Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for gifting me a digital ARC of this debut novel by Dann McDorman - 4 stars!

Upstate NY at a private, isolated hunting club. Add a raging storm and a cast full of rich, unfaithful, scheming characters. End up with three corpses within four days.

Wow - this has to be hands-down the most unique murder mystery I remember reading! Taking place during the Bicentennial weekend, this book reads sort of like a screenplay, where the reader is part of the production. I loved all the side bits about the history of the genre and more. It was a tad confusing to me for some reason, but that may just have been where my head was at when reading. Because there's nothing better to me than discovering a new, creative way to tell a story - and this author nailed that! Can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Wealthy city dwellers retreat to exclusive West Heart to hunt, swim, fish and relax. And, quite frankly, drink a lot and have affairs. Private detective Adam McAnnis visits West Heart over the July 4th bicentennial weekend, finagling an invitation from an old friend. But his reason for going isn’t for fun; Adam has been hired to do some investigating.

Then the bodies start piling up. One is found in the water; another is shot. And everyone at the club is stuck there because a massive storm makes the roads impassable. Adam takes it upon himself to investigate the deaths.

Of course, as he interviews people and adds that information to what he’d been gathering before the deaths, everyone seems to have something to hide. Who will die next, and who will be revealed as the guilty party?

This novel isn’t a straightforward whodunit. The writer is always switching up the point of view and the method of telling the story. And he regularly inserts himself into the narrative to share all kinds of information about murder mysteries, famous real and fictional mystery books, famous writers and their styles, and so on. It’s a fun conceit if you’re up for that kind of thing, which I was. I was just disappointed by the ending. The plot built up fairly well, mostly setting up for a satisfying denouement, but then it fell short. I saw what the writer was trying to do, but it didn’t quite work. I saw it compared to The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (or at least “If you’re a fan of 7 ½ Deaths, you’ll love West Heart Kill!”), but it is not the same. And I didn’t love it. Clever but it lacked the punch I was expecting.

If you're looking for a uniquely written, entertaining mystery, this is the one for ypu!

I wasn't sure initially how I was going to feel about yhe writing style of this book because it's so different from a traditional writing style, but it really grew on me and I had a good time reading this book!

The only thing I didn't care for too much was the very end, or "the reveal". It just kind of felt like the author wrote himself into a corner, and this was the only solution he could come up with. That doesn't mean I hated it, but I really wish it was different.

Overall, I'm really looking forward to see what else McDormann comes up with! He seems like a great new voice in the mystery genre!

Dann McDorman presents an ambitious debut with his novel West Heart Kill. This book tells the story of a private detective’s visit to a remote hunting club. But at the same time, McDorman gets a bit meta and breaks from the story to give occasional commentary about the detective genre. This makes it feel like this book is both part of the genre, but also subverting the genre at the same time.

Our detective, McAnnis, has come with an old friend to West Heart, a private hunting club with a storied past and a wide range of characters. It’s Independence Day and nearly every cabin is filled with revelers. McAnnis wastes no time snooping around the clubhouse, meeting various residents, and making everyone suspicious.

Soon there are some accidents, some midnight rendezvous, some deaths, and one big storm. The club is cut off from the rest of the world, trapping all the residents with a killer. Motives and suspects abound.

The point of view shifts throughout this book, which serves to leave the reader a little unsure of where they stand. Once we leave McAnnis’ POV, we never find out whose POV we’re seeing the rest of the story from. Then, in the final act, McDorman turns the narrative into a play starring all the main characters. This is where many of the secrets are revealed, through a series of arguments and explanations the characters give each other.

Ultimately, I think this was an interesting book with a unique concept. The commentary sections of the book were sometimes entertaining, but otherwise distracting. They pull the reader out of the story and include references to other mystery novels (references which are only effective if the reader is familiar with the works referenced). And after all that, the end of the book felt supremely dissatisfying. It felt as though McDorman was instructing me on how detective stories work, telling me this wasn’t like all the others, but also expecting me to solve the mystery myself. It could be an educational re-read now that I know what to expect, but with a TBR like mine, I don’t know when I’d ever get back to it.

10 out of 10. Absolutely loved it. Best kind of mystery novel. Nailed it.

Thank you netgalley!!!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I really wanted to like this. It is VERY unique, It can be quite witty. It's a quick read and good for long flight...etc. The ending disappointed and the character development was not the best. This was a debut and I expect the author will work on his craft. The style was varied; this may be off-putting for some.

I read some reviews of this book fairly early on and disagreed with a complaint of some in that I was thoroughly enjoying the smarty pants narrator’s erudite asides and conceits. Sad to say, my review score plummeted from five stars to three on the last page. I was cheated in my expectations! Tsk, tsk, Mr.McDorman.

While I liked the story I did not like the authors writing style or interjection of mystery lessons.

A locked room mystery, in the form of an exclusive hunting club that is cut off from the rest of the world on the 4th of July by a particularly nasty storm. An invited guest, a private detective, is there for reasons not made clear to us at the beginning, and soon finds himself with 4 deaths to contend with. Everyone here has a history with each other, secrets and cheating and lying are the norm. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, and decided it would be the perfect read for 9 hours of flying. While the mystery and characters were interesting, the alternating chapters explaining how mysteries should follow certain rules, and the author explaining what we, as readers, want and look for in mysteries got tiresome after a while, and for me definitely took away from the story. After having had enough of it on the plane, I was interested enough to finish it up at home. Three and a half stars for me.

Thank you @aaknopf for the opportunity to read and share my honest review. ⁣
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Quick and Dirty⁣
-murder mystery ⁣
-locked room ⁣
-lots of characters ⁣
-unique writing style⁣
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Thoughts⁣
This is a no from me. This ode to the murder mystery genre is an assortment of narrative styles, perspectives, and an all-around mashup. It’s Knives Out meets Wes Anderson with intense call-and-response passages that got old. If you’re a hardcore mystery lover then this might be for you. If not, you might want to skip it. With many callbacks to the mystery writers throughout history, this is more of a study than a novel. The author breaks the third wall often to describe the mechanism being used to drive the plot forward, which is interesting but over time becomes tiresome. I did enjoy the characters and, at times, the overall adventure of the book, but in the end, it was too chaotic, repetitive, and on the nose for my taste.

I had no idea what to expect from this book, but I love a good mystery, so it seemed like a good one on which to take a chance. It wasn't a good one. It was a GREAT one. It is clever, ingeniously-crafted, and manages to be an excellent mystery while also turning the genre on its head - and even poking some fun at the typical conventions. McDorman has written a must-read for mystery fans, and I can't wait to see what else he might have up his sleeve.

Not the whodunnit we want, but the whodunnit we deserved. Doesn't totally separate from similar titles in the genre, but an undeniably fun time.

I wasn't able to get into the story and it was very confusing to me. It just wasn't my type of book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun spin on mysteries for sleuths bringing the reader in as a part of the mystery, and with many a reference to the history of murder mysteries. We enter West Heart, a reclusive wealthy spot for summering, winters, and hunting - and a few different events appear to be separate... but are they?

This was a quirky read - the characters weren't really likable. There were breadcrumbs along the way to keep me reading, as well as some surprises along the way!

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and to Netgalley for the ARC.

West Heart Country Club is located at an abandoned hunting lodge. Club members go there to get away from the grind of everyday life. The rules are pretty lax, the alcohol flows all day, and members don’t always fall asleep in their own beds. One member invites his old college roommate, who also happens to be a private investigator. He also has a vendetta of his own. Then, people start dying.

I loved the whodunit aspect of this book. The vibe is very Knives Out. However, there is also a ‘let me tell you how to read a mystery’ aspect. The author inserts paragraphs and chapters on how the story is going, what the reader should be thinking, etc. I didn’t like that at all.

This seems to be a trend where the author tries to tell the reader how to read the book. I’ve read two books that do this and neither of them have worked for me.

You're going to love this one or hate it, and I think there will be very little in between. If you're fascinated by all the conventions of the mystery genre and how writers play with them, this one will be for you- and that's why I loved it. Every time you think you know what to expect, this story upends again, maybe with a winking, meta explanation of the genre or a detour into the background. This is such a clever debut, and I had so much fun reading it. I can't wait to recommend this one more!

This book took a minute for me to get into it but when I did boy did I. I liked it a whole lot more than I expected. This was definitely not a traditional murder mystery and the author included the reader in the mystery. I thought that was a new concept that I’ve not encountered before. However saying that, I am mad at this book. I am mad and I can’t stop thinking about it. This book is living rent free in my head and I’m mad about it. When an author can have that effect on the reader I say well done! I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

West Heart Kill breaks the fourth wall by talking directly to the reader. About what you may ask. About how mystery authors have conventions that readers have come to expect. It is implied that the author speaking to us is about to defy these conventions (as Agatha Christie famously did in several of her early novels). Does this play out or is the author himself an “unreliable narrator”? It was fun to find out.

Veteran mystery readers will adore this unconventional approach to writing a mystery book, as I did. West Heart Kill is highly recommended for those types of readers. For those new to mysteries, this book will not be as fun though it still contains a good mystery. I loved it so it’s 5 stars and a favorite.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

The story line was intriguing to me , however the novel was not. The narrative style was confusing as it was done in multiple styles. Very disappointing ending. Components were there to make it a good murder mystery but was spoiled with the writing style. I received this novel from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

DNF. My aplogies. I had a long-term family emergency and was not able to finish the book, although I was interested in knowing whodunit. I did appreciate the parts where it mentioned other books in the mystery genre, and the writing style was very unique.