Okay I tried. But it was a little more non-traditional narrative than I was comfortable with, a fact that became evident fairly early on. The writing was engaging and interesting enough, stylistically, but the back and forth between reader and writer were starting to do me in. Then the whole thing shifted into a play and I knew I was done..

I guess I'm just old-fashioned. I want a story to read like a story. I know that a lot of people don't feel this way, and will probably love this one as a result because the writing is more than strong enough enough to carry it straight into your imagination if the narrative style doesn't throw you off, like it did me. But I was just not the right reader for this one...

This is the most unusual mystery I have ever read. Fans of the genre will either love it or hate it. I, for one, loved it. The author plays with the novel's form, periodically gives mini tutorials regarding the history of murder mysteries and also offers up a locked room mystery with clever asides to the reader and an unexpected ending. It is a mystery most literary and challenging. Read it to the end. It's worth the effort!

I prefer not to recap the plot so that other readers might enjoy the novel uninhibited. Even the title is clever but I will let other readers discover that as well. The publisher has already optioned another book by Mr. McDorman which I will anxiously anticipate.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-galley!

West Heart Kill prides itself on being a literary murder mystery with classic elements set in a remote hunting lodge. And bodies start showing up one by one. It has all the ingredients needed for the perfect "Whodunnit" but unfortunately that's where it falls short.

The style of West Heart Kill is completely narrated in a strange first person POV reminiscent of childhood "choose your own adventure" language that at most times made me tired, and more confused than I had to be. Unravelling the language while setting up the scene and figuring out what was going on, just used up too much brain power and made the reading process an unpleasant experience.

Review: I wanted to be intrigued by this very different style of writing, but it really was not for me. The author makes the reader part of the mystery and I know for a fact I cannot stomach second person narrative even in small doses. I skimmed in parts due to this and was unable to enjoy reading.
Recommended For: I think men will enjoy this and those who really want a different type of mystery novel.

The best I can say about this book is if you enjoy eclectic writing that wanders, is hard to follow and dull beyond reason then this is the book for you. I am amazed that a publisher would agree to put out this kind of feeble offering. This is the author’s first publish novel and should not have been.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

While I think that the author's idea here of discussing the finer points of mystery writing and it's origins was clever, it was not executed in a way that I enjoyed. I learned a little about mystery writing, and may read some books that I have not tried, but this did not add to my enjoyment of the book and the mystery at hand

West Heart Kill is a bit too meta for me. A storm that traps the characters at a remote hunt club in upstate New York should be a home run murder mystery premise for me, but the the plot is really secondary to what the author seems to be trying to do (upend the rules of the genre, evidently...). The narrative style was difficult to get into - second person, frequently speaking directly to the reader, then at the end is written as a play, where the reader also has lines. The author interjects summarization and commentary on several famous mystery authors/stories which often was an introduction to whatever theme or trope was coming up next in the West Heart Kill story and seemed really heavy handed. Overall, this book was not for me.

This book is so many things rolled into one. A mystery novel, a how-to-write a mystery guide, a play, an essay on the works of mystery writers, and a guide to the reader; talking them through the story, reminding them they're looking for clues. When to pay special attention.

In a way, it shouldn't work. There are so many things that take you out of the story. That interrupt and derail. Ironically, these interruptions made me fall into an even deeper lull when the "story" began again. I fell into the trance and was swept away, only to be pulled out again.

I did like the conversations with the reader. The credit given in being able to detect all the writer's ploys, the astuteness and savvy. For this reader, ill-gotten praise since I'm the sort that wants to be fooled and surprised. However, the confidence of these conversations with the reader made you feel like you were a part of something, not just a mere observer.

This book is quite honestly like nothing I've ever read before. It was very well executed; in ways I think very few would have managed to pull off. The resolution to the mystery was unsatisfactory, but the experience was worth it. I'm definitely curious to see what McDorman's next book will be like!

This was a tough one to get into for me, but I certainly can appreciate the thought and research that went into the book. The author was extremely successful in educating the reader about the history of the mystery story, but for me a bit less successful with the mystery itself.

I think the audience for the unconventional narrative style will be pretty small, but I certainly commend the effort.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

West Heart Kill is set in the exclusive hunting club in New York where a handful of wealthy families have homes. Coming for holidays or just weekends, the monied, blue blood people here have lots of secrets and no trust. McAnnis, a private detective by trade, is up visiting for the weekend with a friend when, not one or two, but three dead bodies are found in the course of one weekend during a raging storm that takes out the power.

I really wanted to like this book and I really enjoyed the middle section. The layout of this book is entirely why I did not like it: it’s basically a mix of a murder mystery, a how-to-write-a-murder-mystery guide, and a screenplay. It was constantly breaking the 4th wall and it just took me out of the story - in the beginning I didn’t mind the 4th wall breaks, as it sets the scene and was somewhat quirky and interesting for the first page or so. And then it just didn’t stop. I began skipping through the many how-to sections - I don’t need to read several pages of what an official definition of what a murder is, who officially invented the iconic murder mystery, or about that one time Agatha Christie disappeared and then showed up at a spa. It was really distracting constantly being taken out of the story.

Then at the very end - it becomes a screenplay ??? With the reader having actual lines to close out the mystery?? The ever-changing format was too distracting to be enjoyed.

With that said, the characters were both very similar and easy to mix up and also played their own parts and roles. I really enjoyed the foreshadowing and observations from the beginning about key characteristics and how those came into play later in the book - the book was very thought-out and planned and this extended to the characters.

Overall, I really wanted to like this book during the middle - about 50% of the way in, but I just couldn’t get past the constant format changes and random discussions about the Greek’s influence of plays?

ARC was provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a classic crime lover, I loved this. The references to our favorite authors and literary devices kept and the perspective jumps kept the main story arc fresh and interesting. It never felt too on the nose or condescending but turned the genre on it’s head. The final perspective shift was wildly unexpected and really brought it home. The deaths served almost as a background character rather than the driving plot but in a good way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc. I was drawn into the description of “daring structure” and “subversive narration that set this debut apart.” Unfortunately, those are the elements that led to my dislike of this book. I feel that the murder mystery and suspense was lost every time the writer interrupted the story with commentary to the reader or history of the murder mystery genre. By the end of the book, I was skimming over the commentary/history aspects in order to get to the plot twist which end up leading to more disappointment.
I do agree that it was a unique take on the murder mystery which readers may enjoy.

I love murder mysteries like this! Kept me guessing til the end and I had two main suspects. I turned out to be right about the one but all in all, it was a solid read.

My Rating: 3
A truly unique narrative style, one I've never seen before. Some parts enjoyable and some parts not. The switches in perspective could be quite jolting, especially at the end when the "Reader" got involved. I found the parts that were nonfiction studies of the mystery novel more interesting than the actual mystery.
Whether you will like it is probably going to be based on how much you love the genre. As this book is both a love letter and study of the mystery genre.
I myself only occasionally read it, so I wish the actual mystery had been a little more interesting. I do have to give it points for the writing style being utterly unique as that's the thing that kept me reading.

If you love the genre, perhaps this is worth a read.

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**

Thank you to NatGalley for a copy of this in return for an honest review. I know this is not a standard mystery, however, it was not my cup of tea. I did not like the style and found it hard to get into.

West Heart Kill is a very unique and interesting twist on the murder mystery. It is part mystery on its own while also being a study on the genre as a whole. It shifts perspectives from the characters, to the author, and even you, the reader. At times this works great and adds an interesting wrinkle to the story while other times it feels like it breaks up the pacing and bogs everything down. There are also spoilers for several other murder mysteries so you have to skim or skip ahead at certain parts if you do not want a story you have yet to read to get ruined.

Speaking to the contained story itself, I think it's pretty well done. There are lots of red herrings, just about every little detail is important and will show its significance later, and you do get those satisfying Sherlock Holmes-esque details read back to you at times and wonder how you missed it. Plenty of twists and turns are found throughout and the read is very fun until, unfortunately, the end where it kind of goes off the rails and left me feeling unsatisfied. The story itself wraps up but it still feels somewhat unfinished and rushed. Good, not great, this is a fun read for those interested in the genre.

I thought this book was good but definitely a different timeline then I normally read. I would recommend this book to others.

This book read more like a mix between book and screenplay. The whole goal being to engage the reader in witty banter and solve the mystery. While a very compelling writing style, I prefer reading my murder mysteries and not being actively drawn into the storyline.

I really enjoyed this unique mystery, which twisted genre conventions in the most unexpected of ways. It kept me guessing and was very unexpected. The structure was something new and different and I think any lover of golden age mysteries will appreciate the way the author is clearly a fan, and crafted this as an homage to those. The way the story is written, it's like the reader is a part of the book - I've actually never read anything with that type of writing before. The central mystery also pulled me in and kept the pages turning as I tried to figure out what was going on. My only drawback on this one would be that the mystery gets a little bit of short shrift in service of the unique writing style and structure, which was a little unfortunate. But overall really enjoyed it for how unique it is!

West Heart Kill is a mystery for folks enjoy reading commentary about the genre, and the world of publishing as a whole. It's quite meta with a unique structure that won't be for everyone. The reader is addressed directly, with long monologues that distracted a bit from the story at hand.