taking her permanent vows with the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and joining Magnolia Riveaux’s latest venture, Redemption Detective Agency-both in service of satisfying her eternal quest for answers.

When Sister Holiday and Riveaux set out to bust a philandering husband, they instead find the body of a priest floating in the Mississippi river, and with it, Redemption’s next case.

As a torrential rainstorm drowns New Orleans for three harrowing days over Easter weekend, Sister Holiday and Riveaux follow the clues. With the stakes rising alongside the relentless floodwaters, our favourite punk nun-sleuth throws herself into the deep end yet again.

Reviews

Such a thrill. Douaihy blends edgy counterculture with sincere faith, violence and nihilism with genuine yearning for human connection, all in one hell of a mystery.

A picaresque yet powerful tale that plumbs the depths of human cruelty

The Times

Douaihy’s second Sister Holiday Mystery contains philandering husbands, a dead priest and a torrential rainstorm. All bases covered, in other words

Herald

She’s young, queer, abundantly tattooed, and haunted by a troubled past . . . which makes this hard-boiled nun with secret warm, fuzzy feelings an amateur sleuth with original, fresh appeal

Booklist

The writing in Blessed Water is utterly delightful. By the time the flood receded, and the case was solved, I’d already begun yearning for the next Sister Holiday Mystery