Blessed water

Readers who first encountered Sister Holiday in Scorched Grace (2023) will be eager to ride along on her second adventure. But even series newbies can jump right in, the water is . . . everywhere. New Orleans is under siege from an epic rainstorm. Recently apprenticed as a PI in the newly formed Redemption Detective Agency, Sister Holiday braves the deluge to keep an appointment with her first customer and finds the mutilated body of her parish priest floating in the local marina. The sleuthing begins, made more interesting by the fact that the former punk-rocking, cigarette-sneaking Sister Holiday is not the typical recruit of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood order. She's young, queer, abundantly tattooed, and haunted by a troubled past. Having taken provisional vows, she's reinventing herself in search of redemption and rebuilding her life in the convent at St. Sebastian Parish, which has truly never seen the likes of her. Mystery readers haven't either, which makes this hard-boiled nun with secret warm, fuzzy feelings an amateur sleuth with original, fresh appeal.

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.)