The Trouble with Sister Francis
On sale
27th August 2026
Price: £24.99
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
‘Another hilarious, heartfelt triumph from Matt Coyne . . . the kind of immersive, timeless storytelling we are all yearning for right now’
SOPHIE COUSENS
‘A heartwarming story with a fantastic premise’
HELEN RUSSELL
‘Matt Coyne is an extraordinary storyteller . . . everyone needs this heartwarming novel in their lives’
SARAH TURNER
‘Warm, funny, nostalgic . . . another triumph from a huge talent’
BECKY HUNTER
EARLY READER REVIEWS:
‘It’s a little piece of magic’
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Transported me back to childhood and a time before social media dominated our lives’
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Mr. Coyne, your joke at the end had me howling with laughter’
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘A beautiful read – Matt Coyne can do no wrong!’
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Very easy to recommend . . . I think he’s written another bestseller!’
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I gasped and I swore’
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
_______
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.
_______
Praise for FRANK AND RED:
‘A lovely feel-good treat’ The Times | ‘Simply perfect’ Daily Mirror | ‘Hilariously funny . . . and beneath it all really quite lovely’ Metro | ‘Brilliant, just brilliant’ Huffington Post | Debut of the Year Woman and Home | Prima Book of The Year
Reviews
A heartwarming story with a fantastic premise
Another hilarious, heartfelt triumph from Matt Coyne. Full of nostalgia, unforgettable characters and the kind of immersive, timeless storytelling we are all yearning for right now.
Matt Coyne has created an icon in Sister Francis, and a beautifully immersive coming of age story that is so much more than a group of young boys and their unconventional mentor. Prepare to be transported back to the early 1980s and to lose your heart several times on the way back. Wonderfully written, tender, funny and absorbing, this might just be my feelgood read of the year.
Sister Francis is an icon, and Matt Coyne is a genius. I defy you to read this book without smiling, laughing and weeping.
Matt Coyne is an extraordinary storyteller, Sister Francis is an icon and everyone needs this heartwarming novel in their lives.
Warm, funny, nostalgic, I defy any reader not to fall in love with the legend that is Sister Francis. Another triumph from a huge talent.