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“Holy City is an amazing piece of work. A Southern novel that examines the pathos and ethos of small-town life and the weight of both grief and hatred. Love it.”—S.A. Cosby
No one innocent. No one free. Nothing sacred.
Holy City is the captivating debut from Henry Wise about a deputy sheriff who must work alongside an unpredictable private detective after he finds himself on the outs from his sheriff's department over his unwillingness to look the other way when an innocent man is arrested for murder.
After a decade of exile precipitated by the tragic death of his mother, Will Seems returns home from Richmond to rural Southern Virginia, taking a job as deputy sheriff in a landscape given way to crime and defeat. Impoverished and abandoned, this remote land of tobacco plantations, razed forests, and boarded-up homes seems stuck in the past in a state that is trying to forget its complex history and move on.
Will’s efforts to go about his life are wrecked when a mysterious, brutal homicide claims the life of an old friend, Tom Janders, forcing Will to face the true impetus for his not to honor his mother’s memory, but to pay a debt to a Black friend who, in an act of selfless courage years ago, protected Will and suffered permanent disfigurement for it.
Meanwhile, a man Will knows to be innocent is arrested for Tom’s murder, and despite Will’s pleas, his boss seems all too content to wrap up the case and move on. Will must weigh his personal guilt against his public duty when the local Black community hires Bennico Watts, an unpredictable private detective from Richmond, to help him find the real killer. It would seem an ideal pairing—she has experience, along with plenty of sand, and Will is privy to the details of the case—but it doesn’t take long for either to realize they much prefer to operate alone.
Bennico and Will clash as they each defend their untraditional ways on a wild ride that wends deep into the Snakefoot, an underworld wilderness that for hundreds of years has functioned as a hideout for outcasts—the forgotten and neglected and abused—leaving us enmeshed in the tangled history of a region and its people that leaves no one innocent, no one free, nothing sacred.
No one innocent. No one free. Nothing sacred.
Holy City is the captivating debut from Henry Wise about a deputy sheriff who must work alongside an unpredictable private detective after he finds himself on the outs from his sheriff's department over his unwillingness to look the other way when an innocent man is arrested for murder.
After a decade of exile precipitated by the tragic death of his mother, Will Seems returns home from Richmond to rural Southern Virginia, taking a job as deputy sheriff in a landscape given way to crime and defeat. Impoverished and abandoned, this remote land of tobacco plantations, razed forests, and boarded-up homes seems stuck in the past in a state that is trying to forget its complex history and move on.
Will’s efforts to go about his life are wrecked when a mysterious, brutal homicide claims the life of an old friend, Tom Janders, forcing Will to face the true impetus for his not to honor his mother’s memory, but to pay a debt to a Black friend who, in an act of selfless courage years ago, protected Will and suffered permanent disfigurement for it.
Meanwhile, a man Will knows to be innocent is arrested for Tom’s murder, and despite Will’s pleas, his boss seems all too content to wrap up the case and move on. Will must weigh his personal guilt against his public duty when the local Black community hires Bennico Watts, an unpredictable private detective from Richmond, to help him find the real killer. It would seem an ideal pairing—she has experience, along with plenty of sand, and Will is privy to the details of the case—but it doesn’t take long for either to realize they much prefer to operate alone.
Bennico and Will clash as they each defend their untraditional ways on a wild ride that wends deep into the Snakefoot, an underworld wilderness that for hundreds of years has functioned as a hideout for outcasts—the forgotten and neglected and abused—leaving us enmeshed in the tangled history of a region and its people that leaves no one innocent, no one free, nothing sacred.
432 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2024
146 people are currently reading
7733 people want to read
About the author
Henry Wise
2 books72 followersHenry Wise is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Mississippi MFA program. A writer across multiple genres, his poetry has been published in Shenandoah, Radar Poetry, Clackamas, Nixes Mate Review, and elsewhere. His nonfiction and photography have appeared in Southern Cultures. Holy City is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
June 5, 2024
In Holy City, Virginia, Will Seems is a deputy sheriff who has returned to his hometown after some cryptically described tragedy in his youth. An old friend is stabbed to death and his home is burned to disguise the murder. Another old friend is arrested for the murder, even though he is an unlikely murderer. Will and a private investigator try to find the real guilty party. This was aiming for Southern grit lit, but it was a complete miss for me.
I did not care for the writing style and thought the book was over-written, the author was trying too hard, and he was too wordy for me. For example:
“… could barely hear his boots on the brick walkway against the night sounds, amid fireflies like electrical inconsistencies, like thoughts unbroken or some meaningless code, glad to be able to blend with the night like a secret within a secret.”
“The pond, where the bold cypresses grew like old, distorted skulls, the mud becoming water covered in a skin of bright green algae, water still and thick as coffee. Capturing, trying to capture, the raw blazing glow of midday.” (Not only are these over-written, I don’t believe they are even sentences. I would not have been as annoyed by the writing if the plot and/or characters were more engaging.)
Then came the results of the postmortem. This was without a doubt one of the nastiest murder descriptions I have ever read. I would truly like to erase it from my memory And the story got worse after that and took a really disgusting turn. I finished the book only because the truly disgusting part was close to the end of the book. After the murder is solved, the book just rambles on. The book needed an editor.
The narrator of the audiobook did not differentiate voices at all, so you have to work to figure out who is talking.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. However, you could not pay me enough to read another book by this author.
I did not care for the writing style and thought the book was over-written, the author was trying too hard, and he was too wordy for me. For example:
“… could barely hear his boots on the brick walkway against the night sounds, amid fireflies like electrical inconsistencies, like thoughts unbroken or some meaningless code, glad to be able to blend with the night like a secret within a secret.”
“The pond, where the bold cypresses grew like old, distorted skulls, the mud becoming water covered in a skin of bright green algae, water still and thick as coffee. Capturing, trying to capture, the raw blazing glow of midday.” (Not only are these over-written, I don’t believe they are even sentences. I would not have been as annoyed by the writing if the plot and/or characters were more engaging.)
Then came the results of the postmortem. This was without a doubt one of the nastiest murder descriptions I have ever read. I would truly like to erase it from my memory And the story got worse after that and took a really disgusting turn. I finished the book only because the truly disgusting part was close to the end of the book. After the murder is solved, the book just rambles on. The book needed an editor.
The narrator of the audiobook did not differentiate voices at all, so you have to work to figure out who is talking.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. However, you could not pay me enough to read another book by this author.
February 10, 2024
This is a book I began reading with high expectations due to the astounding blurbs it received from some of my favorite authors. In no way did it disappoint. This book is a rare achievement for a debut, and it does something that few can: combines literary quality writing with narrative momentum. As much as I was savoring the beauty of the sentences, the haunting intricacies of the Southern landscape, I was plowing through the pages. The characters, too, were a work of art. The "good" were far from perfect, and the "bad" showed glimmers of humanity.
To me, this novel is William Gay meets Michael Farris Smith. I have little doubt it will make some awards list, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it win some. Holy City is "holy shit" good. Excited to see what Wise cooks up next.
Thank you to Joe Brosnan at Grove for the ARC.
To me, this novel is William Gay meets Michael Farris Smith. I have little doubt it will make some awards list, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it win some. Holy City is "holy shit" good. Excited to see what Wise cooks up next.
Thank you to Joe Brosnan at Grove for the ARC.
July 19, 2024
4.5★s
“People around here seemed to live in a cloud of defeat, self-wrought and inherited. Whites had the lost cause; Blacks had slavery.”
Holy City is the first novel by American poet, photographer and author, Henry Wise. After a decade in Virginia’s Holy City, Richmond, Will Seems returns to his hometown of Dawn and works as a Deputy with the Euphoria County Sheriff’s Department. He doesn’t share his reason for returning although some make educated guesses.
When he spots a fire at the Turkey Creek home of former high school football star, Tom Janders, he risks his life to drag Tom out of the burning house. When Sheriff Jefferson Mills arrives, he immediately rules it murder: Tom has been stabbed in the back. Sawmill worker, Zeke Hathom is spotted fleeing the scene, and Will reluctantly arrests him. The Sheriff has soon charged Zeke with Tom’s murder, but neither Will, nor the victim’s mother, nor many of the town folk, are convinced that Zeke could kill his neighbour.
Will finds Zeke’s story plausible and, while prints on the murder weapon implicate him, Will feels he owes Zeke and his family, so he decides to properly investigate despite the Sheriff’s lukewarm response. Zeke’s wife, Floressa has no confidence that justice will be served. She engages disgraced Richmond cop, Bennico Watts to solve the murder and exonerate her husband. And she insists that Bennico, a woman who always works alone, teams up with Will.
Will has a problem with the idea too: he’s harbouring a fugitive in his dilapidated old family home. And his opposition to the Sheriff’s attitude threatens his access to information about the case. There’s talk of a cash debt, and some disgruntled gamblers who lost big to Tom on the night he died. Will (and Bennico) are thorough in their enquiries, becoming steadily more certain that Zeke is innocent and someone else deserves their scrutiny.
The astute reader will wonder early on about the Sheriff’s motivation and, while the murderer is revealed to the reader at the halfway mark, the journey to this being generally acknowledged, and the aftermath, definitely keep the pages turning. Readers may appreciate a trigger warning: there are several explicit descriptions of deviant sexual behaviour, and the ambiguous ending may not be to everyone’s liking.
Wise’s characters are complex, and he certainly challenges them with difficult dilemmas. His protagonist is plagued with a long-standing guilt that affects his reasoning. Bennico has Will summed up fairly quickly: “wearing that badge just to carry out a personal vendetta you haven’t had the courage to complete.”
He does give them some wise words: “You have to ask yourself if you really want to solve a problem or if you’ve learned to use it as a crutch. Sometimes, we learn to savor our pain. Ask yourself if this is more about some guilt you feel than it is about bringing them to justice. No act undoes the past” and insightful observations “Things that don’t get said are just as true as those that do.”
He fills his debut novel with gorgeous descriptive prose: “They could hear, beyond the roar of wind through the open windows, the life buzzing and skittering out over the wide openness of the fields, ending in trees and vines thick and tall over the road, the sound of cicadas and other insects ebbing and searing, subsiding again when the land opened up to new fields where tall trees like explosions broke the sky” and “They drove, the sun long gone, the glowing headlights scanning the cowled land for whatever might emerge, the gradual highway undulating in serpentine curves and straightaways where you could see, far ahead, the gleaming road like a blade under the moon” are examples.
Atmospheric, haunting and beautifully written, this is literary crime fiction at its best. More of Henry Wise will be eagerly anticipated.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Grove Atlantic.
“People around here seemed to live in a cloud of defeat, self-wrought and inherited. Whites had the lost cause; Blacks had slavery.”
Holy City is the first novel by American poet, photographer and author, Henry Wise. After a decade in Virginia’s Holy City, Richmond, Will Seems returns to his hometown of Dawn and works as a Deputy with the Euphoria County Sheriff’s Department. He doesn’t share his reason for returning although some make educated guesses.
When he spots a fire at the Turkey Creek home of former high school football star, Tom Janders, he risks his life to drag Tom out of the burning house. When Sheriff Jefferson Mills arrives, he immediately rules it murder: Tom has been stabbed in the back. Sawmill worker, Zeke Hathom is spotted fleeing the scene, and Will reluctantly arrests him. The Sheriff has soon charged Zeke with Tom’s murder, but neither Will, nor the victim’s mother, nor many of the town folk, are convinced that Zeke could kill his neighbour.
Will finds Zeke’s story plausible and, while prints on the murder weapon implicate him, Will feels he owes Zeke and his family, so he decides to properly investigate despite the Sheriff’s lukewarm response. Zeke’s wife, Floressa has no confidence that justice will be served. She engages disgraced Richmond cop, Bennico Watts to solve the murder and exonerate her husband. And she insists that Bennico, a woman who always works alone, teams up with Will.
Will has a problem with the idea too: he’s harbouring a fugitive in his dilapidated old family home. And his opposition to the Sheriff’s attitude threatens his access to information about the case. There’s talk of a cash debt, and some disgruntled gamblers who lost big to Tom on the night he died. Will (and Bennico) are thorough in their enquiries, becoming steadily more certain that Zeke is innocent and someone else deserves their scrutiny.
The astute reader will wonder early on about the Sheriff’s motivation and, while the murderer is revealed to the reader at the halfway mark, the journey to this being generally acknowledged, and the aftermath, definitely keep the pages turning. Readers may appreciate a trigger warning: there are several explicit descriptions of deviant sexual behaviour, and the ambiguous ending may not be to everyone’s liking.
Wise’s characters are complex, and he certainly challenges them with difficult dilemmas. His protagonist is plagued with a long-standing guilt that affects his reasoning. Bennico has Will summed up fairly quickly: “wearing that badge just to carry out a personal vendetta you haven’t had the courage to complete.”
He does give them some wise words: “You have to ask yourself if you really want to solve a problem or if you’ve learned to use it as a crutch. Sometimes, we learn to savor our pain. Ask yourself if this is more about some guilt you feel than it is about bringing them to justice. No act undoes the past” and insightful observations “Things that don’t get said are just as true as those that do.”
He fills his debut novel with gorgeous descriptive prose: “They could hear, beyond the roar of wind through the open windows, the life buzzing and skittering out over the wide openness of the fields, ending in trees and vines thick and tall over the road, the sound of cicadas and other insects ebbing and searing, subsiding again when the land opened up to new fields where tall trees like explosions broke the sky” and “They drove, the sun long gone, the glowing headlights scanning the cowled land for whatever might emerge, the gradual highway undulating in serpentine curves and straightaways where you could see, far ahead, the gleaming road like a blade under the moon” are examples.
Atmospheric, haunting and beautifully written, this is literary crime fiction at its best. More of Henry Wise will be eagerly anticipated.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Grove Atlantic.
July 11, 2024
I love a Good Southern Gothic, and I love adjectives, however, this could be the most overwritten, under-edited book I've read in recent history! The storyline is fine, the characters are developed, though stereotypical and somewhat unlikeable. The constant use of similes, adjectives, and tangential descriptions of every single person, object, and environmental setting, in every sentence, made it difficult to engage with and follow the actual storyline, even for me, a severely ADHD person. Description is important, showcasing one's vocabulary and providing multiple, glorious, shining like the sun, glittery, trite, synonyms for each item in each sentence is unnecessary and distracting.
December 31, 2024
3.75 stars
We follow Will, a deputy sheriff, bound to discover the truth against a corrupt Sheriff in this destructive, forgotten wilderness of a southern town. As his past follows him, Will fights against the corruption and evil eating away in his home town. While guilty of not acting when younger, he knows the person arrested for murder and arson is not guilty. Will is fighting - for the life of a man who acted like a father to him and from release from his past indiscretions.
I had to reread the last 10 or so pages of this book to make sure that I understood the ending. It appeared that Will was always headed in that direction. But the author wrote it so that you were just not quite sure - which was very good. It probably added a full star to my rating.
This was a debut and although I felt it stumbled a couple times, in the end it was a very good book. This author has seemed to master what a lot of multiple book authors has not - a good ending - the way to bring closure and ending to a story. Bravo to Wise.
We follow Will, a deputy sheriff, bound to discover the truth against a corrupt Sheriff in this destructive, forgotten wilderness of a southern town. As his past follows him, Will fights against the corruption and evil eating away in his home town. While guilty of not acting when younger, he knows the person arrested for murder and arson is not guilty. Will is fighting - for the life of a man who acted like a father to him and from release from his past indiscretions.
I had to reread the last 10 or so pages of this book to make sure that I understood the ending. It appeared that Will was always headed in that direction. But the author wrote it so that you were just not quite sure - which was very good. It probably added a full star to my rating.
This was a debut and although I felt it stumbled a couple times, in the end it was a very good book. This author has seemed to master what a lot of multiple book authors has not - a good ending - the way to bring closure and ending to a story. Bravo to Wise.
July 14, 2025
Spectacular writing! LITERALLY beautiful!
June 21, 2025
it's a bit odd that a white man writes a novel where twice the white protagonist gets beat up by a gang of black men who call him a "white n-----" while they do it
otherwise, this was compelling enough, though i thought the ending let it down.
Rep: Black mcs
otherwise, this was compelling enough, though i thought the ending let it down.
Rep: Black mcs
October 4, 2024
A whole county full of unlikeable people that do (or have done) terrible things. And as they learn each other's secrets, it gets even more convoluted.
I liked the overall premise, but the details and execution less so. I feel like time was spent on irrelevant things- like Will's former employer. And some things were included only for shock value- like when Tom's girlfriend visited her "grandmother". Meanwhile, some things were not explained well at all and left mostly to assumptions. One specific example -I wish the story behind Will's mom had been explained. It was mostly left for inference and since I listened to the audiobook, I assume I may have missed something. As often as she was spoken of, it was very unsatisfying to not know the significance. (And if I did not miss something, too much time was spent on her.)
The ending was not very satisfying. I appreciate that each character is given a wrap-up, but as a whole it is very anti-climactic.
Chris Henry Coffey narrates the audiobook. His narrations was fine, but the book itself is not great for audio format. It is told by many, many POVs. Since Chris Henry Coffey narrates it all the same, you have to really focus on who's POV it is.
I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the overall premise, but the details and execution less so. I feel like time was spent on irrelevant things- like Will's former employer. And some things were included only for shock value- like when Tom's girlfriend visited her "grandmother". Meanwhile, some things were not explained well at all and left mostly to assumptions. One specific example -I wish the story behind Will's mom had been explained. It was mostly left for inference and since I listened to the audiobook, I assume I may have missed something. As often as she was spoken of, it was very unsatisfying to not know the significance. (And if I did not miss something, too much time was spent on her.)
The ending was not very satisfying. I appreciate that each character is given a wrap-up, but as a whole it is very anti-climactic.
Chris Henry Coffey narrates the audiobook. His narrations was fine, but the book itself is not great for audio format. It is told by many, many POVs. Since Chris Henry Coffey narrates it all the same, you have to really focus on who's POV it is.
I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 3, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. Gritty and there was one explicit part that I couldn't believe. The ending is sad but fitting for the main character, in the diehard-ness of the story, who couldn't surpass tragic events of his past. I found there were an awful amount of similes that made reading choppy in the first half. Very nice debut. I'll keep on the lookout for future novels.
March 12, 2024
With a blurb from S.A. Crosby, how could you pass this book up?
Holy City is the freshman effort of Henry Wise. The story focuses on Will Seems who returns home to his rural roots in Virginia after he left following a tragedy. Seems is going to be a deputy sheriff in the poor area filled equally with plantations and old school relationships. Seems owes a favor to a friend and it becomes clear when another friend is murder. Can Seems keep his moral compass as well as work with the newly hired Bennico? A well thought out novel that it gritty and complex. Recommended!
#groveatlantic #holycity #henrywise
Holy City is the freshman effort of Henry Wise. The story focuses on Will Seems who returns home to his rural roots in Virginia after he left following a tragedy. Seems is going to be a deputy sheriff in the poor area filled equally with plantations and old school relationships. Seems owes a favor to a friend and it becomes clear when another friend is murder. Can Seems keep his moral compass as well as work with the newly hired Bennico? A well thought out novel that it gritty and complex. Recommended!
#groveatlantic #holycity #henrywise
July 2, 2024
Henry Wise has written a searing, haunted investigation of guilt afflicting both men and women, white and Black, lawman and civilian. Beautifully written, populated by characters that haunt the Virginian town that refuses to let them go, Holy City is—on the surface—about a murder. But it’s really about every murder, every failed effort, every pain we inflict upon ourselves by holding onto the past and being unable to forgive.
It is a wonderful novel. You ought to read it.
It is a wonderful novel. You ought to read it.
December 23, 2025
Il m’a manqué une intrigue plus prenante.
J’ai bien aimé le contexte rural, avec des shérifs et une petite communauté où tout le monde se connaît.
Je trouve que les personnages auraient pu être davantage approfondis pour que je puisse comprendre leurs réactions et les enjeux qui les habitent. Mais c’est le premier roman de l’auteur, je pense qu’il a beaucoup de potentiel.
J’ai bien aimé le contexte rural, avec des shérifs et une petite communauté où tout le monde se connaît.
Je trouve que les personnages auraient pu être davantage approfondis pour que je puisse comprendre leurs réactions et les enjeux qui les habitent. Mais c’est le premier roman de l’auteur, je pense qu’il a beaucoup de potentiel.
June 25, 2025
3.5 🌟 sympa, bonne tension, mais la fin ne m'a pas convaincu et quelques longueurs
August 2, 2024
I am a big fan of Southern Noir fiction (i.e., Eli Cranor, Brian Panowich, David Joy). I was hoping to add Henry Wise to my list of fave Southern crime authors, but his debut novel, Holy City, just didn't quite do it for me. Wise offers an intriguing plot, and it certainly had its standout moments, but overall I found it lacking. Many beginning writer problems constantly pulled me out of the story. I found it to be overly wordy and marred by an extreme overuse of similes, metaphors, and rambling purple prose descriptions. The killer was revealed much too early, which deflated the suspense level.
Wise has some writing talent, but he obviously was trying too hard to come across as literary, and it fell flat much of the time. This first effort was crying out for a skilled editor. I will definitely give him another try with his next book, but I hope he finds an editor that will be honest with him for his follow-up effort.
Wise has some writing talent, but he obviously was trying too hard to come across as literary, and it fell flat much of the time. This first effort was crying out for a skilled editor. I will definitely give him another try with his next book, but I hope he finds an editor that will be honest with him for his follow-up effort.
September 2, 2024
Thank you to Novel Suspects and Grove Atlantic for the digital copy to review.
I was intrigued by the premise of this novel, and I love procedurals, especially when combined with a Southern Gothic setting in a small town. This did not disappoint, and is incredible for a debut. At times it felt more literary than thriller, so much so that I forgot the heart of this is solving a crime. It is so well done, so well written and I read this in one sitting, I could not put it down.
I was intrigued by the premise of this novel, and I love procedurals, especially when combined with a Southern Gothic setting in a small town. This did not disappoint, and is incredible for a debut. At times it felt more literary than thriller, so much so that I forgot the heart of this is solving a crime. It is so well done, so well written and I read this in one sitting, I could not put it down.
July 19, 2024
4.5★s
“People around here seemed to live in a cloud of defeat, self-wrought and inherited. Whites had the lost cause; Blacks had slavery.”
Holy City is the first novel by American poet, photographer and author, Henry Wise. The audio version is narrated by Chris Henry Coffey. After a decade in Virginia’s Holy City, Richmond, Will Seems returns to his hometown of Dawn and works as a Deputy with the Euphoria County Sheriff’s Department. He doesn’t share his reason for returning although some make educated guesses.
When he spots a fire at the Turkey Creek home of former high school football star, Tom Janders, he risks his life to drag Tom out of the burning house. When Sheriff Jefferson Mills arrives, he immediately rules it murder: Tom has been stabbed in the back. Sawmill worker, Zeke Hathom is spotted fleeing the scene, and Will reluctantly arrests him. The Sheriff has soon charged Zeke with Tom’s murder, but neither Will, nor the victim’s mother, nor many of the town folk, are convinced that Zeke could kill his neighbour.
Will finds Zeke’s story plausible and, while prints on the murder weapon implicate him, Will feels he owes Zeke and his family, so he decides to properly investigate despite the Sheriff’s lukewarm response. Zeke’s wife, Floressa has no confidence that justice will be served. She engages disgraced Richmond cop, Bennico Watts to solve the murder and exonerate her husband. And she insists that Bennico, a woman who always works alone, teams up with Will.
Will has a problem with the idea too: he’s harbouring a fugitive in his dilapidated old family home. And his opposition to the Sheriff’s attitude threatens his access to information about the case. There’s talk of a cash debt, and some disgruntled gamblers who lost big to Tom on the night he died. Will (and Bennico) are thorough in their enquiries, becoming steadily more certain that Zeke is innocent and someone else deserves their scrutiny.
The astute reader will wonder early on about the Sheriff’s motivation and, while the murderer is revealed to the reader at the halfway mark, the journey to this being generally acknowledged, and the aftermath, definitely keep the pages turning. Readers may appreciate a trigger warning: there are several explicit descriptions of deviant sexual behaviour, and the ambiguous ending may not be to everyone’s liking.
Wise’s characters are complex, and he certainly challenges them with difficult dilemmas. His protagonist is plagued with a long-standing guilt that affects his reasoning. Bennico has Will summed up fairly quickly: “wearing that badge just to carry out a personal vendetta you haven’t had the courage to complete.”
He does give them some wise words: “You have to ask yourself if you really want to solve a problem or if you’ve learned to use it as a crutch. Sometimes, we learn to savor our pain. Ask yourself if this is more about some guilt you feel than it is about bringing them to justice. No act undoes the past” and insightful observations “Things that don’t get said are just as true as those that do.”
He fills his debut novel with gorgeous descriptive prose: “They could hear, beyond the roar of wind through the open windows, the life buzzing and skittering out over the wide openness of the fields, ending in trees and vines thick and tall over the road, the sound of cicadas and other insects ebbing and searing, subsiding again when the land opened up to new fields where tall trees like explosions broke the sky” and “They drove, the sun long gone, the glowing headlights scanning the cowled land for whatever might emerge, the gradual highway undulating in serpentine curves and straightaways where you could see, far ahead, the gleaming road like a blade under the moon” are examples.
Atmospheric, haunting and beautifully written, this is literary crime fiction at its best. More of Henry Wise will be eagerly anticipated.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and RB Media.
“People around here seemed to live in a cloud of defeat, self-wrought and inherited. Whites had the lost cause; Blacks had slavery.”
Holy City is the first novel by American poet, photographer and author, Henry Wise. The audio version is narrated by Chris Henry Coffey. After a decade in Virginia’s Holy City, Richmond, Will Seems returns to his hometown of Dawn and works as a Deputy with the Euphoria County Sheriff’s Department. He doesn’t share his reason for returning although some make educated guesses.
When he spots a fire at the Turkey Creek home of former high school football star, Tom Janders, he risks his life to drag Tom out of the burning house. When Sheriff Jefferson Mills arrives, he immediately rules it murder: Tom has been stabbed in the back. Sawmill worker, Zeke Hathom is spotted fleeing the scene, and Will reluctantly arrests him. The Sheriff has soon charged Zeke with Tom’s murder, but neither Will, nor the victim’s mother, nor many of the town folk, are convinced that Zeke could kill his neighbour.
Will finds Zeke’s story plausible and, while prints on the murder weapon implicate him, Will feels he owes Zeke and his family, so he decides to properly investigate despite the Sheriff’s lukewarm response. Zeke’s wife, Floressa has no confidence that justice will be served. She engages disgraced Richmond cop, Bennico Watts to solve the murder and exonerate her husband. And she insists that Bennico, a woman who always works alone, teams up with Will.
Will has a problem with the idea too: he’s harbouring a fugitive in his dilapidated old family home. And his opposition to the Sheriff’s attitude threatens his access to information about the case. There’s talk of a cash debt, and some disgruntled gamblers who lost big to Tom on the night he died. Will (and Bennico) are thorough in their enquiries, becoming steadily more certain that Zeke is innocent and someone else deserves their scrutiny.
The astute reader will wonder early on about the Sheriff’s motivation and, while the murderer is revealed to the reader at the halfway mark, the journey to this being generally acknowledged, and the aftermath, definitely keep the pages turning. Readers may appreciate a trigger warning: there are several explicit descriptions of deviant sexual behaviour, and the ambiguous ending may not be to everyone’s liking.
Wise’s characters are complex, and he certainly challenges them with difficult dilemmas. His protagonist is plagued with a long-standing guilt that affects his reasoning. Bennico has Will summed up fairly quickly: “wearing that badge just to carry out a personal vendetta you haven’t had the courage to complete.”
He does give them some wise words: “You have to ask yourself if you really want to solve a problem or if you’ve learned to use it as a crutch. Sometimes, we learn to savor our pain. Ask yourself if this is more about some guilt you feel than it is about bringing them to justice. No act undoes the past” and insightful observations “Things that don’t get said are just as true as those that do.”
He fills his debut novel with gorgeous descriptive prose: “They could hear, beyond the roar of wind through the open windows, the life buzzing and skittering out over the wide openness of the fields, ending in trees and vines thick and tall over the road, the sound of cicadas and other insects ebbing and searing, subsiding again when the land opened up to new fields where tall trees like explosions broke the sky” and “They drove, the sun long gone, the glowing headlights scanning the cowled land for whatever might emerge, the gradual highway undulating in serpentine curves and straightaways where you could see, far ahead, the gleaming road like a blade under the moon” are examples.
Atmospheric, haunting and beautifully written, this is literary crime fiction at its best. More of Henry Wise will be eagerly anticipated.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and RB Media.
dnf
August 14, 2024I was intrigued by Holy City after seeing S.A. Cosby's rave for it. I don't typically reach for books featuring law enforcement main characters but wanted to give this one a try based on his rave.
Despite multiple attempts, I can't seem to get into it. Many sentences are too long, and I don't enjoy this many similes.
I like the narrator's voice, but sometimes I got lost in the dialogue and couldn't tell which character was speaking.
DNF at 8%
Thank you to RB Media for a free ALC of this title, as well as Grove Atlantic for a free arc.
Despite multiple attempts, I can't seem to get into it. Many sentences are too long, and I don't enjoy this many similes.
I like the narrator's voice, but sometimes I got lost in the dialogue and couldn't tell which character was speaking.
DNF at 8%
Thank you to RB Media for a free ALC of this title, as well as Grove Atlantic for a free arc.
February 19, 2025
DNF at 45%
The cover drew me in, the blurb told me it's a must. When I started reading I quickly found myself a bit lost and confused. I'm not sure if that's because of the story or the writing. It just doesn't feel right.
The cover drew me in, the blurb told me it's a must. When I started reading I quickly found myself a bit lost and confused. I'm not sure if that's because of the story or the writing. It just doesn't feel right.
July 27, 2024
It certainly does not take many read pages of Holy City by Henry Wise for the reader to realize what a remarkable debut novel is held in one’s hands.
Holy City is a novel about past wrongs, scars, human ghosts, and people trying to remain decent in a place and time where the past still rules the present. It is also a novel about resolutions, the promise and doubt of resolutions, even when realizing such things may never be possible, and seeking them may do more damage than if left buried.
Deputy Will Seems of Euphoria County, Virginia works under Sheriff Jeffrey Mills. Mills men have been sheriffs of Euphoria County for generations, each running the county as their private fiefdom, with Jeffery Mills no different.
Because of a traumatic incident as a boy, Deputy Seems habitually roams the rural roads of Euphoria County during his late-night off-duty hours searching for long-past demons from his past as elusive as one trying to hold smoke in one’s closed fist.
During one late-night prowl, he sees a glowing fire in the night and realizes it is the home of Tom Janders. Risking his own life entering the burning home, Seems finds Janders collapsed inside the home and pulls the body outside only to learn Janders is dead and has been murdered.
After others arrive, Seems sees a dark figure in the night and pursues the man and when he catches him, he learns it is Zeke Hathom, the father to Seems’ boyhood best friend, Sam.
Zeke professes his innocence and tells Deputy Seems he was only present to help but fled only because others would believe him guilty. Even though Seems believes him, he is ordered by Sheriff Jeff Mills to place Zeke under arrest for the suspected murder of Janders.
As more information becomes known, the case against Zeke grows stronger allowing Sherriff Mills to resoundly believe his guilt, even though Seems slowly builds a case that Zeke is innocent.
The novel then follows as Seems and others try to prove Zeke’s innocence while Sheriff Mills refuses to accept anything other than things that prove Zeke’s guilt.
Holy City is a wonderful debut by Henry Wise and the novel has layers and is so deeply rich in many ways. The words and descriptive nature of the novel are lush and deep, just as the secrets contained within the novel.
Other reviewers have complained the novel is wordy, underwritten, and in need of a heavier editing hand, however, as an older reader, I greatly enjoy it when a writer through the use of similes, metaphors, and other descriptive methods, can describe people, places, scenes and situations in ways I have not read before and Wise does that quite often.
Another thing I enjoyed about this novel was how Wise forces the reader to mentally read between the lines by not always explicitly stating things outright.
Holy City is highly recommended to those who enjoy gritty, Rural Noir novels that remain after that last page has been read.
This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com
Holy City is available for purchase through all book retailers.
Holy City is a novel about past wrongs, scars, human ghosts, and people trying to remain decent in a place and time where the past still rules the present. It is also a novel about resolutions, the promise and doubt of resolutions, even when realizing such things may never be possible, and seeking them may do more damage than if left buried.
Deputy Will Seems of Euphoria County, Virginia works under Sheriff Jeffrey Mills. Mills men have been sheriffs of Euphoria County for generations, each running the county as their private fiefdom, with Jeffery Mills no different.
Because of a traumatic incident as a boy, Deputy Seems habitually roams the rural roads of Euphoria County during his late-night off-duty hours searching for long-past demons from his past as elusive as one trying to hold smoke in one’s closed fist.
During one late-night prowl, he sees a glowing fire in the night and realizes it is the home of Tom Janders. Risking his own life entering the burning home, Seems finds Janders collapsed inside the home and pulls the body outside only to learn Janders is dead and has been murdered.
After others arrive, Seems sees a dark figure in the night and pursues the man and when he catches him, he learns it is Zeke Hathom, the father to Seems’ boyhood best friend, Sam.
Zeke professes his innocence and tells Deputy Seems he was only present to help but fled only because others would believe him guilty. Even though Seems believes him, he is ordered by Sheriff Jeff Mills to place Zeke under arrest for the suspected murder of Janders.
As more information becomes known, the case against Zeke grows stronger allowing Sherriff Mills to resoundly believe his guilt, even though Seems slowly builds a case that Zeke is innocent.
The novel then follows as Seems and others try to prove Zeke’s innocence while Sheriff Mills refuses to accept anything other than things that prove Zeke’s guilt.
Holy City is a wonderful debut by Henry Wise and the novel has layers and is so deeply rich in many ways. The words and descriptive nature of the novel are lush and deep, just as the secrets contained within the novel.
Other reviewers have complained the novel is wordy, underwritten, and in need of a heavier editing hand, however, as an older reader, I greatly enjoy it when a writer through the use of similes, metaphors, and other descriptive methods, can describe people, places, scenes and situations in ways I have not read before and Wise does that quite often.
Another thing I enjoyed about this novel was how Wise forces the reader to mentally read between the lines by not always explicitly stating things outright.
Holy City is highly recommended to those who enjoy gritty, Rural Noir novels that remain after that last page has been read.
This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com
Holy City is available for purchase through all book retailers.
June 15, 2024
The description sounded interesting and the blurb from S.A. Corey pushed me to pick up this book. As someone who has lived his entire life in the Upper Midwest states, books like this make me think that the South is full of awful unlikeable people who do awful things and keep each others secrets or hold them over each other. It was a crazy murder mystery story but I kept going because I had to see how this was going to turn out. It seemed fairly obvious to me who the killer was from the beginning but the final reveal and description of the actual murder act was a little surprising. I found the ending to be mostly unsatisfying. Overall, it was a book that had an interesting premise but I felt like the execution was a little off.
The tag line in the blurb is "No one is innocent" and they aren't lying. "No one is very likeable" is also accurate.
The tag line in the blurb is "No one is innocent" and they aren't lying. "No one is very likeable" is also accurate.
August 29, 2024
Too many characters, none of whom is compelling. Too much florid description. Too many secrets to keep track of. I started skipping pages and only kept with it to see if the predictions I made early on were correct. They were. I lived in Richmond years ago, and enjoyed seeing the names of streets and parts of town I recognized, but it added nothing to the story except extra pages. There could be a good book here - racism, domestic abuse, poor physical and mental health in neglected parts of the country that abut trendy cities - but it would take a complete rewrite. Can't recommend.
June 10, 2024
A book badly in need of a good editor. The author has a lot of promise but the book is written in a manner that is confusing and often frustrating. Starts out that way, continues throughout. If you find the first chapter hard to get into don't expect it to get better as time goes on. It doesn't.
June 18, 2024
Couldn’t put this down. Beautifully written and also dark and gripping. I found myself nodding along with the descriptions of Virginia and absorbed by the compelling plot. Highly recommend!
June 9, 2025
HOLY CITY is the 2025 winner of the Edgar Award for best debut mystery by an American author. Given the quality of the other nominees, this is an especially noteworthy honor. The "holy city" is Richmond, Virginia but most of the story takes place in the rural Southside Virginia region. This book is very much a product of its setting. The story unfolds languidly, with extensive descriptions of place, with backstories told in bits and pieces, and with wistful contemplations of loves lost or of histories that cannot be escaped, or both. It is not a fast-paced action thriller. There is definitely a place for those in our libraries, but there is also a place for HOLY CITY.
The protagonist is Will Seems, a soul lost in his past who comes back to the Southside after ten years of self-imposed exile in Richmond. He is now a deputy with the Euphoria County sheriff's department, but it's obvious to one and all that he is intent on his own mission, to somehow fix his past. Along the way he must suffer the indignities of working for long-entrenched Sheriff Jeff Mills while surreptitiously helping his long-time friend, Seth Hathorn, resurrect his life. The novel opens with an awful, violent murder, a crime that will both become uglier the more we know and that will dredge up known and unknown parts of Will's past, threaten his friends and family, and introduce him to a disgraced detective from Richmond. Bennico Watts is an adept investigator who likes to stir things up even if it means breaking a few rules. She and Will don't spend a lot of time together, but it is enough time to roil the investigation. As an aside, Bennico Watts could easily support another book if the author so chooses.
A good but sometime slow story becomes a memorable one because of an unexpected but inevitable conclusion. The case is solved, but that provides just a starting point for the author to explore the ramifications for everyone involved. The ending will stay with the reader. Stick with HOLY CITY and you will be rewarded.
The protagonist is Will Seems, a soul lost in his past who comes back to the Southside after ten years of self-imposed exile in Richmond. He is now a deputy with the Euphoria County sheriff's department, but it's obvious to one and all that he is intent on his own mission, to somehow fix his past. Along the way he must suffer the indignities of working for long-entrenched Sheriff Jeff Mills while surreptitiously helping his long-time friend, Seth Hathorn, resurrect his life. The novel opens with an awful, violent murder, a crime that will both become uglier the more we know and that will dredge up known and unknown parts of Will's past, threaten his friends and family, and introduce him to a disgraced detective from Richmond. Bennico Watts is an adept investigator who likes to stir things up even if it means breaking a few rules. She and Will don't spend a lot of time together, but it is enough time to roil the investigation. As an aside, Bennico Watts could easily support another book if the author so chooses.
A good but sometime slow story becomes a memorable one because of an unexpected but inevitable conclusion. The case is solved, but that provides just a starting point for the author to explore the ramifications for everyone involved. The ending will stay with the reader. Stick with HOLY CITY and you will be rewarded.
November 16, 2025
Excellent literary southern noir. I had this book on my TBR list early, as the author is from Virginia, then I went to Bouchercon and was able to snag a first edition and get the book signed by Wise. What a treasure! I wasn't surprised to see that Wise has an MFA--the writing itself is beautiful, gave me Charles Frazier vibes. It's so refreshing when I find an author whose writing is as vivid and evocative as his characters and setting (which is a character in and of itself). I appreciated the long, introspective sentences, almost stream of consciousness at times, which seem to have fallen out of fashion in favor of short, punchy writing. We don't see much of Omniscient Point of View these days, either, but Wise uses it here, lending to the yesteryear feel that shrouds the contemporary setting. (I'm guessing to reinforce the theme of "everything and nothing changes" and to support the notion that the whole and its parts cannot exist for long without the other.) The plot's as messy as life is, as messy as people are, and that's a compliment. There were times I had to re-read passages when I had a "what did I just read?" moment but I loved that--thank you for making me slow down and see everything, look again and see it again, only to find that yep, that's what you read, or nope, you looked away too quickly, you blinked, read it again. I loved that what you think is the main mystery is kinda just spilled in the middle of a chapter (one of those things I had to re-read) and then is mostly tied up with a good eighth of the book left because this is the author telling you that if you thought THAT was the main thing of this story, then you missed his point. The true ending did not disappoint. The true ending was not only perfect, but a gift, because Wise could've easily gone full dismal on us and left the impetus for the main character's drive completely unrequited. And he didn't do that to us. This review would not be complete if I didn't add that I loved that there weren't Big Stupid Twists. Man, I'm sick of Big Stupid Twists.
July 30, 2024
This story of dark secrets, inherited trauma, cowardice, guilt, and atonement could have been a great addition to the Southern Gothic tradition, if not for overwrought prose, slow pacing, and overly complicated but euphemistically described plot twists. What's more, the main characters are little more than personifications of the motives that propel them: jealousy, guilt, misunderstood honor, vengeance. Who they are, beyond their individual obsessions, is never explored. But perhaps such shallow characterization is deliberate, and the author means to suggest that the violence at the root of all that haunts these characters has totally flattened them as persons.
The action begins with a murder for which an obviously innocent man is arrested. But a more interesting story emerges when Deputy Will Seems and a private investigator from Richmond set out to prove the suspect's innocence. They find the evidence they need, but in the process unearth a whole town's worth of hidden sins, all of which have some bearing on the case. Unfortunately, though, this somewhat rambling tale of discovery lacks much narrative excitement. There's no sense of a timer ticking down, or imminent catastrophe. The identity of the culprit, and most of their motivation, comes as little surprise, but the author adds a few creepy details near the end that provide a welcome shock.
The action begins with a murder for which an obviously innocent man is arrested. But a more interesting story emerges when Deputy Will Seems and a private investigator from Richmond set out to prove the suspect's innocence. They find the evidence they need, but in the process unearth a whole town's worth of hidden sins, all of which have some bearing on the case. Unfortunately, though, this somewhat rambling tale of discovery lacks much narrative excitement. There's no sense of a timer ticking down, or imminent catastrophe. The identity of the culprit, and most of their motivation, comes as little surprise, but the author adds a few creepy details near the end that provide a welcome shock.
June 4, 2024
******Happy Publishing Day!!!!********
This is a debut novel for this author, Henry Wise, and I did find the book very intriguing.
There are a few reasons that this book is only getting 3 stars, and I think most of this is a personal preference. I had a difficult time getting into this book, as I often do with slow burns, but I know many people enjoy books that build into the intensity. Another reason is the graphic sexual intensity at the end was too much for me as well.
I think the premise of this book was well done; the language of this book was excellent and well-tailored to the area of the country and the demographic of the people, so this was a very well thought out, and well-done book.
But I truly believe that a book can be well-done, but at the same time I have an understanding that it is a book that is not suited for me, but for others. That is how I feel about this book. The plot was interesting, infuriating (due to the characters), engaging, but not my style.
All this to say, if you enjoy books that are set in small towns, that have an interesting premise and backstories, and look deep into the souls of those living in desperation; this is the book for you.
I am thankful for the privilege I had to read this book, so I want to thank #Netgalley and #RBMedia for the advanced copy of this audiobook. My opinions are all my own.
This is a debut novel for this author, Henry Wise, and I did find the book very intriguing.
There are a few reasons that this book is only getting 3 stars, and I think most of this is a personal preference. I had a difficult time getting into this book, as I often do with slow burns, but I know many people enjoy books that build into the intensity. Another reason is the graphic sexual intensity at the end was too much for me as well.
I think the premise of this book was well done; the language of this book was excellent and well-tailored to the area of the country and the demographic of the people, so this was a very well thought out, and well-done book.
But I truly believe that a book can be well-done, but at the same time I have an understanding that it is a book that is not suited for me, but for others. That is how I feel about this book. The plot was interesting, infuriating (due to the characters), engaging, but not my style.
All this to say, if you enjoy books that are set in small towns, that have an interesting premise and backstories, and look deep into the souls of those living in desperation; this is the book for you.
I am thankful for the privilege I had to read this book, so I want to thank #Netgalley and #RBMedia for the advanced copy of this audiobook. My opinions are all my own.
September 21, 2024
HOLY CITY is a multi faceted novel about grief, remorse, revenge and what it means to fully feel whole.
It is gripping and page turning but cannot be read in one sitting because you will want to take in the beauty of the words and the language.
This is a debut novel from Wise, inspired by Faulkner and modern day champions of southern noir literature. Dark, transporting, and compulsively readable.
I loved it and can’t wait to read about these characters and from this author in the future
It is gripping and page turning but cannot be read in one sitting because you will want to take in the beauty of the words and the language.
This is a debut novel from Wise, inspired by Faulkner and modern day champions of southern noir literature. Dark, transporting, and compulsively readable.
I loved it and can’t wait to read about these characters and from this author in the future
September 25, 2024
Very Good. Fast paced, with intrigue. Mysteries are carried over time and generations. Murder, and corruption intersect in a small Virginia town. An inter-racial friendship, and one defining moment in it spawns trauma for Will and Sam, whose families also have secrets that the friends are unaware of, but will shape their destinies. Wise does a great job of telling Will Seems story with a murder as the jump off point.
November 22, 2024
This is an impressive novel where everyone is guilty of something and they can't get out of the way of the consequences of that guilt. The writing here is impressive. I felt like the ending was a bit drawn out. At one point the story becomes a bit absurd but it gets back to reality quickly. I'll definitely check out any other novels the author produces.
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