An incisive and devastating exploration of early twentieth-century fame . . . McPherson’s life was in many ways one long, dramatic, extraordinary hallelujah run. Thanks to Ms. Hoffman’s wonderful book, we can now run along with her.”
—Christine Rosen, The Wall Street Journal
“An engrossing biography . . . laced with romance, tragedy, courtroom drama and an alleged kidnapping . . . Vivid storytelling.”
—Sarah Pulliam Bailey, The New York Times Book Review
“This biography of the fascinating Aimee Semple McPherson, America’s most famous evangelist, takes religion, fame, and power as its subjects alongside McPherson, whose life was suffused with mystery and scandal.
—Sophia M. Stewart, The Millions
“A revelatory study of how power, religion, and fame intersect.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Hoffman captures . . . the extraordinary, sometimes controversial life of Aimee Semple McPherson . . . Readers who enjoy richly detailed biographies that read like fiction will appreciate Hoffman’s latest.”
—Library Journal
“[An] empathetic—and dramatic—account of [McPherson’s] life . . . Hoffman’s discerning biography is as much a work about faith, self-mythologizing, and ambition as it is, in Hoffman’s words, ‘a cautionary tale about fame.’”
—Kirkus Reviews
“[Hoffman gives] her subject her due as an innovative and important part of the evangelical movement while also showing the toll celebrity took on her personal life.”
—Laurie Unger Skinner, Booklist
“Sister, Sinner is a wild ride of a biography—part mystery story and part scandal—but also a penetrating examination of the rise of evangelical religion in America. Along the way, Claire Hoffman explains much about popular culture in America today.”
—Kai Bird, coauthor of American Prometheus
“From the instant that Claire Hoffman casts Aimee Semple McPherson into the sea in an emerald-green swimsuit, she sets us on an extraordinary journey into the makings of a modern prophet. McPherson’s story is essential to understanding the Pentecostal movement. With rigor, grace, and moxie, Hoffman renders its complicated founder in Technicolor.”
—Eliza Griswold, author of Circle of Hope
“The pioneering evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson had moved multitudes by the time women won the right to vote. But her improbable life includes a mystery at its core. And Claire Hoffman has accessed new sources to uncover a story in which megachurch meets film noir.”
—Cynthia Carr, author of Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar
“Claire Hoffman is a master storyteller. Sister, Sinner is not only a page-turner about one of the most fascinating and mysterious lives of the era, but also a cautionary tale about the complicated, even dangerous interplay between faith and fame, messengers and the media frenzy that can ensnare them. This book has all the elements of a suspenseful thriller and a brilliant character study.”
—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Box: Writing the Race
