Margot Douaihy

This book had me hooked from the start, really engaged. It felt like a 5-star read for sure. But then it bogged down about a third of the way in. It was so slow I dreaded picking the book up again. But I did, and finally finished it. Overall, it is no better than a 3-star book. Not great; but certainly not terrible.

The book was full of unnecessary elevated language, just for the author to prove she could. After a while, we get it, you are smart, message received. But in using this type of language, you are sabotaging your own book in order to drill that message into the reader’s head. This was a serious distraction from the story.

The book contained too many characters. Every minor character with only a single appearance was named. I counted about 70 characters in the book. Way too many. The author also used too many flashbacks to fill in Sister Holiday’s past. Many of the flashbacks came without any warning, right in the middle of a paragraph about the present, which became confusing after a while. Less flashbacks would have been better.

Finally, the ending was rushed and ridiculous. Sister Holiday who had spent 300 pages finding the arsonist, then helps her escape? That was totally out of character as was Sister Augustine’s final actions.

The author has written a sequel, which I will read, but at least, based upon this book, I am not expecting much.… (más)

addictive-series, unputdownable, apprentice PI, suspense, snarky, verbal-humor, LGBT, investigations, NOLA, tattoos, twisty, thriller, murder, mystery, catholic-nun, queer, convent, private-investigators, detective-fiction, riveting, ex-cop, flooding, hard-reality, teamwork, series, missing-persons, siblings, mental-health-issues, mental-health-awareness*****

Complex believable characters and a demanding plot make this a totally addictive series. I'll have to get an audio when available so that I can fully enjoy it as it is Not TTS enabled for visually impaired.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Zando, Gillian Flynn Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Pub Date 12 Mar 2024
A Sister Holiday Mystery (#2)
Not TTS enabled for visually impaired… (más)