I love a book that does not shy away from tricky topics. This one does not blink. Wise wrote a novel that feels incredibly honest but entertaining from start to finish. I am glad to have found another author I enjoy but saddened that this was his first book so I didn't have many more to dive into! Because of Holy City, though, Wise will be at the top of my "to read" lists for any new releases.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

Sorry but this book was not for me. I DNFed if about 20-30% in. I really wanted to like it. It’s a me thing not the book.

I 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%

4.5&#9733s
“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 at 35%. I was sold by the SA Cosby blurb on this book and went into it with high hopes. Unfortunately the plot is too slow moving for me and the writing style is not for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

Holy City by Henry Wise is a miind-blowinglyy briliant debut, not just for the outstanding storytelling and dark southern style, but also the noteworthy narration by Chris Henry Coffey. So much so, that this book is going on to my Audiobook Re-Listen list. That is just how good this book was

The MMC is Will Seems, a deputy Sherriff who returns home to Southern Virginia, to a small, rural community that keeps to itself in a world gone by. Deeply religious and isolated, Wise has created a fascinating cast of characters that are perfectly aligned to addressing the many issues raised in the book; poverty, abandonment, bereavement, addiction, homicide, crime, destitution and desolation.

A key aspect is Will Seems relationship with Bennico Watts, a female detective from Richmond, hired by the family of Tom Janders. Their plan is to go undercover, portraying Bennico as his lover, however, in this small rural community, a mixed race couple is a rarity and the subject of incredulity. Also, his relationship with Sam, his old school friend who is struggling with addiction and who is manipulating Will to keep getting a fix. The dynamics of these two relationships intertwined with the back story of Will, Tom and Sam, as well as the death of Will's mother make for an intricate, immersive and very compelling storyline

I would highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who loves a good thriller/ Southern Gothic/ Crime novel. I was utterly rapt

Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media | Recorded Books, the author Henry Wise and narrator Chris Henry Coffey for this stunning ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off right in the thick of a crime. I really liked how twisted and convoluted the crime was and how I had figured out who the real killer was and how that persons perspective was shown. This book had a lot of characters and was a great small town mystery.

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.

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.

This book is crime drama meets Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Henry Wise takes his small town mystery set outside of Richmond , Virginia and explores the effects of race and poverty have on bringing a murderer to justice. Will, the sheriff’s deputy is back in his hometown when he gets called to a fire, later determined murder at Tom’s house. Zeke is accused of murder, but no one in town believes it could be him. The sheriff and coroner are too eager to lay the blame at his feet and stop the investigation there. However, the black community pulls their resources so that Tom’s mother can hire a private detective from Richmond. The P.I. & Will work together to uncover the real murderer.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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 interference 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 was initially interested in this book based on the SA Cosby blurb. I found this book to be super atmospheric. The author wrote with such vivid, beautiful language that it was easy to be right in this plot. I found the characters to be complex and not always likable. The mystery was intriguing and also infuriating. I did find the middle of the story to drag a bit, which left me wanting to speed through some. However, this will be a great book for fans of southern fiction that love complicated small town dynamics.
The narrator did such a great job at capturing the complexities of this story in his performance.

I felt like this novel transported me to rural Virgina and I felt like I was watching the story unfold in front of me. This book is about a deputy trying to solve a murder the sheriff wants to pin on an innocent man. The writing is this book is overall engaging and the characters are well written. Towards the end of the book I did feel like it could have been shorter overall.

Holy City by Henry Wise is a gritty noir that was just a bit confusing but still interesting. I thought it was well-written. However, as I was listening to the audiobook version, I found myself confused at times of what was going on. I thought it came to a good resolution at the end but it was a tad messy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Chris Henry Coffey who does a great job! His southern accent was perfect for this one.

Will Seems has returned to his hometown as a deputy sheriff and has a murder to solve. Will has lots of reasons not to return home including a distant sister, an absent father, a dead mother and the poverty of his rural, Southern Virginia hometown. However, the man who has supported Will the most is accused of murder, and Will is determined to clear his name despite the attempts of the Sheriff to quickly close the case.

I found this to be a good book to listen to but hard to get engaged with. While the writing is solid, the plot is a little flat. This is still a worthwhile read.

When Will Seems returns to rural Southern Virginia as a deputy sheriff, he realizes that a place where he once called home, is anything but. Tom Janders, an old friend of Will's, is murdered and all of the evidence seems to point to a man whose innocence Will is certain of. Will Seems traverses through old hardships, unhealed wounds of the past, and a town who hasn't forgotten the transgressions of old.

In one of the best debuts I've read to date, Henry Wise weaves a brilliant tale of small town, southern noir. It touches every piece of what it is like to be from a small town -- where you're defined as you were as a child, where you're known for your follies, where gossip reigns supreme. Holy City infused a detective mystery with a police procedural and out popped an enthralling, captivating southern noir thriller that kept me reading early into the morning.

This was one of those novels that touched my heart, reached deep into my soul, and tugged at my emotions. Wise has crafted a beautiful novel, replete with all of the trademarks of a fantastic thriller.

Holy City is a bleak exploration of the small town desperation and where it drives people in desperate circumstances. A mysterious murder and fire unearths long-buried suspicions, hidden addictions, and other tensions. It was difficult to latch on to any of the flawed and limited characters or get invested in the stakes for me on this one. I found it was missing many pieces around why the characters made the choices they did or especially had the opinions and preconceptions about each other. There was definitely some potential, especially in characters like the private investigator thrust upon the scene.

📚 2024 #43: “Holy City” by Henry Wise

📕 This book tells the story of a man's return to his hometown after spending 10 years away. Will Seems is working as deputy sheriff and trying to find where he fits into this rural town in Southern Virginia when things take a sudden turn with an apparent homicide. Will is now faced with investigating the crime, putting the pieces together on a case that the rest of the town seems to want to put to rest as quickly as possible.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5: This is Wise's first novel and I'm impressed by the story overall. The characters and their relationships felt nuanced and real; I only wish some had been fleshed out a little more. As interesting as the plot was, I found it hard at times to stay fully engaged in the story. There was a lack of tension-building and suspense that I'm used to, but at the same time it felt fitting with the slow, no-fuss setting of the rural South. I'd definitely consider reading future work's by this author and the audiobook narrator was great!

🤓 You should read this if you enjoyed "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver or "The Reformatory" by Tananarive Due.

🥰 Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Henry Wise's debut novel, HOLY CITY, immediately got my attention because of SA Cosby's blurb - I will literally read anything that SA Cosby recommends. Will Seems, a newly-returned deputy sheriff to his rural Southern Virginia hometown, finds himself entangled in a murder investigation that dredges up long-buried memories. Will has family trauma that stems prior to his exile from the town. He is confronted by his no-contact sister, his absentee father, the memories of his deceased mother, and the struggles of his impoverished hometown, Will has plenty of reasons to walk away. However, when a man whose family welcomed him with open arms is accused of the crime, Will becomes determined to clear his name, despite the Sheriff’s efforts to close the case swiftly.

This book is very much a character-driven novel and was not what I was expecting. HOLY CITY isn't a bad book by any means, but I prefer plot-driven mysteries over character-driven ones. This book will be great for fans of Chris Whitaker. I am middle of the road when it comes to this book because I appreciated how the story developed, but it just wasn't for me.

Holy City is a superb debut of Southern noir. Flawed characters, many grossly so, create a sense of place where coming back stirs up the memories of the past complete with all the feelings. I enjoyed the well written novel and the audio reader was the perfect choice, soothing voice that help ground you in place. I did feel the tension that race played throughout the book, but it does seem like you have to remind yourself while listening that this town is still dealing with their opinions since there are plantations and old school thinking still around. Grab this one if you enjoy SA Crosby who also seems to have loved this one!