Overall I enjoyed this story. The book is written like a movie which was interesting and a little challenging to follow.
I loved the setting, I will read any mystery set in a remote location!
It was a unique take on a murder mystery & I would be interested to read more by the author.

I am trying hard to enjoy this book, but I just don't like the format. I'm about 40% in, and still very confused about the storyline. Plus, I don't care for the way the author interrupts the story to address the reader. I won't be finishing this book.

West Heart KIll by Dann McDormanis a superb read and well worth the time spent! Great plot and characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the copy of West Heart Kill. Well, this book taught me to always read an excerpt if one is available. I never got into the quirky writing style. I am not interested in being part of the book or story and every time the author addressed “you” I cringed. Maybe I’m too much of a traditional reader, but the asides about famous mystery writers distracted me from the story, in fact, the story was lost because of the odd literary gimmicks. While this was not the book for me, I can see where other readers will love the cleverness of the writing style and who want to feel like part of the book.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. I appreciate a different way to approach telling a murder mystery. I didn’t so much mind the switching narrative tenses.

But sections read like footnotes and I find footnotes kind of tedious. It takes you out of the story. And the story itself in turn is not as developed as it could of been. I felt like it relied too heavily on the method of storytelling, which was sort of tedious, instead of using that to aid the story. It became less a puzzle to solve and more a history of literary murder mysteries.

I appreciate the efforts, and it could certainly appeal to others, but I’m a puzzle person.

The "story" is about a detective spending a bicentennial weekend at a private hunting club. It is remote, the detective has his own reasons for being there. What is he detecting? Who hired him? Are these wealthy members really what they seem to be? Then there is a death, and a storm which strands everyone at the club. Let the detecting begin.
There was a solid mystery in this book but things got in its way. I did not care for the author's asides about mysteries, the novel, etc. Some of the information about classic mystery writers was interesting. For me though, it wasn't interesting enough. It was distracting. I found myself skimming sections so I could get back to the story.

West Heart Kill is Dann McDorman's first book. It is a very clever book based on a locked room mystery. The characters are based on classical mystery writers.

The book does away with the distinction between the reader and the book, asking the reader to be part of the book. I found this off putting, preferring to read a straight narrative.

3.5 Stars.

This was a well executed mystery, with great attention to detail and a compelling plot.

But, man, did the author get in his own way! Filled with existential quandries, philosophical musings, and essays on other mystery writings and writers, the continual start and stop of the story... breaking the fourth wall.... finishing in play form... ONE of these would have been unique, making this book special. But all of them??? It just became a LOT, leading to a lot of back and forth reading, and ultimately - for me - a lack of a cathartic ending.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There’s a good, solid murder mystery inside this book, but it requires a bit of work to get through it. At first I found the interludes discussing writing and mysteries delightful. But after awhile, they became tiresome, and I tended to skim through them to get back to the story. The ending felt like a bit of a dirty trick. All that said, I did enjoy the main story, as well as the setting. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes books don't need gimmicks or a high concept to work. In fact, in many cases, it works against the book. This is one of those cases. I felt like it was trying to be clever but came across as pedantic.

I did not like the way this was written although I can appreciate it. I didn't like the switches from first to second person and including the reader. The plot itself was just okay. I found the writing way too distracting for me to even be able to get into the plot more deeply. I thought it was cool how the author tried something different and I am sorry it just didn't click for me personally.

West Heart Kill in one word: unexpected. And for a mystery novel, that’s exactly what you want. You want a narrative that subverts tropes and bends the rules (sometimes even breaking them!).

Everyone is a suspect and things get messy very quickly. The novel follows the elite members of the West Heart hunting club and as their secrets get revealed you realize no one is safe.

Anyone who reads this book will be sure to feel like an active participant in revealing the truth, which makes the book so much more enjoyable than other books that I’ve read before.

I’m not as familiar with the mystery genre, but I did appreciate the history sprinkled throughout the book. At times, it did feel overwhelming and unrelated to the plot but as a novice to the mystery genre, I really do think that it added a unique detail to the narrative.

West Heart Kill has star quality and fans of sleuthing will devour this novel.

West Heart Kill is two books inside one cover: one is a manor house, mystery novel complete with a big storm, loss of electricity, dark woods, and murders; the other is a primer by the author on the history of such books and how best to read them. These two sides of the coin complement each other and are integrated in an easy – to – read fashion.

The writer and reader are co-conspirators in this novel. While the story plays out, the author is constantly speaking with the reader who he assumes to be a lover of detective novels. It makes the book fun and engaging.

In addition, the author uses many different conventions: first person and third person narration, dialog when the detective is interviewing suspects, and even a play within the novel. This book is never boring and often catches the reader off-guard.

But it is the ending that is the most surprising and has had me thinking since I finished the book. I’m not sure if it was satisfying or not, but it was certainly unexpected.

This is one of those books you either love or just don't get. I'm in the latter category. The book isn't written in a traditional fashion andI found the format distracting. Give it a go if you're looking for something different.

This was not a book for me. I found the history and style of mystery writing parts tedious and boring. The many different writing styles did not add to my enjoyment. The ending was terrible and unsatisfying.

Sometimes, when reading ARCs, I'll take notes. My notes for West Heart Kill are completely chaotic, so many questions marks and exclamation points. This book took me on a journey and I learned something about myself... and that is that I enjoy a linear mystery with a traditional book structure. Unfortunately for me, West Hearth Kill is not that book.

There is so much unique and non-traditional about this book, included but not limited to: a LARGE vocabulary (I had to look up like 5 words in the first 20 pages), the 4th wall is completely shattered, there's mystery trivia, history of mystery-adjacent words, there's a play, and there's ALL the perspectives/persons (1st, 2nd, AND 3rd).

All of this to say that while West Heart Kill was not the book for me, if you're looking for a unique, tongue in cheek spin on the traditional mystery novel, it very well may be the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great Murder mystery a la Agatha Christie. I could never solve hers and I definitely didn’t solve this one.. Surprising deaths, lots of conflicts and animosity. Loved the snobbery! Now for the disappointing part. I still don’t know who the killer is! I don’t want to give anything away but the manner in which this book ends was very frustrating for me. Imagine that little kid looking for the surprise in a box of cereal only to find out there isn’t one. That’s me! I want someone else to read this book and tell me who did it!

It is really hard to describe West Heart Kill. I really loved how different this book was from other mystery books. It’s such a great palate cleanser if you want something that will keep you guessing the whole time.

West Heart Kill’s energy reminds me of:
🎬 The Appeal
💊 Knives Out
🩺 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
🔎 Clue 1985
♟️ Murderville

That being said… this is a weird and quirky book. It isn’t for everybody. And it isn’t a read that’s any fun if you’re distracted. You really have to be content with buckling yourself in for the ride and rolling with sudden detours and jarring pit stops. This one was really edging toward 5 stars for me, but the ending was… unfulfilling? Confusing? But it did absolutely make me want to buy a final copy so I can put all the pieces together.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and Knopf publishing for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review! West Heart Kill comes out October 24th

This was a fun attempt at a book, but it fell kind of flat for me. The mystery was fun, but I'm not a fan of authors "breaking the 4th wall" like you do on stage or screen. Not mad I read it, but not my favorite book of the year.

this book was hard to get into for me. i didn’t really like how they tried to include the reader in the story. i would rather just prefer to read it. i did like the concept, but i think the execution ended up making the book feel prolonged