DIVINE RUIN (Gillian Flynn Books, 2026)

🐍 Third installment of the BESTSELLING series
🐍 Publishes January 13, 2026!
🐍 STARRED REVIEW, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
🐍 Pre-order for an exclusive zine

THE MOST SHOCKING CASE YET

It’s a steamy, restless end of the school year in New Orleans. Sister Holiday is staying busy with her music classes and preparing for her permanent vow ceremony, a pivotal moment in her journey of faith. But when one of her favorite students is found dead of a fentanyl overdose, Sister Holiday and her partner-in-PI, Magnolia Riveaux, are launched on a mission to track down the drug dealers. As students continue to fall prey to this sinister drug under her watch, Sister Holiday becomes more and more desperate to stop this epidemic. All the while, she must contend with her own past with addiction, a demon that is never too far.

Sister Holiday’s darkest and most shocking case yet will test the limits of her faith—and her sanity—as she goes deep undercover with a local gang and ultimately uncovers a truth with lethal implications for those she loves. With the series’ signature mix of grit, heart, and faith, Divine Ruin is a stunning and timely addition to a one-of-a-kind series.

EARLY PRAISE FOR DIVINE RUIN

“Douaihy’s poetic prose and incredible voice shine as we rejoin our indomitable sleuth, Sister Holiday, in her hunt for the truth, and find it is every bit as grisly and profane as it is beautiful and sacred. Divine Ruin is fearlessly inspired.” —Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of GONE GIRL, SHARP OBJECTS, and DARK PLACES; writer/showrunner of UTOPIA

“Margot Douaihy weaves light into noir, poetry into breakneck plotting, and grace into grit. In Divine Ruin, Sister Holiday goes farther than she ever has, descending into a hellish underworld of drug trafficking, addiction, and her own dark past in a journey that is both riveting and sacred. I’d follow her anywhere.” —Ana Reyes, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author THE HOUSE IN THE PINES

"Margot Douaihy goes deeper, darker, harder with DIVINE RUIN, where Sister Holiday dives into the seamy world of fentanyl traffickers and finds herself walking the razor’s edge of addiction. Douaihy proves noir can have a heart—then promptly rips it out. Intimate and lyrical, this devastated me in the very best way." —K.T. Nguyen, Agatha Award-winning author of YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID

“With DIVINE RUIN Douaihy deftly lures readers in by revealing a stunning new facet of Sister Holiday. What’s revealed in the process is a novel that challenges the vows we make to ourselves, others, and the divine. Sparkling with depth and darkness, this installment proves that there is so much more to learn about Sister Holiday. I, for one, cannot wait to see what Douaihy has in store. DIVINE RUIN is a tour de force.” —Erin E. Adams, author of JACKAL and ONE OF YOU 

“Douaihy delivers a crackling third installment of her series featuring tattooed queer New Orleans nun Holiday Walsh (after Blessed Water)". …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.” –Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

"The mystery is sharp and the solution surprising, but the biggest draw here is Holiday’s anguished attempts to balance the demands of the flesh against the call of the spirit." –Kirkus

“Sister Holiday is about as far from the stereotypical image of a nun as she can be. She’s heard the whispered nicknames: Twisted Sister, Lesbi-nun, Sister Holigay. She’s undeterred… New Orlean’s most unlikely nun goes undercover to stop the drug at its source, taking readers on a fast-paced adventure featuring a wildly colorful assortment of lowlifes while spotlighting the heartbreaking human damage they leave in their wake.” –Booklist