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City of Heretics
Out of prison after seven years, aging hard man Crowe returns to Memphis with only a vague plan for revenge, but Memphis and the world have moved on without him. Everything has changed, and Crowe is a dinosaur. With little to live for, he sets his sites on the city’s new crime boss. But before he can enjoy his vengeance, he has to track down a brutal murderer cutting a swath through the city—ultimately leading him to confront a bizarre secret society of serial killers masquerading as a Christian splinter group. Dogged every step of the way by criminals, cops, and killers, and plagued by visions of a mysterious Ghost Cat, Crowe is pushed to the limits of his endurance, but you can’t keep a bad man down…
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2012
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Heath Lowrance
26 books100 followersHeath Lowrance is the author of HAWTHORNE: TALES OF A WEIRDER WEST, THE AXEMAN OF STORYVILLE, CITY OF HERETICS, THE BASTARD HAND, DIG TEN GRAVES, FIGHT CARD: BLUFF CITY BRAWLER (as Jack Tunney) and the novella "Miles to Little Ridge".
His other stories have appeared in the anthologies OFF THE RECORD, BURNING BRIDGES, PULP INK 2, LEE, HOODS, HOT RODS & HELLCATS and 5 BROKEN WINCHESTERS.
He has been a movie theater manager, a tour guide at Sun Studio, a singer in a punk band, and a regular donor of blood for money. In 48 years, he's engaged in a hundred years worth of anti-social behavior. Originally from Tennessee, he now lives in Lansing, Michigan.
His other stories have appeared in the anthologies OFF THE RECORD, BURNING BRIDGES, PULP INK 2, LEE, HOODS, HOT RODS & HELLCATS and 5 BROKEN WINCHESTERS.
He has been a movie theater manager, a tour guide at Sun Studio, a singer in a punk band, and a regular donor of blood for money. In 48 years, he's engaged in a hundred years worth of anti-social behavior. Originally from Tennessee, he now lives in Lansing, Michigan.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 13, 2013
It's the middle of January and, unless something happens to completely alter the law of averages, this is going to be among my top 5 reads of the year. I can't imagine enjoying many more as much as I did this.
Heath Lowrance has written some great pieces of late and I've loved everything I've read by him. Even so, City Of Heretics is my favourite to date.
The story is tremendous.
It has an arc that is perfectly formed and a pace that is always natural and never forced, like the author has allowed it to flow naturally.
Crowe comes out of prison and ends up in Memphis to settle some old scores. He's hard as nails and he's absolutely ruthless. He gets involved with the new gang-leader in town, a series of murders, a heroin addicted cop, a mean detective called Wills, his ex-girlfriend, a gang of church members with an Old-Testament view of the world and a freak show posse who'd make anyone's hair curl up and try and worm itself back into the scalp it came from.
The characters are tremendous, right down to the bit part players.
The setting is mouth-wateringly described. Try this on for size:
"There was a sitting room immediately to the right, filled with the kind of overstuffed furniture that no one sits in and a Grandfather clock that ticked away the seconds of life with all the compassion of a killer."
The action moments are perfectly weighted; I wanted to skip through them to find out who was going to end up OK, but the detail was too impressive allow me to do that.
The roots of this are definitely in the best of the noir heritage and Mr Lowrance has clearly read and absorbed many things that allow him to use subtlety as an art form.
The plot fits together like a tightly fitting jigsaw.
There's an ending to blow the reader away, too.
I loved it. Loved it because it was so easy to read. Loved it for the simplicity of the development. Loved it for the pure pleasure it gave off right from the beginning.
It is one of those books that don't come around so often, a novel that brings joy and pleasure because of the way it's been written.
Brooding, fresh, dark, eventful, full of suspense and tension and nigh on perfect.
A must.
Heath Lowrance has written some great pieces of late and I've loved everything I've read by him. Even so, City Of Heretics is my favourite to date.
The story is tremendous.
It has an arc that is perfectly formed and a pace that is always natural and never forced, like the author has allowed it to flow naturally.
Crowe comes out of prison and ends up in Memphis to settle some old scores. He's hard as nails and he's absolutely ruthless. He gets involved with the new gang-leader in town, a series of murders, a heroin addicted cop, a mean detective called Wills, his ex-girlfriend, a gang of church members with an Old-Testament view of the world and a freak show posse who'd make anyone's hair curl up and try and worm itself back into the scalp it came from.
The characters are tremendous, right down to the bit part players.
The setting is mouth-wateringly described. Try this on for size:
"There was a sitting room immediately to the right, filled with the kind of overstuffed furniture that no one sits in and a Grandfather clock that ticked away the seconds of life with all the compassion of a killer."
The action moments are perfectly weighted; I wanted to skip through them to find out who was going to end up OK, but the detail was too impressive allow me to do that.
The roots of this are definitely in the best of the noir heritage and Mr Lowrance has clearly read and absorbed many things that allow him to use subtlety as an art form.
The plot fits together like a tightly fitting jigsaw.
There's an ending to blow the reader away, too.
I loved it. Loved it because it was so easy to read. Loved it for the simplicity of the development. Loved it for the pure pleasure it gave off right from the beginning.
It is one of those books that don't come around so often, a novel that brings joy and pleasure because of the way it's been written.
Brooding, fresh, dark, eventful, full of suspense and tension and nigh on perfect.
A must.
May 3, 2013
I dove into CITY OF HERETICS a little unsure about what I was going to get because 1) The premise seemed somewhat similar to Heath Lowrance's first novel THE BASTARD HAND and 2) Lowrance himself didn't seem all that enthusiastic during promo, thing that is not all that uncommon, since writers go through a grueling editing process before publication, that make the book look distant and mediocre in their exhausted mind.
Only problem, CITY OF HERETICS was awesome. It's thoroughly old school. Jim Thompson enthusiasts will draw the obvious parallel and maybe like me, will imagine Lee Marvin as Crowe. This is not a pastiche or a tribute, this is another link in a long-standing tradition. Lowrance, who is the closest thing we have to a noir historian, understands very well what makes classic hardboiled special. The feeling of unpredictability, a society of marginals so charismatic, it makes you wonder where the normal people have disappeared.
Everybody is a con in CITY OF HERETICS. Even the cops are con, which is a detail that always satisfies the hell out of me. My favorite character (aside for TRUE violent badass Crowe) was probably Radnovian, the IAD cop with a heroin problem. Terrific dialogue, original ideas and a surprising existential edge carry CITY OF HERETICS from point A to point B with a LOT of strength. Loved it. One of my favorite Lowrance books along with the Hawthorne series. Another cult hit from Snubnose Press.
Only problem, CITY OF HERETICS was awesome. It's thoroughly old school. Jim Thompson enthusiasts will draw the obvious parallel and maybe like me, will imagine Lee Marvin as Crowe. This is not a pastiche or a tribute, this is another link in a long-standing tradition. Lowrance, who is the closest thing we have to a noir historian, understands very well what makes classic hardboiled special. The feeling of unpredictability, a society of marginals so charismatic, it makes you wonder where the normal people have disappeared.
Everybody is a con in CITY OF HERETICS. Even the cops are con, which is a detail that always satisfies the hell out of me. My favorite character (aside for TRUE violent badass Crowe) was probably Radnovian, the IAD cop with a heroin problem. Terrific dialogue, original ideas and a surprising existential edge carry CITY OF HERETICS from point A to point B with a LOT of strength. Loved it. One of my favorite Lowrance books along with the Hawthorne series. Another cult hit from Snubnose Press.
December 2, 2012
Heath Lowrance's The bastard Hand is one of my favourite reads of the year. My worries that City of Heretics might not live up to it were very quickly allayed. Lowrance again chooses to use religion as a central binding theme running throughout the story. When Crowe is released from prison he has some vague plans to get even with those who have hung him out to dry. Never much of a planner he soon find that events seek him out and carry him along in their destructive and bloody wake.
As with The Bastard Hand Lowrance weaves in supernatural elements and Crowe finds his dreams haunted by a Ghost Cat. A feline harbinger of doom perhaps? An attempted hit gone wrong, and an attempt to exact revenge for his gangster boss, soon has Crowe investigating a string of ritual murders. Crowe finds himself on the trail of The Church of Christ The Fisher. The Church has a terrible secret but will Crowe be able to cope with the deadly backlash that comes his way?
Lowrance brings us a tough guy who is a man of few words in Crowe. The action is thick and fast. Lowrance's imagination carries you along with a very cleverly woven tale that takes some very unexpected twists and turns. The violence is frequent and graphic and if that isn't your thing then this book is not for you.
The author’s story telling ability is of a high standard and this is most definitely a page turner. Lowrance leaves room for more tales with the character of Crowe and I can't wait to read anything that follows this. Lowrance’s fiction seems to delight in blending genres and you never quite know what will happen. If you like dark fiction with a supernatural twist then City of Heretics will appeal. Highly recommended.
As with The Bastard Hand Lowrance weaves in supernatural elements and Crowe finds his dreams haunted by a Ghost Cat. A feline harbinger of doom perhaps? An attempted hit gone wrong, and an attempt to exact revenge for his gangster boss, soon has Crowe investigating a string of ritual murders. Crowe finds himself on the trail of The Church of Christ The Fisher. The Church has a terrible secret but will Crowe be able to cope with the deadly backlash that comes his way?
Lowrance brings us a tough guy who is a man of few words in Crowe. The action is thick and fast. Lowrance's imagination carries you along with a very cleverly woven tale that takes some very unexpected twists and turns. The violence is frequent and graphic and if that isn't your thing then this book is not for you.
The author’s story telling ability is of a high standard and this is most definitely a page turner. Lowrance leaves room for more tales with the character of Crowe and I can't wait to read anything that follows this. Lowrance’s fiction seems to delight in blending genres and you never quite know what will happen. If you like dark fiction with a supernatural twist then City of Heretics will appeal. Highly recommended.
December 5, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen, this - THIS - is old school noir. Written by one of the new school's foremost masters of the style, Heath Lowrance.
Lowrance gives us protagonist Crowe this time around (although, in this novel, they're all antagonists in some way). He's just out of prison and looking for work. His old enemies are more than willing to give it to him.
After a mission to intercept a prisoner goes wrong, Crowe finds a trail leading to a cult called The Church of Christ the Fisher. It's not your average cult, even by the crazy standards such organizations have set for themselves.
Revenge is the theme that opens City of Heretics, but it quickly morphs into one about religion. The cynical tone of Lowrance's prose matches the desperation of the novel's lost souls searching for redemption or a purpose. The injections of this theme never feel preachy, and the supernatural elements are just enough to keep you guessing. Especially with that infamous Ghost Cat.
If you want some no-BS, tough guy reading, this is the novel that will deliver. Lowrance has crafted a tight story that never drags. The action is swift, brutal and ubiquitous.
Lowrance gives us protagonist Crowe this time around (although, in this novel, they're all antagonists in some way). He's just out of prison and looking for work. His old enemies are more than willing to give it to him.
After a mission to intercept a prisoner goes wrong, Crowe finds a trail leading to a cult called The Church of Christ the Fisher. It's not your average cult, even by the crazy standards such organizations have set for themselves.
Revenge is the theme that opens City of Heretics, but it quickly morphs into one about religion. The cynical tone of Lowrance's prose matches the desperation of the novel's lost souls searching for redemption or a purpose. The injections of this theme never feel preachy, and the supernatural elements are just enough to keep you guessing. Especially with that infamous Ghost Cat.
If you want some no-BS, tough guy reading, this is the novel that will deliver. Lowrance has crafted a tight story that never drags. The action is swift, brutal and ubiquitous.
March 31, 2024
I have finished "City of Heretics" by Heath Lowrance. A bad guy comes out of jail and has scores to settle. Unfortunately, a bunch of religious lunatics get in the way. Lowrance wrote the gangster story with cynical and dry humor. The anti-hero Crowe is an unsympathetic asshole, but you have to share the thrill with him. This book is stamped with the mark "A Neo Noir Novel" on the cover and is an example of why I read in English. You can't find such books in Germany. One excerpt: “You had to sort of give it to the junkies, Crowe thought—these were people who’d given up on ambition. And who could blame them? Ambition is a bitch. It makes people do horrible things. People without ambition are the happiest people on earth.”
June 15, 2017
A bloody great read!
The best novel I've read in a long while. Heath Lowrance is one of the most exciting writers currently working. He never disappoints.
The best novel I've read in a long while. Heath Lowrance is one of the most exciting writers currently working. He never disappoints.
January 26, 2025
Review to be added soon.
November 3, 2014
I became a fan of Heath Lowrance's work about a year ago when I discovered his first novel, "The Bastard Hand." It was a fun, rambling crime noir with a sketchy preacher that put me in mind of "Night of the Hunter." I've continued to read Lowrance's work including his fine short story collection, "Dig Ten Graves" and his weird western tales of the mysterious gunman named Hawthorne. All good stuff. And now Lowrance has delivered his second novel, "City of Heretics."
This book delivers. Where "The Bastard Hand" was leisurely paced, "City of Heretics" is compact, fast and furious. It's a classic example of a vintage Gold Medal pulp novel for the e-publishing age. A gangster named Crowe, fresh from prison, returns to Memphis to set a few things straight. Before he can pull a trigger, events draw him in to a bloody mystery involving his old associates. Revenge will have to be postponed.
"City of Heretics" is a fast-paced book, tightly plotted. It's cold and brutal in all the right ways with a hardened, cynical tone that strikes just the right note. (I'm not sure, but Lowrance may have begun writing this book in the first person... there's a single line, maybe missed in editing, where the narration shifts to first person. If that's true, I think the switch to third person was a good idea.) Lowrance keeps the plot moving at a rapid clip and does a fine job of weaving all the threads of the past seamlessly into Crowe's present story.
If you like old school, tough guy crime novels with plenty of action, you won't do any better than "City of Heretics." It's the real deal.
This book delivers. Where "The Bastard Hand" was leisurely paced, "City of Heretics" is compact, fast and furious. It's a classic example of a vintage Gold Medal pulp novel for the e-publishing age. A gangster named Crowe, fresh from prison, returns to Memphis to set a few things straight. Before he can pull a trigger, events draw him in to a bloody mystery involving his old associates. Revenge will have to be postponed.
"City of Heretics" is a fast-paced book, tightly plotted. It's cold and brutal in all the right ways with a hardened, cynical tone that strikes just the right note. (I'm not sure, but Lowrance may have begun writing this book in the first person... there's a single line, maybe missed in editing, where the narration shifts to first person. If that's true, I think the switch to third person was a good idea.) Lowrance keeps the plot moving at a rapid clip and does a fine job of weaving all the threads of the past seamlessly into Crowe's present story.
If you like old school, tough guy crime novels with plenty of action, you won't do any better than "City of Heretics." It's the real deal.
August 16, 2013
I read this book earlier in the year but I've only just realised I didn't write any sort of review for it.
This is the second novel from Heath Lowrance. I loved the first which was noir with a twist of strange. City of Heretics is more old school noir. With a few slight changes it could have come from the 1930's or the 50s & 60s. That's a long winded way of saying it has the feeling of classic noir.
One of elements which gives it that classic feel if the lead character's compulsion. In some books it's greed or lust or maybe a bizarre fetish. In this case it's the perennial favourite: revenge. Crowe is just out of jail and only has one desire – to take down the people responsible for setting him up. It's the strength of this desire that makes the book compelling. The only consequences Crowe thinks about are whether or not they'll lead him closer to payback time. Because of that he goes against the crime gang he once worked for. And he doesn't walk away from any of this lightly.
Eventually the trail leads him out to the middle of nowhere after the leader of an obscure religious sect: The Church of Christ the Fisher. This is a sect which likes to convert psychopathic killers into the instruments of God. Not the sort of people you want catching you and locking you in the basement of their church. Then, maybe, Crowe's not the sort of person you want to be locking in your basement.
This is a great book and it's currently selling for less than £1
This is the second novel from Heath Lowrance. I loved the first which was noir with a twist of strange. City of Heretics is more old school noir. With a few slight changes it could have come from the 1930's or the 50s & 60s. That's a long winded way of saying it has the feeling of classic noir.
One of elements which gives it that classic feel if the lead character's compulsion. In some books it's greed or lust or maybe a bizarre fetish. In this case it's the perennial favourite: revenge. Crowe is just out of jail and only has one desire – to take down the people responsible for setting him up. It's the strength of this desire that makes the book compelling. The only consequences Crowe thinks about are whether or not they'll lead him closer to payback time. Because of that he goes against the crime gang he once worked for. And he doesn't walk away from any of this lightly.
Eventually the trail leads him out to the middle of nowhere after the leader of an obscure religious sect: The Church of Christ the Fisher. This is a sect which likes to convert psychopathic killers into the instruments of God. Not the sort of people you want catching you and locking you in the basement of their church. Then, maybe, Crowe's not the sort of person you want to be locking in your basement.
This is a great book and it's currently selling for less than £1
November 18, 2013
Heath Lowrance's City of Heretics is set in Memphis, Tennessee, and stars Crowe, a weathered ex-con, just released from a seven year stretch in prison, who gets caught back up in the seedy underbelly that got him sent away. The Old Man, who called all the shots, with Crowe as his left fist, is dead, and a new boss, Vitower, gives Crowe a job - to kill Peter Murke, a serial killer from a bizarre religious cult. And it seems that the only one singing the blues in Memphis this story is Crowe himself.
I enjoyed Lowrance's treatment of Crowe. He's not some kind of anti-hero, reluctantly drawn into a life of crime when he just wanted to get straight. No, nothing like that. Crowe was muscle before he went in, and he was muscle when he got out. He's made only slightly admirable when contrasted with all the other scum of Memphis. He also isn't some idealized bruiser, impervious to pain, impervious to having been locked up and out of his game a bit. And one the unique ways that Lowrence plays Crowe is in the fact that you are constantly hoping for more from him, but his every word, his actions, just show you what you should expect from a man like Crowe. It's realism in the flesh.
Lowrence's style is concrete; description through detail, no flowery tangents or prolonged metaphors. It's street. Now, given the title, City of Heretics, you expect a statement on religion. And the story makes a statement. But, and this is so important, the statement does not make the story.
I enjoyed Lowrance's treatment of Crowe. He's not some kind of anti-hero, reluctantly drawn into a life of crime when he just wanted to get straight. No, nothing like that. Crowe was muscle before he went in, and he was muscle when he got out. He's made only slightly admirable when contrasted with all the other scum of Memphis. He also isn't some idealized bruiser, impervious to pain, impervious to having been locked up and out of his game a bit. And one the unique ways that Lowrence plays Crowe is in the fact that you are constantly hoping for more from him, but his every word, his actions, just show you what you should expect from a man like Crowe. It's realism in the flesh.
Lowrence's style is concrete; description through detail, no flowery tangents or prolonged metaphors. It's street. Now, given the title, City of Heretics, you expect a statement on religion. And the story makes a statement. But, and this is so important, the statement does not make the story.
January 31, 2013
The strengths of City of Heretics are the principle character of Crowe, the sense of context and place, and the general story arc and hardboiled nature. Crowe is getting on in age, but is unwilling to hand in the towel, and despite not quite being as robust as he once was he has the wits and experience to hold his own. And he’s not about to let pain and poor odds get in his way, despite being put up against his own past and a gaggle of serial killers loosely controlled by a religious group. The narrative has a nice pace as it builds to bloody climax and I loved the closing couple of pages. That said, it took a little while before the book clicked into place and I was firmly hooked in; I had a hard time buying the character of Rad; and I found the prose a little uneven at times, sparkling in some places and a little flat in others. Admittedly, all minor stuff in the grand scheme of things. Overall, an entertaining hardboiled tale that turns into a real page turner with an ending that makes me want to read the sequel, assuming one is in the pipeline.
June 13, 2013
I liked "The Bastard Hand" by Heath Lowrance a lot, but I like this one even more. I found it even deeper, darker, and more unsettling. I could imagine Crowe at the center of a 1970s-era movie, but I found myself having a hard time seeing any actor portray him, which is good -- it means he's unique. I thought there was great variety among the supporting characters, and the Memphis/northern Mississippi locations are a boost too (as they were in "The Bastard Hand"). The story line has plenty of clever surprises, and at the heart of it is a scary theme that has something in common with "The Killing Kind" by John Connolly (which I thought was terrific -- though Lowrance is quicker in terms of plot movement).
January 27, 2014
I'd have to say that the first 1/2 of the book wouldn't have gotten 4 stars. Most of the actions by the protagonist were mundane and even a little odd and difficult to understand. But, then Mr. Lowrance hit his stride and the second half of the book was very good. Gripping even. As a couple of reviewers have stated, there is no one in this book to root for. Hardly anyone with redeeming qualities. However, that doesn't bother all readers. For me, I don't have to have that with every book. And while I didn't like this one quite as much as The Bastard Hand, it was still quite enjoyable, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes straight forward crime with just a hint of mystery.
December 9, 2013
I seem to be in the minority on this one, but this novel was disappointing to me in a couple of areas. First, I like to have at least one character in a story that I care about or root for. The characters in this novel were so unlikable I just didn't care after a while. Second, point of view changes threw me off a few times. The story would be third person; then it would abruptly shift to first person. I don't think these were intentional because they did not transition smoothly.
October 26, 2012
Definitely my favorite from Lowrance. Started this yesterday and finished this afternoon. Could not put it down. Hightly Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews