by Emily Austin
First published 2021
Gilda, a young lesbian, stumbles into a job at a Catholic church after the receptionist's sudden death. Desperate to avoid her family and her own anxieties about mortality, Gilda impersonates the deceased Grace through email, befriending Grace's old friend. But when the police investigate Grace's death, Gilda's charade threatens to unravel. A darkly funny exploration of grief, identity, and the human need for connection.
Genres: fiction, mystery, contemporary, lgbt
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Catholic Church
Period: 21st-century
248 pages · ebook · Atlantic Books
Content warnings: death, mental-illness