New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy pens a glittering, spiritual novel of a sinner turned saint in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY?

Born Lucille Lorianne Hickey, transformed into Lori Lovely, christened Sister Jude, and now Mother Lori by choice, Lu Tibbott’s aunt is nothing short of an icon. Lu has always felt drawn to her on a cellular level, finding within her the kind of communion and connection that many people only dream of. Still, much of Lori’s pre-cloistered life remains a mystery --- from her debut as Juliet in an acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous love story to her own off-screen romance with her male counterpart, all the way to her decision to take vows and join a convent at only 23.

When Lu discovers that she will be unable to graduate from college without penning a serious senior thesis, she is advised to write about what truly interests her. In a light-bulb moment of inspiration, she lands on the very same question that has haunted scores of fans and gossip columnists for decades: Whatever happened to Lori Lovely? Unlike them, Lu has firsthand access to the former star, so she hops in her car and travels the 600 miles from North Carolina to Connecticut, where her aunt has ascended to the role of Mother Abbess.

"Thanks to McCoy’s emotionally resonant prose and careful, tender character studies, this compelling work is elevated to something nearly as spiritual and meaningful as the very vows Lori takes to end her career and change her life."

When Lu arrives at the convent, she finds Lori exactly as she always has been: deeply content in her spirituality, but also a bit of a firecracker, as likely to pray for the homeless as she is to bemoan the pains of PMS or call Lu’s ex-boyfriend an ass (in the sense of a donkey, of course; the Mother Abbess would never actually curse). Lu begins her interviews under the guise of writing about Lori’s work in musical films. Pushing a bit further, she admits that she also might like to learn about how Lori rose to Hollywood stardom before finding her “greater calling.”

But what Lu really wants is the truth: what it felt like for Lori to leave North Carolina for New York, London and Rome; what it was like to have her first real onscreen kiss, surrounded by cameramen and lights; and what it took to leave it all behind. Lu knows that uncovering everything will take time, but what better way to spend it than with her favorite person?

Lori’s story begins in North Carolina, where she has begun to feel stifled by her Baptist parents and their watchful eyes. Her older sister, Marie, has married and moved to New York. Educated in all the ways of sin --- or rather, how to avoid sin --- Lori lives a sheltered life until the day she is sent north to help Marie at her photography studio. There, Lori poses for a portrait on a lark, but what the camera captures is undeniable: an “It” girl. Soon she is scouted by Paramount and earns her first acting credit, securing her SAG card in the process.

Along the way, Lori befriends Ginny Wilde, a brassy, curly-haired triple threat who educates her in all things woman, New York and acting…in that order. Bolstered by one another’s success, the girls apply to join a prestigious acting school in London, taking their friendship across the pond to 1960s London, where the skirts are short and the love is free. A chance encounter puts them in the crosshairs of director Nico Cellini, who is scouting a Juliet to perform opposite his Romeo: Lucas Wesley, a popular singer who is taking his first stab at acting. Lori --- who possesses that unnamable, undeniable “It” quality --- wows the men. Before she knows it, she holds in her hands a script with the header “LORI LOVELY as JULIET.”

Lori’s first big gig takes her to Rome and eventually to Los Angeles. Although she delights in the support of Nico and the instant chemistry she feels with Lucas, she also begins to see through the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to its gritty, cutthroat trappings. A brutally bad decision to hire a sleazy manager forms the first cracks in her up-and-coming career, and she struggles to come of age in the spotlight; to reconcile her Baptist upbringing with the drinks and pills that keep Los Angeles awake and upright; and, above all, with her feelings of insecurity when it comes to her parents, particularly her high-strung, coddling mother.

Meanwhile, in 1990 Connecticut, Lu --- learning the truth of Lori’s history right alongside the reader --- starts to find a new appreciation for her aunt’s spirituality. It becomes clear that Lori’s past must have been tragic to require such a dramatic shift. But even as Lu races toward the conclusion of Lori’s story, she begins to wonder if she is getting to know her former self better than her present.

Penned with a behind-the-scenes flair, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY? immerses readers fully in the glamour of midcentury moviemaking. But it also traces the coming of age of a very special woman --- one at war with her religious upbringing and glitzy onscreen persona, and the ways that she begins to reconcile them in order to find peace. At the same time, Lu, through learning about her aunt’s past, starts to reckon with her own journey, not just as a woman, but as a daughter. There are secrets in Lori’s past, but as Sarah McCoy dishes out shocking twists, it becomes apparent that Lori and Lu are tied together in much more than name alone.

But this book is not just dishy Hollywood gossip masquerading as fiction. Thanks to McCoy’s emotionally resonant prose and careful, tender character studies, this compelling work is elevated to something nearly as spiritual and meaningful as the very vows Lori takes to end her career and change her life. While some of Lu’s musings about religion and spirituality drag on at times, this is merely a quibble compared to the breathtaking scope of the narrative.

Based partially on the life of Mother Dolores Hart, who acted alongside Elvis Presley before becoming a nun, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY? is perfect for book clubs, readers of Taylor Jenkins Reid, and fans of Old Hollywood, particularly those who like their historical fiction gritty and realistic, but with a tender, heartrending throughline that celebrates womanhood, faith and love in all its forms.