2025 Edgar Award for Best First Novel (nominee)
'Rarely has dysfunctional small-town life been so movingly portrayed.' Daily Express
'A dense, brilliantly rendered novel by a new master of Southern gothic' Kirkus
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. But his attempts to start again are wrecked when a brutal homicide claims the life of an old friend and he is forced to face the true reason for his return – to pay an old debt.
Then a man Will knows to be innocent is arrested for his friend's murder, and his boss seems all too happy to wrap up the case and move on. Will must weigh his personal guilt against his public duty and work alongside an unpredictable private detective to help him find the real killer. And, in facing a community that refuses to confront its history, perhaps he can atone for the past.
Genre: Mystery
'A dense, brilliantly rendered novel by a new master of Southern gothic' Kirkus
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. But his attempts to start again are wrecked when a brutal homicide claims the life of an old friend and he is forced to face the true reason for his return – to pay an old debt.
Then a man Will knows to be innocent is arrested for his friend's murder, and his boss seems all too happy to wrap up the case and move on. Will must weigh his personal guilt against his public duty and work alongside an unpredictable private detective to help him find the real killer. And, in facing a community that refuses to confront its history, perhaps he can atone for the past.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"Henry Wise's striking debut Holy City is a haunting story of crime and the myriad ways that one can be punished. Set deep in the rural expanse of southern Virginia, it's both a thriller and a dark fairy tale, filled with danger and menace, loss and longed-for redemption." - Megan Abbott
"Holy City is a hell of an impressive debut by a great new voice in crime fiction. Henry Wise balances a bold literary voice with authentic storytelling in the kind of gritty Southern thriller that's right down my alley. From page one, you'll be absolutely hooked into this evocative world." - Ace Atkins
"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
"Holy City is a debut to be relished. Henry Wise writes like he's been around forever, masterfully weaving together a tapestry of flattened forests and sprawling tobacco plantations, along with intimate portraits of the people who populate rural Southern Virginia. Rarely does a first-time novelist come along with such a bold, singular voice. I've got a feeling Henry's here to stay." - Eli Cranor
"A devastating first novel. . . Henry Wise arrives with a powerful new voice in the rarified air of truly literary crime fiction. Deeply rooted in the complex natural and cultural landscape of southern Virginia, Holy City is an engaging, original, and sometimes explosive take on what it can mean to go home again. Wise gives us a suspenseful crime story rich with lyrical flourishes and populated by tough, courageous, complicated people struggling with the power and burden of lifelong guilt, of unpayable debts. . . ultimately Holy City is a searching exploration of the fraught space between revenge and redemption where no choices are easy or even right. Not only wise, but brave as well, Holy City is a compelling and affecting read, not to be missed." - James A McLaughlin
"Henry Wise is a talented storyteller who brings a poet's ear to the southern landscape he knows so well. The dialogue crackles with authenticity and the characters are drawn with great compassion." - Chris Offutt
"Holy City is a hell of an impressive debut by a great new voice in crime fiction. Henry Wise balances a bold literary voice with authentic storytelling in the kind of gritty Southern thriller that's right down my alley. From page one, you'll be absolutely hooked into this evocative world." - Ace Atkins
"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
"Holy City is a debut to be relished. Henry Wise writes like he's been around forever, masterfully weaving together a tapestry of flattened forests and sprawling tobacco plantations, along with intimate portraits of the people who populate rural Southern Virginia. Rarely does a first-time novelist come along with such a bold, singular voice. I've got a feeling Henry's here to stay." - Eli Cranor
"A devastating first novel. . . Henry Wise arrives with a powerful new voice in the rarified air of truly literary crime fiction. Deeply rooted in the complex natural and cultural landscape of southern Virginia, Holy City is an engaging, original, and sometimes explosive take on what it can mean to go home again. Wise gives us a suspenseful crime story rich with lyrical flourishes and populated by tough, courageous, complicated people struggling with the power and burden of lifelong guilt, of unpayable debts. . . ultimately Holy City is a searching exploration of the fraught space between revenge and redemption where no choices are easy or even right. Not only wise, but brave as well, Holy City is a compelling and affecting read, not to be missed." - James A McLaughlin
"Henry Wise is a talented storyteller who brings a poet's ear to the southern landscape he knows so well. The dialogue crackles with authenticity and the characters are drawn with great compassion." - Chris Offutt
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