Synopsis:
John Ainsworth nearly died in that car crash. Soon he’ll learn there are worse fates. After a brutal accident, John awakens in the dilapidated Crimoria Convent under the care of thirteen unconventional nuns – the Sisters of the Crimson Vine.
Grievous injuries trap him within the borders of the ruined sanctuary and its strangely successful vineyard. When his body starts healing faster than nature allows, John’s questions quickly pile up. A pair of Church auditors arrive to look into the convent’s finances. It’s obvious the pair are unwelcome guests, but John has bigger concerns.
The order’s annual ritual draws near and John begins to discover things that make him wonder if any of them are truly safe in the hands of the Sisters of the Crimson Vine.
Edition:
Special stamped/numbered edition paperback purchased from the author
My Thoughts:
I love Nuns Against the Christian Church, folk horror, and cosmic horror. Sisters of the Crimson Vine has ALL OF THAT. Also wine, for those who are into that.
What a fun story. It’s short (just over 100 pages), it’s creepy, and it’s fantastic.
I picked up Sisters of the Crimson Vine from the author because I loved the cover. I didn’t even look at the synopsis before I did it, and I have zero regrets.
It’s got definite shades of Wicker Man, but with the blaspheming being carried out not by our protagonist (LOL @ Sgt. Howie’s obsession with the Christian God and how everyone should believe in him, for some reason), but by the very people he finds himself amongst. In this case, rather than pagans who love their costumed parades, it is a sect of wine-loving, barefooted nuns. And a very creepy scarecrow.
Rating:
My only complaint is that I wish we had spent more page-time at Crimoria Convent. Everything was well-plotted out given the short length, but I would have loved a tad more world-building. That being said, I didn’t feel like anything was left unresolved, I just wanted to feel a little bit more connection to the details of the convent’s history. I mean, we learn about it in broad strokes, but I want to fully flesh out how they got to this point. And more connection to the protagonist. I actually found him almost entirely forgettable – that’s how fascinating these nuns were!
