Book Riot Read Harder Challenge #3: Read a queer mystery.

I grew up Southern Baptist which is pretty different from Catholicism. So while reading this book, I consulted my Catholic friend (who is also from New Orleans where this story takes place) about anything that made me squint. Her determination was that there were several aspects of the book that sounded true to Catholicism but that other aspects were not accurate at all. Most of the inaccuracies seem to be changes made by the author for plot or theme purposes and make sense within the greater context of the story. But the changes were not enough to completely pull me out of the story.

The thing that threw me off the most was that apparently Catholics say Ephesians differently. Clearly, I don’t refer to that book of the Bible enough in conversation with my friend because despite almost 20 years of friendship, I never knew this.

More interesting to me than the plot or the character development were the discussions of God and religion. They provoke genuine thought and discussion about patriarchy in the church, the role of religion in community, and more.

Our main character, Sister Holiday, despite being a nun, has a complicated relationship with God, Jesus, the church, herself, her fellow nuns, her ex, law enforcement, her students. Pretty much everyone. She’s not an easy person to like.

Honestly, the easiest character to like was the service dog. That sweet girl deserves all the treats and all the belly rubs.

If you like mysteries and are at least marginally interested/fascinated by religion, then you should definitely check out this book.