This genre-bending novel (western, historical fiction, gender roles) is centered on a group of straight, queer, and transgender women who have been exploited or abused by men and form an outlaw gang in late 19th century Colorado. It is also set in the height of the women’s suffrage movement. For some, like Hattie LaCour and Margaret Parker, who were run off their ranch by an exploitative, greedy businessmen, there are few choices for survival and keeping their families together: marriage, prostitution, or turning outlaw. The novel is written as if it were a true story rescued from the dustbin of history and unfolds through a collection of fictional W.P.A. oral history recordings, newspaper clippings, the diary entries of one of the main characters, and letters, newspaper clippings. While I ordinarily find this device lazy (e.g. Daisy Jones and the Six), in this novel it worked for me. ( )

I thought this was a great book. The main story takes place in the late 1800's, in the wild west. The story is told from a lot of different points of view, which really adds to the story. The story is about a gang of very successful and unique Outlaws. They are all women. In addition to being incredibly smart and resourceful, they have the advantage that no one believes women could ever be Outlaws; also, men of the time were too prideful to admit to being bested by a woman. The story is introduced by an historian who uncovered snippets of their story over several years, until it began to fall into place; Garet, the woman who is considered the main leader; Claire, a woman who was held up by the gang, and who begged to join them and Hattie, who also was a key figure in the group, but she is telling it as she is looking back from near the end of her life.
Garet came to the West from England during her Honeymoon and she and her husband fell in love with the country and stayed. Garet is an exception horsewoman, and had a successful ranch, taming horses, until her husband passed away. While her husband was alive, their ranch soon became known for being a refuge for those who needed help. When her husband died, she had a band of loyal friends. The story the unfolds, is fascinating. This is a good read. ( )

I don’t believe I have ever read a western featuring a gang of outlaws that just happened to be women. Heresy is exactly that and the story captured my interest from the very beginning.

Written in journal style and giving the personal accounts of three different women involved, the story follows the years during which a gang of women robbed banks and stagecoaches and never got the credit, due to the fact that no one believed women were capable of such a thing.

Even though the book is about criminals, it’s a fairly clean read, with no gory violence or explicit sex. In fact, at times I detected a bit of slapstick humor in the writing.

Heresy is a very entertaining read, although it seemed to drag a bit near the end. This is the fourth novel that I have read by Melissa Lenhardt and this is my favorite thus far. Readers who like westerns and strong women will enjoy this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give an honest review. ( )

Author here. I love this book and can’t wait to share it with you on 10/2/18. ( )