Thanks to @aaknopf, @netgalley, and @shelf.awareness for this copy of "West Heart Kill".

It's a playful and quirky detective story where the reader is directly addressed and pulled into the investigation.

The inventive format is fun to read yet pays homage to the classic detective genre.

An intellectually intriguing concept that turns a typically entertaining genre into an absolute slog.

The interrogation chapters were well done, quickly paced and revealing and filled with covert characterization, but everything else seemed to *want* to annoy the reader. It's like being stuck in a conversation at a party with the most obnoxious, self-aggrandizing person in the room.

Points to West Heart Kill for a unique writing style - unfortunately it really wasn’t for me and I decided to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

Meta on meta and meta and at times almost TOO smart for its own good, but McDorman brings the writing in check with the plot and the sly, twisty sense of humor. Layers on layers here, it's a brilliant book and in all honesty one of the smartest things I've read in a long time!

Equal parts fiction, nonfiction and frustration.

While I really enjoyed the mix of fiction and nonfiction in this book, I was underwhelmed by the ending. I guess I was hoping for more of a traditional mystery ending? With Poirot using his brilliant little grey cells to explain to my less than brilliant little grey cells what the heck had happened 😆

Regardless, this book was a very fun way to learn some mystery history ❤️

Synopsis:
An isolated hunt club. A raging storm. Three corpses, discovered within four days. A cast of monied, scheming, unfaithful characters.

When private detective Adam McAnnis joins an old college friend for the Bicentennial weekend at the exclusive West Heart club in upstate New York, he finds himself among a set of not-entirely-friendly strangers. Then the body of one of the members is found at the lake’s edge; hours later, a major storm hits. By the time power is restored on Sunday, two more people will be dead…

"West Heart Kill" by Dann McDorman takes readers on a chilling ride through the exclusive and enigmatic world of the West Heart club in upstate New York. McDorman skillfully crafts a mystery that unfolds against the backdrop of an isolated hunt club, a raging storm, and a cast of characters dripping with wealth, deception, and hidden motives.

The protagonist, private detective Adam McAnnis, adds a layer of relatability to the narrative. As he navigates the murky waters of old friendships and new acquaintances, the reader is drawn into a web of intrigue and suspicion. McDorman's character development is commendable, with each member of the ensemble cast harboring secrets that keep you guessing until the final pages.

The setting plays a crucial role in creating the atmospheric tension that permeates the novel. The isolation of the hunt club and the relentless storm contribute to a sense of foreboding, amplifying the suspense as the body count rises. The author's ability to evoke a palpable sense of unease enhances the overall reading experience.

The pacing is well-executed, with the discovery of each corpse propelling the story forward. McDorman skillfully plants seeds of doubt and intrigue, leading readers down unexpected paths. The resolution of the mystery is satisfying, with twists that add depth to the narrative.

The dialogue and interactions between characters are sharp and engaging, providing insight into the complex dynamics at play within the tight-knit world of the West Heart club. The author excels at creating an atmosphere where trust is a scarce commodity, and alliances shift with the wind.

While the novel delivers on its promise of a gripping whodunit, there are moments when the intricacies of the plot might challenge some readers. However, for those who enjoy unraveling a mystery with a diverse cast of characters and a unique setting, "West Heart Kill" is a compelling read.

In conclusion, Dann McDorman's "West Heart Kill" is a solid addition to the mystery genre. With its atmospheric setting, well-drawn characters, and a plot that keeps you guessing, the novel earns a respectable 4 stars. McDorman's ability to blend suspense, deception, and the complexities of human relationships makes "West Heart Kill" a compelling read for mystery enthusiasts. Recommended for those who relish a dark and atmospheric whodunit with a clever twist.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

“West Heart Kill”, by Dann McDorman had the potential to be a good murder mystery book. Unfortunately the authors choice to write the book in such a way that the reader was given a lesson in mystery writing while reading the book was not appealing to this reader.

Dann McDorman has written a mystery with all of the elements that you would expect. There is a private detective, a remote location, an incoming storm and a cast of characters, most of whom are hiding something. What makes this so different are the observations and explanations concerning the structure of a mystery and methods introduced by well known mystery writers that he inserts throughout the book. While this is interesting and informative, it does distract from the story. McDorman also points out that not all mysteries are resolved and this story is one of them. Anyone looking for all of the Ts to be crossed and the Is dotted may be disappointed. While I enjoyed McDorman’s writing, this is not for everyone. I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for providing this book for my review.

WEST HEART KILL by Dann McDorman is a truly unusual mystery offering and an impressive debut. McDorman, an Emmy-nominated TV news producer, is clearly a talented and thoughtful writer. He speaks directly to the reader throughout the text and ultimately brings the reader into the story in order to investigate multiple murders. The setting is a remote hunting lodge which is under financial pressure. At the request of a member, a private investigator arrives, unearths some possible motives, and soon has a murder to solve. WEST HEART KILL is a LibraryReads selection for October and will appeal especially to fans of Horowitz's The Word is Murder series. This is a novel that will have readers forming strong opinions – many, like me, will appreciate its inventiveness. Others, however, will find that it differs too much from the mystery "formula" and prefer a more conventional tale. Give it a try and see what you think.

This was a fun murder mystery that felt like reading a book and a script in one. The main character and sometimes narrator brings the scene to life, and combined with the remainder of the story telling makes you feel like you’re having a conversation with the novel like you might with a friend. 4/5

OKAY WOW???? Y’all. I have read a lot of murder mysteries in my day (mostly Agatha, haha) but I’ve NEVER read one like this!

This is, hands down, one of my favorite books of the year. It is so engaging and unique and I know it will never truly leave me.

I love meta stories like this. Ones that are self aware and break the forth wall and aren’t afraid to test new formats and break the ~laws of writing. This book had all that and more. It sucked me in from page one and didn’t let me go, even after I’d read the last page.

And the mystery? *chef’s kiss* This book could’ve been all talk and no action but it was not. The mystery was expertly plotted and the reveal was so fascinating.

This is a smart book, for smart readers and it’s been a long time coming. I don’t think I’ll ever read murder mysteries quite the same after this, though I will continue to read many more. I love that this referenced so many and gave me many new recommendations to read.

Y’all I’m just obsessed with this! If you also love a good murder mystery, please pick this up!!

And thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me to read this gem in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5!

I don’t think I’ve ever read a meta-crime fiction book before, but I ended up absolutely falling in love with West Heart Kill!

McDorman has taken everything you love about classic crime fiction and locked room mysteries with a conversation about it amidst the story. Does that make sense? It took me a bit to get into, so just roll with it! McDorman’s takes and research into the genre were very interesting and while a few felt a bit rambley, I genuinely enjoyed taking a break from the actual story to read them.

West Heart Kill is a very niche and unique read that I think won’t work for everyone, but it’s extremely important to know the premise and style before walking in. For me it was just an all around fantastic experience that kept me coming back for more.

The actual case being investigated within the pages of West Heart Kill was classic locked room vibes. I loved the isolated setting, the rich people problems, and the drama!

West Heart Kill is simultaneously an engrossing mystery and a dissection of the mystery genre. On one level, it’s a conventional variation on the “And Then There Were None” trope. Private Detective Adam McAnnis is on a case and finagles an invitation from a college friend to the 4th of July celebration at West Heart Kill, an exclusive lakeside hunting club in upstate New York. It’s seen better days but the descendants of the founding families continue to come to enjoy the lake and illicit hunting.

As soon as McAnnis arrives, it’s obvious these are not happy families. One man kills another’s dog and some suspect it was deliberate, revenge for a tragic accident that happened a few years back. McAnnis is clearly more than a casual visitor, his observant questioning riles some guests and attracts others. A torrential storm hits the area, washing out the bridge and cutting off contact. A woman’s body is found by the lakeshore, but it’s unclear whether it’s suicide or murder. However, the next body to fall leaves no doubt. Nor is there any doubt about the next murder.

West Heart Kill is one of the most fun, and direct, examples of metafiction I can think of. From the outset, we are part of the narrative as Dann McDorman treats us to the history, rules, and conventions of the mystery genre. He involves the Reader directly, demanding our participation in the solution.

I want to run down the street with this book hollering “Read this book!” to everyone I meet. It’s simply brilliant. I loved it from start to finish, a finish that surprised me completely.

I received a copy of West Heart Kill from the publisher through NetGalley.

West Heart Kill at Knopf | Penguin Random House
Dann McDorman on Twitter

"This murder mystery, like all murder mysteries, begins with the evocation of what the reader understands to be its atmosphere, the accumulation of small, curated details to create a shared myth of mood, time, and place—though not all at once, of course, that is important. The writer of murder, like all writers, must be a miser, conceding revelations bit by bit; for every novel is a puzzle, and every reader a sleuth."

So begins the oddly fun whodunit West Heart Kill. As Agatha Christie taught us a century ago, a narrator needn’t be telling the reader the truth, nor must the detective himself. But surely the omniscient narrator has no ulterior motives. Right?

The story centers around a July 4th weekend at a lake surrounded by cabins and cottages all belonging to one extended family. The protagonist, Adam, is a PI hired by someone at the family gathering who is afraid they are going to be murdered. What seems like a dysfunctional 1970s family spat turns into murder and isolation in the woods of Upstate New York. A massive storm comes in, taking away electricity, the bridge, phone lines, and a way out.

"Decades of caretakers had planted and pruned the wilderness to maximize the hunters’ returns, cultivating food plots with salt licks and clover and radishes for the deer, and strawberries and oats and chicory for the bears. Visitors to West Heart walking through the southern trails would often remark on what appeared to be pleasant fields of wild blueberry and currant and mint, but which were, in truth, carefully tended death traps." ~Pg 84

McDorman uses a cheeky style of inserting explanations about tropes — the closed circle, the unreliable narrator, the red herring — used by murder mysteries in the past. These winks are fun for the avid mystery reader like myself, but I do wonder if they would work for a relative newcomer.

The mystery itself is less satisfying that the journey of solving it, though that is so often the way in the genre, although this solution may have been one wink too many. Still, it is very possible to go in thinking of it as an enjoyable romp and expect nothing more. The ending is a bit of a let down amidst all the true cleverness of the previous 200 pages, though.

So, this was a tough one for me to review, and that is why it has taken me forever to actually write this. I did enjoy the story: the mystery was interesting, the characters were well-crafted, and the setting was drawn wonderfully. Nothing to really complain about with the actual story. It wasn’t the greatest story I’ve ever read, but it did make me want to know what really happened.

What I found out through reading this novel, however, is that I cannot stand intrusive narrators. Unreliable is one thing; intrusive is a whole other bag of I-don’t-like-it. When the narrator is constantly butting in to tell you what should be happening in a traditional mystery or what clues you probably missed or whatever, it throws me completely out of the story world and just annoys me. If you like someone telling you how you should be reading a story or what you should be expecting or thinking, this book is for you. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I enjoyed the intrusiveness of the narrator, so that is the main reason why I can only give this book a rather generous three stars.

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Thanks to Knopf Publishers and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this novel for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my very own. 🙂

This novel is really different and the style did not appeal to me at all. The author seems to be explaining the concept of a murder mystery as he, in fact, writes the mystery. I felt like I was receiving a lecture about how to write a mystery. This is a novel for people interested in the construction technique of writing a mystery rather than just reading a well crafted one. I was disappointed the all too often used storm cutting the people off from the rest of the world was a part of the action. And then the end, or rather a sort of non-end, was really unsatisfactory.

McDorman is a clever author and this is unique in its style. The literary asides were not for me. The novel did not keep my attention as I was looking for a mystery, not a book about mysteries. It would be interesting to read a traditional mystery by this author. He is clever and has the ability to write a captivating mystery, I think. This one was just not for me.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

I was so excited to read this but really struggled to get through it. I even checked out a library copy since I’d set aside my e-copy to see if that would help. The cover is really great, I love the title, and I love the idea behind the story but this just wasn’t for me.

So first, this preface: I am a true lover of the mystery genre: from cozies, psychological, classic, to paranormal- I’m always up for some good ‘ol “whodunit” mind cardio. So when I saw “West Heart Kill” was a closed door mystery set in my home state of NY- I was all the way there (and many thanks to NetGalley & friends for the ARC!)
Unfortunately, I did something I seldomly do, and abandoned ship at 25% through. While I do admire the author’s avante garde take, and appreciated the Brechtian (meta) influence, the constant breaking of the fourth wall, mixed with the confusing narrative style kept me from becoming truly immersed in the story.
And immersion is my favorite part of this genre…and reading in general!
So, while this wasn’t for me, I do think it might well be appreciated by other mystery writers. As in, you know that scene in film/ tv where we see the white board and all of the red strings connecting the suspects with words such as “motive?,” “opportunity?”, and “alibi?” scrawled next to suspects’ photos?
That is what this read felt like- the inside of the writers’ head as they constructed the mystery. So, while other writers may get a kick out of this, and be able to relate to the inner monologuing of a fellow author, I think the rest of us would prefer not to “see behind the curtain,” but rather remain a captive audience, with the fourth wall well preserved.
That being said, I would be open to reading another book by this author, whose cleverness and uniqueness were not as lost on me as the plot, unfortunately, was.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an advanced reader's copy. I was not able to finish this book. While very clever and well written, the style was not for me. The style of narration was distracting to me. I am sure many will enjoy it!

When I started this book, I thought it was going to be a big hit for me. I enjoyed the chapters on the history of mystery writing and writers. I liked the meta-aspects, the writer talking to the reader and breaking the fourth wall. But eventually this just became too gimmicky. The book was obviously trying so hard to be cool and different that it stopped being an entertaining story. There were weird POV switches. I think on one page we had 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person. It was jarring and disrupted the flow of the story. It also kept me from connecting to any of the characters. And I truly hated the ending. The play felt like the author was too lazy to figure out a way to bring all the characters to a confrontation and I still don't know who the killer was, after reading the ending twice. Sorry, but if your reader doesn't understand the reveal then there's something wrong with the story.

This had potential, but sadly it tried to do too much and failed at pretty much everything.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.