West Heart Kill is ambitious in that it is not just a mystery novel, but a mystery novel interwoven with commentary on mystery novels, with variation in form/storytelling style. Which is to say, it's a lot. At times that's a good thing. My favorite parts of the book were the historical examinations of the mystery novel. As a Christie and Conan Doyle lover, I appreciated the nods to their methods in the genre. I was neutral on the shifting of styles. Where this book fell short for me was the mystery itself. This could have been a 5 star book if that aspect was more compelling, but ultimately it fell flat and I didn't find myself with much interest in the actual *crime(s)* at all. I'd call this a 3.5, rounded up for originality.

I am so glad I took a chance and requested this book based on a NetGalley newsletter blurb! From the first page, I felt like McDorman held out his hand and said, "do you see what I'm doing? Do you want to come along for the ride?" And I said, "absolutely," and away we went. I truly enjoyed every moment of the journey. The constantly shifting styles and points of view kept me on my toes — I found it delightful every time. Now, do I think this little literary adventure will be for everyone? Note necessarily. I loved it because I love mysteries and the history of the genre and twists on the formula. If that sounds like you, I heartily recommend adding this to your spooky season tbr!

AHHHHH! This was fantastic. The gorgeous cover initially drew me in, but I'm glad I stayed for the narrative because woooooo did it blow me away or what?!? I am so thankful to Dann McDorman, NetGalley, and Knopf Books for sending me digital access and a physical ARC before this gem hits the public on October 24, 2023.

What do you get when you mix Glass Onion with The 7.5 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle??? The answer is West Heart Kill. Readers are transported into the book's inner world to help solve the eventual deaths of three unfortunate guests at the West Heart Club days after arriving. We follow along with an ambitious detective who was anonymously hired, without knowing the rhyme or reason for his attendance, until the bodies begin to drop, supposedly at the hand of one of the guests.

After a storm, all the attendees are stuck on the plot of land, enforcing a "Locked Room" trope that unveils everyone's true colors and deepest thoughts. We're fed bits by excerpts from trustworthy mystery writers' tactics and lore, doing our best to solve the case at hand. And wait until you dig up some of the unearthed scandals that this group of friends is harboring; it's enough to make you spit out your water.

This is an interesting book, told in two perspectives, that of the narrator, breaking the 4th wall and talking directly to the reader and then the story itself. I am still not sure I like the way this book is written. The 4th wall perspective can be a bit tedious with all the breakdown and description of what is happening in the murder plot. Some of the references are a bit wordy. Still, it does give another perspective and the authors who have used that particular type of murder plot point. The murder mystery is good and does to a point encourage the reader to do more than just read the book but to understand and solve the murder. Due to the two perspectives, at times, I did miss facts/clues and did have to go back and re-read several paragraphs. Overall, I did enjoy the story and the writing.

A unique murder mystery for fans of the golden age of detective fiction. I think I might’ve hated the ending a little bit, but god I had fun along the way to it.

This book was a little tricky for me. I wanted to like it so much more than I did. I expected that it would be a love letter to detective stories and in some ways it was, but it also felt like the author was looking down on mystery novels and their readers at times.

This novel is broken into 2 parts. First, the typical detective story where we view the world through the detective’s eyes and see him interview people and snoop. The other part is more meta, the book talks to the reader about mystery fiction as well as some real cases. I particularly enjoyed the Case Study passages. One was about the locked room trope, another about examples of detectives being the guilty party. Just know that some of these passages may spoil other books for you.

What I didn’t like was the actual mystery in this book. I didn’t care about Detective McAnnis going to a hunting lodge and people dying. All of the characters that owned property at the lodge felt the same. They were boring and rude and I kept mixing them up.

Overall, this just didn’t match my expectations.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

I thought the premise sounded interesting, but the story really missed the mark for me. The writing style was all over the place. I enjoy multiple POV's, but it didn't work in this story. I couldn't stay engaged. The info dumps on what makes a mystery a mystery were a bit patronizing to readers. It did not help advance the plot/mystery at all.

West Heart Kill is a murder mystery unlike any other. The writer addresses the reader and analyzes the nuances of different literary devices throughout the book. This is a difficult one for me to review because while I enjoyed the mystery, these tangents began to feel tedious and felt as if the author was trying too hard to be clever. But I definitely recommend West Heart Kill. I was absorbed by the mystery, and I think others will be, too, and may resonate with the author's style more than I did. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

A group of people at a hunting camp are picked off one by one. A treatise on the mystery genre in the structure of a mystery, West Heart Kill lacks the interest of a traditional mystery.

A really interesting take on the mystery novel! Although the setting is a classic of the genre--an isolated hunting lodge with a variety of guests/suspects, the book upends tradition in its presentation. The author/narrator frequently breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader by pointing out clues and more, so you feel as if you are part of the creative process of developing the story. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book, but the more traditional parts--characters and plot--did not work as well for me. And I found the asides regarding classic mysteries to be distracting, although fans of the genre may enjoy these mini history lessons.

Kudos to the author for bending the genre, and thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ACR of West Heart Kill in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was excited to be invited to read West Heart Kill. It seemed like a great murder mystery with a lot of promise. But oh, what could’ve been. The writing style of this book makes it complicated and hard to follow. I really wanted to enjoy it, but just couldn’t get drawn into it. I almost felt like it was an instruction manual on how to enjoy a murder mystery instead of an actual novel.

I really wanted to enjoy this book and I was excited to read it. Unfortunately, it was hard to get into and it lost me with the over explanation and details. The story itself was good, I just had a difficult time engaging with the book.

I couldn’t finish this book so take that for what it’s worth in this review. There seems to be a lot of buzz for this book, so I was excited to pick it up. I enjoy Agatha Christie and loved last years Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, so I thought I would enjoy this. I found it hard to follow and pretentious, and ended up DNFing

West Heart Kill has an incredibly interesting premise but did not deliver what I thought it would. I think there is absolutely an audience for this type of read but it was not for me.

I really wanted to like this book. It’s right up my alley. Cozy mystery. Locked room mystery. Unfortunately, it lost me when every part of the genre and how the genre works was explained in detail. I assume it was trying to be clever and witty but I think it missed the mark completely. It felt like reading a textbook and it completely distracts from the main plot. I sadly had to put it down and did not finish.

While this book is completely out of my normal realm of genres, I can honestly say I was hooked early on. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, so this can be distracting at times. But I really liked the mix of murder mystery and historical notes on the genre. Any time I can learn something new from a book, fiction or non-fiction, I appreciate it. I loved Adam as a character so...

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman was a story the completely blew my damn mind.
This is every bit of a classic murder mystery and I loved every second of it.
The writing is phenomenal here. Truly captivating and just incredibly well done.
The storyline itself was quite a unique one and filled with action, mystery, suspense, murder, and a few sparks of what could be which kept me reading until late at night and on the edge of my seat.
A compelling literary murder mystery debut that was just phenomenal.
Brilliantly written, intricately plotted and incredibly clever.
I can’t wait to see where this journey takes Dann, good places I hope because we need more of these!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Knopf for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book had my head spinning with the “who done it.” It read like a play which I enjoyed but the narrator kept going in depth(sometimes too deep) into murder mystery novels in history which most I know nothing about. Though he did explain to the point that I had some understanding.

I truly had no idea who was guilty or even a true suspect the entire time. The narration was almost banter-like while dissecting the clues and plot with you. Was the banter to help you figure it out or to throw you, that is the question.

One of the most unique mysteries I've read. Not the mystery itself but the method of storytelling by a narrator who speaks to the reader directly. I found it compelling and the mystery itself was good as well.