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A Divine Private Detective Agency Mystery #2
The Case of the Sin City Sister
She's not your average nun. And now Sister Eve Divine's risking it all, searching for a mission person in Vegas. Sister Eve Divine recently discovered she’s got a gift: turns out she’s a natural at private detective work. But is it a temptation or a calling? As Eve wrestles with this question, she’s taking a leave of absence from the convent, investigating a case with her PI father. But something else troubles Eve. It’s been weeks since Eve heard from her sister, Dorisanne. And Eve’s gut tells her that something sinister has happened to her difficult sibling. There’s only one place Eve can find the answers she’s looking for: in Dorisanne’s world, under the bright lights of Sin City—Las Vegas, Late night visits to the casino and some clever clues hidden in an address book set Eve on a trail that soon reveals that Dorisanne’s life is darker and more complicated than Eve ever expected. In the end, Eve’s ability to understand her sister—and herself—may be a matter of life and death.
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2015
34 people are currently reading
601 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Hinton
25 books182 followersLynne Hinton is the pastor of St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The author of numerous novels including Friendship Cake, Hope Springs, Forever Friends, Christmas Cake, and Wedding Cake, she lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
May 19, 2015
I am still not one hundred percent sold on this series, the bones are there, but the delivery is all wrong.
This story begins with Caleb Alford entering the Divine (pronounced Devine) Private Detective Agency in search of a long lost relative but soon that plot is taken over by Sister Evangeline’s sister Dorisanne who has suddenly gone missing but that story is spiked with a third plot involving Epi Salazar and his needing the Captain, Eve’s father and owner of the Agency, to come out to his property to help him look for gold.
Let me back up, if you have not read the previous book, Sister Evangeline has been a member of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey in Madrid, New Mexico. Ever since her last visit with her father, where she helped him solve a murder, she has been having second thoughts about remaining at the convent. She is drawn between the two worlds and has been praying for divine intervention. The agency has fed her spirit, engaged her mind and fulfilled her in a way that has been missing. Maybe a leave of absence will help.
Returning home, she is once again helping her father with agency business when her wild child sister Dorisanne disappears and Eve, with the help of her father’s ex-police partner Daniel head out to Las Vegas to find her.
The story is convoluted and at times jumps to conclusions with no real substantiation. For a nun that claims that she has been sheltered, she seems to know more than she should. One minute she is naïve, and the next appears to have cat like instincts on how to recognize people, find clues or get out of tricky situations.
There were a couple of things that really bothered me. One, Lynne Hinton should know the difference between polygamy and bigamy; and second, I have never known a hospital to have the morgue on the third floor. Though that sounds minor, I was really distracted from the rhythm of the book.
In the end, I think the author tried to put too much in here. The missing great-grandfather that was mentioned in the beginning was somewhat forgotten thought out most of the book, by the end, I had to go back to the beginning and recall who Epi was and the whole love thing with Daniel was ridiculous to the point that it sounded like a last minute add in.
I really want to like this series, but my patience was really being tried.
This story begins with Caleb Alford entering the Divine (pronounced Devine) Private Detective Agency in search of a long lost relative but soon that plot is taken over by Sister Evangeline’s sister Dorisanne who has suddenly gone missing but that story is spiked with a third plot involving Epi Salazar and his needing the Captain, Eve’s father and owner of the Agency, to come out to his property to help him look for gold.
Let me back up, if you have not read the previous book, Sister Evangeline has been a member of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey in Madrid, New Mexico. Ever since her last visit with her father, where she helped him solve a murder, she has been having second thoughts about remaining at the convent. She is drawn between the two worlds and has been praying for divine intervention. The agency has fed her spirit, engaged her mind and fulfilled her in a way that has been missing. Maybe a leave of absence will help.
Returning home, she is once again helping her father with agency business when her wild child sister Dorisanne disappears and Eve, with the help of her father’s ex-police partner Daniel head out to Las Vegas to find her.
The story is convoluted and at times jumps to conclusions with no real substantiation. For a nun that claims that she has been sheltered, she seems to know more than she should. One minute she is naïve, and the next appears to have cat like instincts on how to recognize people, find clues or get out of tricky situations.
There were a couple of things that really bothered me. One, Lynne Hinton should know the difference between polygamy and bigamy; and second, I have never known a hospital to have the morgue on the third floor. Though that sounds minor, I was really distracted from the rhythm of the book.
In the end, I think the author tried to put too much in here. The missing great-grandfather that was mentioned in the beginning was somewhat forgotten thought out most of the book, by the end, I had to go back to the beginning and recall who Epi was and the whole love thing with Daniel was ridiculous to the point that it sounded like a last minute add in.
I really want to like this series, but my patience was really being tried.
June 9, 2015
This review is also posted on Book by Book.
When I picked up Lynne Hinton’s The Case of the Sin City Sister, I hadn’t read the first novel in the Divine Private Detective Agency Mystery series, Sister Eve, Private Eye, but I had no problem quickly getting into and enjoying this second one. Hinton tells her story at a steady, well-established pace with amusing sleuthing that kept me intrigued and guessing. Though this novel does involve plenty of mystery, plenty of focus also falls on the characters and their relationships and introspection. Eve, as a nun who enjoys riding a motorcycle, is an interesting main character and oftentimes surprised me as she searched Las Vegas for her sister. Overall, The Case of the Sin City Sister is an interesting and entertaining read. Fans of mysteries should definitely check it out.
Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of The Case of the Sin City Sister and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)
When I picked up Lynne Hinton’s The Case of the Sin City Sister, I hadn’t read the first novel in the Divine Private Detective Agency Mystery series, Sister Eve, Private Eye, but I had no problem quickly getting into and enjoying this second one. Hinton tells her story at a steady, well-established pace with amusing sleuthing that kept me intrigued and guessing. Though this novel does involve plenty of mystery, plenty of focus also falls on the characters and their relationships and introspection. Eve, as a nun who enjoys riding a motorcycle, is an interesting main character and oftentimes surprised me as she searched Las Vegas for her sister. Overall, The Case of the Sin City Sister is an interesting and entertaining read. Fans of mysteries should definitely check it out.
Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of The Case of the Sin City Sister and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)
April 11, 2015
I have been a Lynne Hinton fan since Friendship Cake. I just finished Sin City Sister. I love a good mystery and this is a very good mystery! The characters are interesting and well-developed people I'd like to know (like her Hope Springs characters). The plot has just the right number of twists, and the suspense is suspenseful, but not terrifying. I don't like terrifying. I haven't read Sister Eve, Private Eye; I'll be buying it tomorrow! I know the decision I want Sister Eve to make, because I want to read more of her.
June 22, 2020
This is the second in a series with an interesting protagonist, a nun who feels a calling, but is also drawn to the field of private investigation. Part of the draw to PI work is that Eve’s father has his own investigative business. This brings a chance to work closely with her father. This book deal with two cases, one of which leads Eve to search for her sister in Las Vegas. I have enjoyed the first two of these books and will undoubtedly read the third.
December 16, 2018
Sister Eve Divine has taken a leave of absence from her cloistered life to determine what her destiny is, secular or religious, as after two decades she begins to have doubts about her faith. She helps her dad in his detective agency investigate two cases and searches for her missing sister in Las Vegas. While an interesting read, the Protestant former minister makes unfounded judgements about the Catholic religion.
May 23, 2015
3.5 Stars
While I liked the characters and I read this book in a week and set, taking about 50 pages per reading time, I have a lot of issues with this book. Something I did like was the beginning and end of the book, giving the reader a look into the past which was the case the father worked on while Eve was away. It was fun to really see what happened to that character. Unfortunately, the problems this book had made what could have been a good book into an okay book. First, the story to book opens with is not the main case and takes a back seat, ending unsatisfactory for the characters. Second, Eve was too naïve to be believable. It seemed the story was suggesting that because she was a nun that she didn't understand the ways of the world or get what some people were talking about in Vegas yet it was made clear her father was not a religious man. How she could be this clueless, and sometimes not see the obvious clues in front of her, after growing up with a man who, she said, preferred watching baseball instead of going to mass. Third, the author held back information until the characters decided to talk about it. Example, we meet a character whose boyfriend is calling back at her and she leaves without helping them. In the next chapter, it is revealed that she has bruises. If it was supposed to be so clear to the characters that she was beaten up, why was that information not given to the read when she was described in her clothes and hair? Fourth, the author made small slips about Eve being a nun that didn't seem to fit. Example, Eve didn't mind that she missed Sunday mass, it was never even mentioned. It was small things like this that could be easily missed but, being Catholic myself, I saw them and didn't buy a nun missing or thinking this way. Fifth, the author would have the characters talking, making a slight remark, and would clarify what the remark was supposed to mean right after the sentence like I couldn't get it from the context. Felt like I was reading the same thing twice. This book could have been enjoyable and I might read another one of her later releases, but this book needed some small detailed editing to make it shine.
In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through BookLook.
While I liked the characters and I read this book in a week and set, taking about 50 pages per reading time, I have a lot of issues with this book. Something I did like was the beginning and end of the book, giving the reader a look into the past which was the case the father worked on while Eve was away. It was fun to really see what happened to that character. Unfortunately, the problems this book had made what could have been a good book into an okay book. First, the story to book opens with is not the main case and takes a back seat, ending unsatisfactory for the characters. Second, Eve was too naïve to be believable. It seemed the story was suggesting that because she was a nun that she didn't understand the ways of the world or get what some people were talking about in Vegas yet it was made clear her father was not a religious man. How she could be this clueless, and sometimes not see the obvious clues in front of her, after growing up with a man who, she said, preferred watching baseball instead of going to mass. Third, the author held back information until the characters decided to talk about it. Example, we meet a character whose boyfriend is calling back at her and she leaves without helping them. In the next chapter, it is revealed that she has bruises. If it was supposed to be so clear to the characters that she was beaten up, why was that information not given to the read when she was described in her clothes and hair? Fourth, the author made small slips about Eve being a nun that didn't seem to fit. Example, Eve didn't mind that she missed Sunday mass, it was never even mentioned. It was small things like this that could be easily missed but, being Catholic myself, I saw them and didn't buy a nun missing or thinking this way. Fifth, the author would have the characters talking, making a slight remark, and would clarify what the remark was supposed to mean right after the sentence like I couldn't get it from the context. Felt like I was reading the same thing twice. This book could have been enjoyable and I might read another one of her later releases, but this book needed some small detailed editing to make it shine.
In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through BookLook.
August 24, 2015
The second in this series, and a little bit better than the first. The characters and relationships seem to be developing more. This is still more on the cozy mystery side, which I don't normally like, but something about it is entertaining. I really like the character of Sister Eve and her relationship with her Father, and also Daniel.
June 19, 2017
Could have been a great story because of the theme and lessons learned, but it didn't really give anything to chew on.
January 21, 2025
I really enjoy Eve Divine and her father. They are investigators in Madrid New Mexico. She is on leave from her monastery in Pecos to help her father as he recovers from an amputation and other illnesses.
In this case they have not heard from her younger sister Dorisanne, who lives in Las Vegas with her husband Robert. Robert is often battling a gambling addiction and any lack of contact is a concern.
When Eve and her father's former partner Daniel take a road trip to find the missing couple they encounter many dark forces and it takes all of their investigative experience to find the missing clues and come to the rescue.
Eve is such a wonderful character and I especially liked her naiveté at the gambling casino.
I enjoyed reading this and hope there are more in this series.
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
In this case they have not heard from her younger sister Dorisanne, who lives in Las Vegas with her husband Robert. Robert is often battling a gambling addiction and any lack of contact is a concern.
When Eve and her father's former partner Daniel take a road trip to find the missing couple they encounter many dark forces and it takes all of their investigative experience to find the missing clues and come to the rescue.
Eve is such a wonderful character and I especially liked her naiveté at the gambling casino.
I enjoyed reading this and hope there are more in this series.
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
April 4, 2018
[library audiobook]
The story was ok, well written and moved along. However, nothing about why Eve became a nun, especially when her back story was competing in horseback riding and motorcycle races. No tests of her vows of chastity. They caught one bad guy, reference others never see them. How did the bad guys kill a witness in jail? Also had the trope of losing her cell phone during the Perils of Pauline sequence.
On the up side, sensitive treatment of domestic violence.
I will read another if it comes up on the library site.
The story was ok, well written and moved along. However, nothing about why Eve became a nun, especially when her back story was competing in horseback riding and motorcycle races. No tests of her vows of chastity. They caught one bad guy, reference others never see them. How did the bad guys kill a witness in jail? Also had the trope of losing her cell phone during the Perils of Pauline sequence.
On the up side, sensitive treatment of domestic violence.
I will read another if it comes up on the library site.
December 16, 2022
I needed an unlikely detective for a book challenge. This one definitely qualified. Eve is a nun who is doing a little soul-searching about her future with the Benedictine Order. While she tries to figure out what she really wants, she works cases with her father at his private detective agency. When her younger sister goes missing, Eve's sleuthing skills are turned toward finding her, even if that means a visit to Sin City.
This was cute. Also predictable.
This was cute. Also predictable.
March 17, 2018
Enjoyed
I liked this book. All things fit together well. The characters were well liked. I wish I had read the first book first - but I hope to, read it soon. Reading this second book first did not interfere with the quality of this story. It promises to be a fine series. The third book is also available.
I liked this book. All things fit together well. The characters were well liked. I wish I had read the first book first - but I hope to, read it soon. Reading this second book first did not interfere with the quality of this story. It promises to be a fine series. The third book is also available.
February 18, 2019
I enjoyed this more than the first book in the series. I felt there was more character development here, and I liked the protagonist better this time around. In addition to the ongoing backstories, there were two main mysteries being investigated. The modern day one held my attention better than the historic one, but both were pretty engaging.
March 30, 2022
This was okay. Sister is out of her retreat center helping her fat her when she learns that no one has heard from her sister. She and Dave - friend of her father's and retired police detective go to Los Vegas to try and locate her.
She is in trouble and they find and rescue her.
Sister ----- has to decide if she wants to continue in holy orders or join her dad as a detective.
She is in trouble and they find and rescue her.
Sister ----- has to decide if she wants to continue in holy orders or join her dad as a detective.
September 29, 2022
I thought I had #1 in the series and found out I had #2 but by then I was enjoying the setting of New Mexico, the story, the twists, and the Divines and other characters. I will go back to #1. Look forward to #3 and hope that there is a #4. Thank you Lynne Hinton for a new set of mysteries to read!
November 3, 2018
I thought this book was written better than her last. Sister Eve is a fish out of water when she heads to Las Vegas to find her sister. There is no great mystery to solve, but the fun in this book is going on the journey with Sister Eve as she discovers things for the first time.
August 20, 2019
It’s a sweet little mystery novel, no real depth or huge surprises in the plot. Cute theme of a nun questioning her calling and wondering if she should devote herself to PI work instead of the religious order. It was easy to follow and made me smile.
September 20, 2020
Need to go back and read the first book because it seemed like there was history missing, but I thought this was a very nice mystery that treated domestic violence seriously and has some nice messages on love for others and self.
November 22, 2021
Received this book in a mystery box then read it to fill a category in a reading challenge, otherwise I probably would have not picked up this book. It was enjoyable. An easy pleasant read with a bit of mystery and suspense.
July 19, 2022
The book started with the premise of helping a man find out about an ancestor then it ended with a possible situation. But the entire story was about Eve searching for her sister. There were too many loose ends encapsulated in this book in my opinion.
July 29, 2022
I want so badly to like this series, but I think it just isn't for me. The concept is good, but I can't quite get it to hang together for me. I keep getting bored enough that I need to go back and fill in mental blanks.
November 4, 2022
Enjoyed this read as something lighter from the 2022 Challenge. Grantchester meets the convent. Sister Eve Divine (properly pronounced Div-een') plays an unconventional nun with motorcycle tendencies and an excellent detective's instinct. I will look forward to reading the other two installments.
May 24, 2025
I like the characters in these stories. But Sister Divine better make her mind up soon - to stay or leave the convent - that is getting old. I love that Eve cared so much for her sister that she would do any needed to find her and make sure she was safe - even risking her own life.
June 19, 2017
Dug it! Will now hunt down the rest!
October 13, 2017
Just for fun, fast paced, unusual characters and setting.
January 30, 2018
Another enjoyable book by Lynne Hinton! It was, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, and yet suspenseful. I am loving this series!
May 21, 2018
Loved book 2!
April 19, 2019
I'd like more of this series as well.
August 15, 2019
A current mystery series with colorful, comprehensive characters is not so easy to find; but, you will with this one! Looking forward to reading the third in the series.
October 22, 2019
A very nice read. Somewhere between 3 - 3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews