The Trouble with Sister Francis by Matt Coyne

#TheTroublewithSisterFrancis #NetGalley

Fiction

448 pages

Four stars ****

Pub date: 27 August 2026

My thoughts:

Anyone who enjoyed Coyne’s novel Frank and Red will be jumping for joy when they come across his newest book. I think that he will easily bring new readers aboard as well.

Coyne brings a group of young boys and a most unusual nun together in a story that taps into nostalgia, friendship, adventures and relationships (both among friends and the older generation) with a mix of laughter and emotion. This is all very well done.

It is very easy to recommend this novel. It will appeal to many.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for this title. All thoughts are my own.

Description:

from the publisher

Sister Francis is an unlikely nun.

She’s sixty, sweary, drives like a lunatic and smokes like a stacked chimney . . . and she runs the Blessed Assumption Boys Club.

Richie, Bennett, Kenny and Stan are four best friends from the Whittle council estate with little to do but get up to no good. After a run-in with local bullies, they discover the crumbling, forgotten club and find themselves in the company of the most remarkable person they will ever meet.

Set against early 1980s Britain, THE TROUBLE WITH SISTER FRANCIS is a funny, heartwarming, and heartbreaking story of unlikely heroes, quiet rebellions, fierce loyalty and unexpected hope.

And at the centre of it all lies a long-forgotten journal that might just change everything.

A heartwarming and hilarious new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of FRANK AND RED

‘This might just be my feel-good read of the year . . . prepare to be transported back to the early 1980s and to lose your heart several times on the way back ‘
JANICE HALLETT

‘Matt Coyne is a genius. I defy you to read this book without smiling, laughing and weeping’
CLARE POOLEY

‘A nostalgic masterpiece . . . A funny, heart-warming and heartbreaking story of ordinary heroes, quiet rebellions and unexpected hope’
WOMAN & HOME

‘I cannot express how much I enjoyed this gorgeous story . . . I also snort-laughed on more than one occasion.’
JENNIE GODFREY

‘We promise this nostalgic book will reduce you to tears – of heartache and laughter . . . it’s a masterpiece’
SUNDAY POST

‘Matt Coyne is an extraordinary storyteller . . . everyone needs this heartwarming novel in their lives’
SARAH TURNER