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Sister Agnes, for those that don’t know her, is a nun; contemporary, in an open order, based in South London. She is a detective. And, in the archetypal mode of the amateur detective, she finds herself on the outside of things, privy to people’s secrets. In the words of a lovely police officer who has helped me on and off with my research, ‘There’s always someone who knows more than we do.’
In the time of Sherlock Holmes, it was easier for an amateur sleuth to know more than the police. But now, with CCTV, mobile phone tracking, and highly developed forensic science, the expertise of the amateur detective is distilled into that one central point: being the repository of other people’s secrets. And, as Sister Agnes works in a hostel for homeless young people, that is exactly what she is.
The new novel starts with a young woman appearing on the hostel doorstep asking if they’ve seen her husband, a young man on the wrong side of the law who has now gone missing. This one simple event widens out into a much bigger mystery, concerning a medieval silver cup known as the Judas chalice, a priceless, possibly stolen, artefact belonging to one of the old catholic families. It is extremely rare due to its depiction of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, the thirteenth apostle – so rare, in fact, that someone is prepared to kill for it.
I’ve always liked the classic detective structure – an all-knowing central character through which the story is told, with a Marple or a Maigret or a Marlowe at the heart of it. It allows a three-way relationship between author, reader and detective, all sharing the fun of engaging with the story together. The challenge is to make sure the reveal comes as a surprise while at the same time allowing the reader to walk hand in hand with the detective in solving the mystery.
But I also try, in my work, to bear witness to the harm that humans do. People look at Golden Age crime fiction and make the mistake of seeing it as lightweight, as a historical romp in the company of Sayers, Allingham, Christie et al. But as far she was concerned, Agatha Christie was writing The Modern Novel. And, having lived through a world war, she needed to talk about human pain, human damage, in a very particular way. For some time, I have circled the idea that as a nun, Sister Agnes will at some point have to tackle the harm of which the church itself is capable, where its huge and powerful influence collides with its dangerous obsession with sex, shame and sin.
Sister Agnes, like many fictional detectives, is a person of contradictions. She has religious faith and yet is constantly beset by doubt; she accepts the unsolvable mystery of a God, and yet the mystery of a killing on her doorstep is there to be solved with careful attention to evidence, to science, to reason.
This new novel, A Poisoned Chalice, is the first of two brand new Sister Agnes novels
A Poisoned Chalice is the eighth in the new series published by Joffe, (with seven of the earlier novels republished under new names). It has been a delight to be back with her, and also with her two best friends, Athena and Father Julius, who accompany her through the story in their own particular ways, Athena with shopping, clothes, cake and fizzy wine – and Julius with his own particular and difficult challenge.
The problem of evil may be preached from a pulpit, but what happens if that evil is within the church, rather than something external to be fought by the might of the faithful? And how does someone of faith continue within a structure that is so warped, so potentially malign?
Sister Agnes, walking
the streets of South London, will find herself wrestling with all these
questions.
Meet
Sister Agnes. She’s not your typical nun. She loves killer shoes, sipping
prosecco — and solving mysteries . . . A holy grail . . . or a poisoned
chalice?
Agnes has never met Jay Sorrell. But she knows his type. Tall, dark and dangerously magnetic. A
Catholic boy turned petty criminal, he’s not one to play by the rules. Now
he’s vanished, leaving his wife to hunt for him at Agnes’s homeless shelter. But
the search ends in tragedy. Late one night, Agnes wakes to the sound of sirens
— and the acrid smell of smoke. St Bruno’s church is burning. Agnes races to
the scene, in time to see a body being pulled from the smoking ruins. This is
no random John Doe. It’s Jay. Whoever lit the fatal match must have known
. . . Down in the ruined crypt, a safe gapes open. Was this the hiding
place of the fabled Judas chalice? A priceless heirloom that’s been
missing for decades. Some would kill to lay hands on this prize. And if Jay
happened to be standing in the way of that . . . ? Agnes won’t stop until she
uncovers the truth about Jay’s death and the missing treasure. But once she’s
sipped from this deadly cup, there’s no going back . .
You
can find more about Alison Joseph and her books on her website. You can also follow her on X @AlisonJoseph1
Photograph of Alison Joseph ©Hugo Glendinning
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