Review: The Case of the Haunted Chapel (Sisters of the Last Straw, Book #1) by Karen Kelly Boyce
Five nuns just trying to conquer their bad habits. One old house with an interior chapel and some spooky noises. Who is haunting whom?
When nuns don’t make it into the order they attempt to join first, they usually try to find another one that will accept them. But in the case of Mother Mercy and her nuns – Sister Krumbles, Sister Lacey, Sister Lovely, and Sister Shiny – they were not turned away for the usual conditions. They are all healthy, strong, and able to teach as well as support themselves. Their main problem is, they all have bad habits.
No established order will take them, with the records they have for disobedience, loss of temper, overzealous cleaning, bad language, and the like. So what do they do? Start their own order, of course! They want to be the Sisters of the Rose.
But the bishop who approves their order has a better idea and gives them a different name: Sisters of the Last Straw!
The Story
The story starts off with a lot of smoke. Poor Sister Krumbles is a very absentminded woman. She was in charge of making jams for the Sisters to sell to make money to support themselves. Although she got the canning started, she decided in the middle of that to go out and build the goat pen for the order’s goats (which none of the other sisters – not even Mother Mercy – knew they were getting!).
While Sister Krumbles was out, of course, the jam burned and the jars overheated. Though Mother Mercy and the other Sisters arrive in time to put out the fire and turn off the stove, the jars all pop. Mere moments later, the kitchen looks like someone threw hot jam everywhere.
Sister Shiny notes once the last jar has popped and the kitchen has gone still that Mother Mercy is starting to turn red. Mother has the bad habit of a lousy temper, which makes her disobedient, and she thought that making herself Mother Superior of the order would help her curb that problem. It did – sort of. If she’s in charge then she cannot be disobedient when she loses her temper. Nevertheless, spotless little Sister Shiny wisely makes for the cleaning cupboard as Sister Lacey and Sister Lovely try to find a way to defuse the volcanic Mother Superior. Unfortunately for them, Sister Krumbles returns at that moment and gets the full brunt of Mother’s fury.
Not long after, the sisters get to work cleaning up the kitchen. It helps Mother burn off her temper, but once she is done, she starts to laugh. The kitchen may be clean, as is Sister Shiny, but the rest of the nuns are a sight!
And so life at the manor-turned-convent goes with one disaster after another. But the penultimate issue comes from an unexpected source: strange moanings and cries from the house’s chapel. Is the chapel haunted? If so, what are the sisters going to do? They don’t have anywhere else to go and they cannot afford to lose this house!
Is this truly the Last Straw? Or is something else going on?
The Characters
None of the sisters are saintly: Mother Mercy has a temper, Sister Lacey struggles with “bad words” and so tends to stutter as she tries to find replacements for curses. Sister Lovely likes to smoke, Sister Shiny likes her reflection, and Sister Krumbles can’t keep to a single blessed task if her life depends on it. It is not hard to see why they were expelled from various orders before starting their own!
Yet these are truly just “bad habits” and they do not make the nuns either detestable or irredeemable. No matter how often they fall down in their efforts to improve, they get up and continue trying. It is not easy and every setback hurts, yet they continue despite the constant disasters that dog them. These are determined women who won’t let their faults rule them, no matter how often they have to figure out how to fight them off!
The World
The worldbuilding focuses primarily on the nuns’ house and does not expand beyond the neighbor’s yard or the priest who comes to offer Mass, with a few mentions of the bishop made as time goes on. It is enough for a children’s book and audience, but an adult will wish it could have been a bit meatier.
Politics
None. This is a children’s book, after all!
Content Warning
There is a mention of smoking and bad words. Beyond that, there is nothing to concern parents about this book.
Who is it for?
Parents who want a clean, sweet read will like this novel. Children who like mysteries with adult rather than child protagonists or who just need a change of pace will also enjoy this story and find it amusing. The humor will appeal to girls as well as boys and parents will have fun recognizing some of themselves or other members of their families in the nuns’ personalities. If mothers and fathers want a more mature book and something a little more challenging for their children to read, Sisters of the Last Straw is a good place to start. The humor as well as the window into religious life should lead to lots of interesting discussions and fruitful research for those curious to learn more as well!
Why buy it?
It is a fun, quick read that will give a child something to enjoy. Adults who want something light, fluffy, and entertaining will like it as well. Why not pick it up and keep it on the shelf for a rainy day?