My thanks to NetGalley and Borzoi Books/ Alfred Al Knopf for the ARC of "West Heart Kill" in exchange for an honest review.
I'm at a complete loss as to whom this book would appeal to beyond graduate students or doctoral candidates seeking M.F.A.'s or PhD's in literature.
Yes, there's a murder mystery that sporadically wanders and in and out of the book, but about 75 per cent of "West Heart Kill" is devoted to an exhaustive academic treatise on the murder mystery as a literary art form.......origins, beginnings, histories, the breakdown of all the sub-genres and their individual tropes.
And the author uses the actual plot he's concocted as a sort of a slide-show visual aid for his 'Murder Mystery 101' college course lectures.
While I admire the ambitious intent here, it makes for a tedious, annoying read. And I really began to run out of patience with the book as it swung back and forth from its whodunit storyline to the author's meticulous analysis of the characters and events as they apply to his literally forensic research into mystery genres.
The story used to illustrate the lectures involves a private eye who managed an invite to an uppercrust hunting lodge on the July 4th weekend of 1976. The vast upstate New York club's membership consists, naturally of ultra-wealthy families afflicted with endless dysfunctions and secrets........infidelities, shady finances, dark histories, and tragic accidents that maybe weren't accidental. So with such a toxic collection of individuals, more dead bodies don't come as a big surprise.
Once I realized the author's pushing these obnoxious characters around like chess pieces to illustrate his points, I lost all interest in who did what to whom. All the academia stuff does display some sharp wit from time to time, as do the P.I.'s interrogations of the various suspects.... and halfway through the book, Dann McDorman gives up on prose altogether, reducing the mystery sections to simple Q. & A's or in the form of stage play excerpts. Just as well, since the plot's only used for the author's power point presentation anyway.
English majors who read mysteries may get some overall entertainment out of this, but as for me....... sorry, but I didn't sign on for a college course.

Huh? I have no idea what to say about this book. It is 100% original and part of it is a treat for mystery readers: those who love to analyze the classics, the best whodunits or the most accomplished authors. There is a lot of food for thought about the medium itself, what we as lovers of the genre think, feel, expect and how it is an acceptable outlet for our possible sociopathic tendencies. In between, there is an actual whodunit. More than one body, possibly murder, a cast of suspects all hiding something. The classic setup, in an isolated hunting club with the characters trapped by a storm. A private detective who has self-referential conversations with the suspects. So why did I not like it? Maybe it was too smart for its own good? All I know is that I kept losing my focus. I enjoyed both parts separately, but combined they distracted me enough that I couldn’t remember who was who or what anyone had been doing. And the ending? I appreciate what the author was trying to do (which, by the way Pirandello and Unamuno did a long, long time ago in different genres) but maybe I’m too dense? My brain is impressed with this book but my heart didn’t like it. Based on the reviews, you will either love it or hate it. I hope there are more of the former but I can’t say I’m one of them.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor!

West Heart Kill is a murder mystery we've all read before; a group of people locked in or stranded in a specific setting and the bodies start piling up. But what makes this story very unique is the style it's written in. At times the author breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader, while also educating the audience with the history of the genre and its better known authors. While I can understand why some would be turned off by that, I found it rather entertaining. I actually loved when the author spoke directly to me! There are a number of characters in this story and at times I had to refer back to the dramatis personae to keep them all straight. But I can appreciate that McDorman thought to include this. Days after finishing this book, I'm still thinking about it and I would think that's the sign of a really good story, especially when so many are forgotten as soon as you read the last page.

{2.5 stars}

This novel takes a locked room mystery and turns it on its head. More than once. We join a group of families as they gather at a remote hunting lodge. They are joined by a detective who won't tell them what he's investigating or who has hired him. He slowly interrogates them all in a fun banter-y way until the first body turns up. Then things get serious. And the bodies pile up.

I liked the idea of this one more than the execution. The writing style is unique, which is a big risk. I liked the tongue-in-cheek aspect but the pace didn't work for me. I also struggled to connect with any of the characters. I still need someone to root for even in a murder mystery. That was all missing for me.

Read this one if you like quirky murder mysteries like Murder Your Employer or Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone. I enjoyed both of those, but I did them on audio, wonder if that would have helped me enjoy this one more?

Thanks Knopf for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

“West Heart Kill” by Dann McDorman ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Murder mystery imbedded in lessons on reading mysteries. Location: Upstate New York State, USA. Time: 1976 Fourth of July weekend.

Is this a book about an isolated hunt club, a storm, and 3 corpses? Or is it a book about how to write and read mystery novels? It’s all in the perspective- which changes frequently.

Private detective Adam McAnnis (35) heads upstate with old college friend James Blake for a weekend at the remote, exclusive West Heart Club hunting lodge. A body is found at the lake’s edge, a major storm hits. By Sunday, 2 more are dead. Suspects include a bunch of scheming, unfaithful, entitled characters. Secrets and lies.

Author McDorman combines a murder mystery with lessons on plot, method, narrative style. Lessons as he tells us what readers feel, suspect, wish for as we read the novel. Instead of making me feel wryly included, it made me sad to read what he thought I was thinking instead of imagining and figuring out things for myself. Other lessons are definitions and lectures-it’s like attending an “ironically cool” college professor’s lectures. Publisher Knopf describes this book as a crime mystery, not a lesson on mystery writing rules. I wonder if rules for writing mysteries might be more interesting to McDorman than to the average reader.

McDorman describes 1970s clothing brands, characters’ clothes, hair, accessories, and he does it right. I found myself transported back to the ‘70s (Jane Birkin bangs, 🎶Let ‘em in…🎶, Ultrasuede, Naugahyde, Virginia Slims.) His book’s style is definitely unique, and his descriptions of the mystery genre knowledgeable and complex. It would make a great humorous Ted Talk on the rules of writing mysteries. His vocabulary shines, and the actual mystery is interesting. But combining the many lessons and the mystery together seems just too ironically literary, so it’s a solid 3 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️ Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, and Dann McDorman for this early copy. Publishes 10/24/2023.

I would make it very clear to the audience that the book is narrated in second person. The description didn't give any indication that this was the case, and I found it very jarring to navigate.

I DNF at page 28. No rating. I just could not get into this one and the writing style was very off putting and I already could not keep the characters straight. I usually am one to push through, but other reviews stating similar experiences saying it only gets worse and they wish they would have put it down sooner, helped me with my decision.

I can see from other reviews that mileage varies widely on the metafictional trickery the author employs. I, for one, enjoyed it. The dissection of the genre while employing its tropes was fun, and even if at points it felt like a hat on a hat, I appreciated that the author was trying something that felt new. I enjoyed the voice switches, the foray into transcript, play script, and cinematic screenplay direction. The end felt a tiny bit like cheating, but I'm willing to overlook it as it served a larger purpose. There was some moralizing about enjoying fictional murder that felt a little bit tired and not super compelling, and I can see where that would turn some readers off. If readers enjoyed Janice Hallett's The Twyford Code, this would be a perfect readalike.

ARC REVIEW

West Heart Kill
BY Dann McDorman

Rating: ⭐️.5/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publishing date: 10/25/23

Listen. This is a big no for me dawg!

I thought this was going to be a "who done it" which it was ,but after reading....I DONT EVEN KNOW WHO THE FREAKING KILLER IS!!!!

This was SO weird. Like..the style is completely off the wall crazy. For part of the book the reader is being taught about various types of mystery books, then we go back to the story, then we get a "case study" and then it turns into a PLAY. A legit script for a play.....huh?

I do not recommend it.

If you have read this, PLEASE message me.

Even though it was definitely not for me, I'm still thankful for @netgalley and @aaknopf for the arc!

GOOD READS SUMMARY:
A unique and irresistible murder mystery set at a remote hunting lodge where everyone is a suspect, including the erratic detective on the scene—a remarkable debut that gleefully upends the rules of the genre.

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.

I must admit not being ready for this as I hadn't read any of the other opinions, and picked it up looking for a sorbet. Described as meta, the underlying murder mystery kept being interrupted by notes, sidelines, fourth wall commentary, and that I suppose is the point of the book.

im a huge fan of murder mysteries so i loved this one. i loved how meta it was as well as all the twists.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

This pains me to write because I was so excited for this one and unfortunately it disappointed me.

On a positive note though, I think this is one of the coolest covers I've seen in a while!

Right off the bat, I was super excited because it was giving me major Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone vibes (5 star read for me). The narrator seemed very similar to that book, along with breaking the 4th wall, listing rules for murder mysteries, etc. etc.

Unfortunately, this book felt like it was trying too hard to be clever and because of that it felt so "high brow" that I didn't even care/or really understand what was happening with the characters and the plot since it was all focused on the "rules" of a murder mystery.

Overall, not what I expected, but I'd still be willing to read what he writes again in the future. Hoping this will still be a hit for many!

Thanks so much to Knopf for the ARC. This book will be available on October 24th!

I really wanted to like this one, I enjoy meta mysteries, but this one is too precious by half. It is nowhere near as smart as it wants you to think it is, and its conceit drags down the pacing and almost made me DNF.

This was a fascinating story within a story. On one hand there is 1970's themed murder mystery afoot in a secluded private hunting camp with all of the miscreants and harpies you would expect to find. One the other, there is a breaking of the fourth wall type dialogue with the reader regarding the murder mystery genre and some of its most prolific authors. I thoroughly enjoyed the entwined ongoing investigation littered with bits of murder mystery trivia. The only flaw was of my own doing. I was unable to figure out who the murderer was even at the end of the book. I reread the ending over and over and searched the internet for a clue to no avail which just leaves me still thinking about the book into the future when so many stories are ultimately forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Publisher for the eARC. I struggled with reading this one, the narrative choices were confusing and the format was not for me. It's a very unique mystery and the whodunit and why was intriguing, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy the experience of reading West Heart Kill as much as I hoped to.

I really wanted to love this book, but I didn’t. I couldn’t get into it and had trouble connecting with the story and the characters. It just kept going and I couldn’t wait to be done with this. I’d give West Heart Kill a pass.

I enjoyed the actual mystery itself, the whodunit and whydunit of it all, although I was never able to keep the characters exactly straight in my mind. I didn't care for the changing points of view because I felt like I was back in high school identifying items for a test: first person, second person, limited, and omniscient. Plus the asides and descriptions from the narrator took me out of the story. I found it hard to pick up this book and get dropped into the story. All sorts of examples of mysteries and their parts were explained to us, and many were used in this story. The ending wasn't my cup of tea because it seemed like a slap in the face after putting the time and effort into reading.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book.

The biggest issue for me is the choice of narrative devices the author uses. We are given the actual murder mystery/thriller from the point of view of an unknown narrator as well as injections of commentary on murder mystery tropes and history from the author. Initially, these interjections were just annoying, pulling me out of the story and keeping me from connecting to the characters and what was happening.

As the novel progressed, these interjections became more frequent, and took over the book. I was left with the feeling that the book existed to show how smart the author is (there was clearly a great deal of research done), rather than to tell a story. In the end, both the plot and characters lacked development, as more time was spent with the author's thoughts.

Content warnings: This novel features abuse of women and anti-semitism as plot points, with barely a frown at their occurrence. There is a sense of, well, it was the times, with no suggestion that they were bad. The books does not include racism, but probably only because there were no characters of color.

This reads like a screenplay. I struggled with reading this one. It's a very unique mystery, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy the experience of reading West Heart Kill as much as I wanted to.