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

I had high hopes for a murder mystery set at an old school hunting lodge. My hopes were dashed by the off-putting narration and discombobulated structure. This wasn’t just a wink and a nod breaking of the fourth wall, it was a disruptive mansplaining of how detective novels have worked throughout history. This is as close as I’ve come to DNF in years. Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor along with NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

The book is an interesting approach to storytelling. Initially the reader is told the story from the perspective of the detective, then the narrator becomes an unidentified storyteller and it ends using a play as a storytelling device. This switch of narration detracted from the story. It was an interesting approach but didn’t work for me.

Great mystery! I loved the setting.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy

This one wasn't for me. I thought the premise was super interesting, but ultimately i ended up really disliking the "meta" and "fourth wall" themes in this.

New and innovative--the voice on this and the meta approach was so fresh and kept me interested. Loved!

West Heart Kill is an interesting piece of writing, containing well-worn murder mystery tropes with a unique structure. It's not a straight-forward mystery story, but the cast of characters and setting are plucked straight from the classics. An old-money hunting club contains decades of secrets and scandal, so of course bad weather traps club members and guests in for some murder. These well-known tropes are mixed with meta-fictional elements. The novel switches tenses, narrators, and story structure, while peppering in comments and asides both about and through the fourth wall. This is a divisive mix, so I could see readers either loving or hating it.

I'm a fan of classic mysteries, so those elements were a particularly enjoyable reading experience. And I love seeing creativity with structure and commentary within a book, so the meta elements were right up my alley. I started the novel and absolutely loved it, until the last part of the book.

I was enjoying the book until the structure shifted again, radically, and this broke the magic for me. I've read my share of great books with horrible endings, which usually leave me angry and disappointed. West Heart Kill wasn't like that. I didn't end the book infuriated or upset, but it definitely altered my liking of the book on the whole. I'm finding myself unable to articulate my feelings on it, though. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it either. I wish I could pin point the reason why this missed for me, so I could recommend it to the right readers who would really enjoy it.

So I'm not sure how I would recommend this book. I loved the reading experience for the majority of the book, but I know that particular reading experience wouldn't be for everyone. If you're looking for a straight-forward classic mystery, West Heart Kill wouldn't be my recommendation. If you're a fan of meta-fictional elements, this could be a great choice! So I offer a recommendation to those that enjoy the trappings of classic mysteries AND experimental writing styles. And let me know what you think of the end.

West Heart Kill is a unique and captivating novel that challenges traditional notions of the mystery genre. This metafictional masterpiece blends literary references, self-awareness, and a thrilling plot to create a truly original reading experience. It's a wild ride for the reader that may not appeal to all readers but will captivate those who love it.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

This was the perfect suspenseful thriller for me. I was on the edge of my seat the entire team and I completely fell for the main character !

Sometimes a book just doesn’t resonate with me, and unfortunately, this was one of those instances.

I had a hard time with this book for three main reasons: too many characters to follow, an overall sluggish pace, and a writing style that didn’t work for me.

Regarding the writing style, the book blurb describes this as a “remarkable debut that gleefully upends the rules of the genre.” While it certainly did that (although it’s not the first to do so), for me, the “upending” made the book confusing and frustrating. There is a recent trend of breaking the fourth wall and having characters speak directly to the reader. I’m not quite a fan of that yet. Additionally, the author describes the writing process throughout the story, reminiscent of “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone” by Benjamin Stevenson, but in a less engaging and interesting manner IMO.

I don’t like it when I don’t enjoy a book. Maybe it was my mood, maybe I’m growing weary of fourth-wall-breaking narratives, or maybe this book simply wasn’t for me. I hope other readers find more pleasure in reading it than I did.

Thank you @netgally and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman was an okay read, but it didn’t blow me away. The plot had some good moments, but the structure was a little confusing. The story starts with the detective, Adam McAnnis, and I was interested at first, but then it switches to a different narrator halfway through. I’m not sure I liked that because it threw me off. There’s also a part at the end where the story is told like a play, which felt kind of weird and didn’t really fit. The ending left me with more questions than answers, and I’m not sure I totally got what the author was trying to do. It was entertaining in parts, but overall, it didn’t feel as polished as I’d hoped. Three stars is about right for this one—good, but not great.

A who dunnit of sorts at the local hunting club. Give it a try and see what you think. If you like a good mystery and some funny characters this book is for you.

Initially I was intrigued by the storytelling style, in which the author directly addresses readers in random passages as the story unfolds. But the novelty quickly wore off.

I wasn’t charmed or entertained. I didn’t like the author’s constant interference, basically telling us what readers should be thinking and expecting at various points. The actual mystery would just start to get interesting when, hey, here’s the author telling us all about what it’s like to read. It was jarring. And, worse, I didn’t feel like it added a thing.

When I became more annoyed than intrigued, I gave up.

So clearly this style isn’t for me. But others have loved the quirkiness, so give it a try if it appeals to you.

DNF

Didn’t love the structure of the book. In theory I liked the story and the premise but the way it actually played out left me wanting more

Interesting premise, but the structure didn't work for me. It was too jarring to be pulled out of the story when the fourth wall was broken.

DNF @ 10%. I really tried to get into this book but I really hated how it was written. The writing style was just not one I could get into and really took me out of the story.

Wes Heart Kill by Dan McDorman this book is about murders at an isolated cabin and really I should’ve been totally into it. Unfortunately I didn’t like the writing style as if the author was describing the book to me and although the perspective changes I just found it such an odd way to write a novel. There did come a point where I wanted to know who the murderer was but it was only out of curiosity and to be honest had someone taken the book for me I could’ve live without knowing. This is a strange way to write a story and I really did not like it.#NetGalley, #KnothPantheonAnchorVintage, #DanMcDorman, #WestHeartKill,

If you're looking for a Clue and Knives Out feel wrapped in a book, look no further with Dann McDorman's West Heart Kill!

This locked-room multiple murder mystery has the soap-opera drama and feel of old-school writers like Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but McDorman twists the genre with fourth-wall breaks that take readers on a trip down memory lane to reflect on popular historical mystery and murder plots. These fourth-wall breaks add an interesting twist on the conventional whodunnit, and most of the tangents were intriguing realistic tidbits that taught readers something new or tied the plot into its place amongst some of the best murder mystery stories, adding to the overall vibe of the story. However, this reader found them to be distracting at times, mostly when the story came to its climax and all I wanted was to find out who was responsible and how they did it. It did feel like these tangents dragged the story down just a bit, but McDorman should still get credit for adding such a creative layer to such a classic genre. The reader is included throughout the story, treated more like a character themselves than the voyeur we typically are. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, even with the tangents, and I can't wait for McDorman's next mystery book. Great whodunnit for Fall vibes!

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

This book unfortunately did not work for me.

I generally love a good whodunnit mystery, but this one went in a direction that had me both surprised and disappointed.

I love having a story where I can challenge myself to figured out the ending as I turn the pages. Did I pay attention to the right things? Did I suspect the right characters? That is half the fun of reading a book of this type.

For some reason this book kept breaking up the story, feeling the need to explain all of the rules of a good mystery, pausing at different points to tell you what to question, who to pay attention to, and overall taking all of the fun out of the story. I completely lost all interest in the actual story, which is unfortunate. I think it could have been much stronger given the premise.

An accessible, meta thriller and murder mystery that doesn't take itself too seriously and gets the job done. For fans of Knives Out and Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone.