Holy F*ck

by Joseph Incardona

Stella works miracles. Literally. She heals the sick and the paralysed, just like in the Bible. The Vatican is overjoyed—imagine, a real saint in the 21st century, and in Georgia, the heart of the American South.
The only hitch? Her method: she heals the people she sleeps with in her motorhome. And she sleeps with a lot of people, it's what she does for a living. And that's precisely what's bothering the Vatican.

For Luis Molina of the Savannah News, this story smells like a Pulitzer for sure. For the Vatican, it smells more like trouble. A saintly hooker isn't exactly presentable. A martyred saint, on the other hand, has a conveniently rewritten past. That’s a job tailor-made for the Bronski twins—the best contract killers in the business. Provided, of course, they manage to get their hands on innocent little Stella. America is a big place.

Joseph Incardona sets his new story in a dusty, wacky United States. He excels in its film noir atmosphere: travelling funfairs on the outskirts of small towns forgotten by everyone, lost motels, freaks and the disenfranchised. It's reminiscent of the Coen brothers, Tarantino and del Toro, but also a homage to the novels of Harry Crews.

224 pages, Paperback

Expected publication May 26, 2026

Reviews

[Mitch Mitchell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven’t finished this book yet. It’s awful. I am 40 pages in and cannot remember the last time I read a book that I began to dislike so strongly so fast.

Just seems like weird fantasy. I hate the way this author writes the main character, am I meant to care about her? Am I meant to care that she’s got assassins after her? The author tells us over and over how wonderful and alluring she is (and describes her breasts so many fucking times) but she’s a boring character with no substance.

Absolutely despise how the sex work aspect is written too, so poorly done, I wonder if the author actually bothered to read personal stories of sex workers or interview any sex workers. Again, just seems like a man wanted to write some weird romanticised story about a 19 year old orphaned sex worker.

Not to mention the random part shoved in about a queer affair and how the queer characters are written to just be these toxic perverts and then the f slur is just thrown in there?? Genuinely don’t bother with this book.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As something of a prude, I wasn't sure I would enjoy this book given the the title and story but it turned out to be a rather silly and yet enjoyable read. Don't get me wrong, if you are offended by a prostitute as a saint and depictions of Catholic hierarchy acting in less than flattering ways don't read the book. But the if you are looking for a fast darkly humorous and quirky read it works. There is even a little existentialism thrown in. It is hard to describe the author's voice but it is unique enough that it keep characters from becoming caricatures and the story from been absurd for the sake of absurd. A weird one for sure but different enough that it seems to be what I needed to break out of my fiction reading slump.

[Frances BK · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25*
Not sure how I've managed to purchase a book before publication but hey ho. I saw this title and thought... Yup! That's my next read.

This book is weeeeird! But in the best way. It reminded me of Pulp Fiction, and read like a movie script. Short chapters that jump around different characters. There were a lot of characters though 😅 I was frequently confused who was who. An original idea and very fast and punchy read!

[Michael Ives · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed how different this was from anything that I have read recently. I found the author’s voice throughout funny at times, and unnecessary at others. I thought the plot started strongly and then it became difficult to follow all of the different characters as it jumped around later on.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this one! A glorious mash up of Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, centring on Stella- a young hooker who has the power to heal men’s medical afflictions simply by doing the wild thing with them. When the Vatican gets wind of this miracle worker she doesn’t exactly fit their ideal for being canonised as a saint, so two blundering hitmen are employed to snuff her out. What follows is a madcap road journey as she goes on the run with a Jack Reacher-esque priest, pursued by the inept hitmen, and others. It’s all wonderfully bonkers, dark and dirty, and incredibly funny. Brilliant.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had so much potential and... nope. It just doesn't live up to it.

First, there are too many characters and threads to follow. Second, the premise was less a major plot point than the thriller aspect. And that thriller part? Pretty predictable.

Decent beach read, easy to skim.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.

[Charlie Bingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

a strange book. the blurb was intriguing and for the first time in my life I read a book in one sitting. I cant explain what I just read, but it somehow gripped me. it was weird, and im still not 100% sure what happened, but something about it pulled me in.