Unfortunately I didn’t get this book at all I had a hard time getting in to it from the get go and finally DnF’d it about halfway through.

Unfortunately this just didn't work for me. The homage to the genre felt a little bit too heavy handed at times and really took you out of the story. Trying to keep track of all of the authors that were mentioned made this seem much more of a non-fiction book about the authors love for the history and roots of the genre than the story itself. The mystery itself would have been a great novel without the excessive amount of background information. I ended up finishing it solely out of curiostiy of the mystery, but could have put it down and not been too bothered.

A very original, twisted story. I don't think it will suit everyone's tastes, but it was a fantastic read nonetheless. It's rare to stumble upon a book that is mind-boggling and fun at the same time! Recommended.

From the very first page, it is apparent that this is not a typical murder mystery. While some familiar ingredients of a classic murder mystery are in place - the setting is an isolated, members only hunting lodge, abundant weapons are stored on the premises, an assortment of wealthy, somewhat jaded, members are there for a holiday weekend, an unknown guest is snooping around, and a serious storm is about to descend – something unique is going on. “You,” the Reader, are being directly addressed, perhaps even taunted, for thinking this is an ordinary mystery that you, with your history of reading this genre of books, will be able to easily figure out and breeze through. “You” are warned that focusing on the over-worn tropes of countless mystery stories – the faulty piece of equipment, the outsider, the innocent items that could become lethal weapons, the unreliable narrator, etc – are not likely to get you anywhere in solving this as yet unrevealed crime. With regard to the narrator, this shifts throughout the story. Sometimes the narrator is the main character/protagonist speaking in the first person, sometimes the story is told in the 3rd person, often the reader is addressed directly as “you” in the 2nd person by someone unknown, and later the voice shifts to the first person plural “we.” What you do know is that “you” are being teased for thinking you know a lot about these types of books and feeling confident that you can easily solve mysteries before the truth is revealed if the author is “fair” in providing clues. Who can resist such a dare, and so you, the reader, are lured into this book, a veritable game of “Clue.” You are anticipating some dreadful act, and you must start assembling facts that predict what will happen, where, how, by whom, and why. With very skillful and clever writing, McDorman has created not just a murder mystery, but a fascinating homage to the history, construction, and techniques of some of the genre’s masters. To say any more in this review might let slip an important tidbit, or derail you with an unintended red herring. So, I will simply wish you luck in pursuing this delightful and original puzzle adventure. If you are a classic mystery fan, you will find this book intriguingly original and thoroughly fun !!
Thank you to Net Galley for this Advance Copy !

I'm giving this one three stars for having balls. This is an experimental way to write a mystery (with a running meta commentary on the construction of mysteries in the background nearly the whole time.) While I ultimately had issues with the construction, I appreciate a book that tries something new.

I actually liked the meta breaks talking about murder in general. They added a lot to the story, (like reading about the history of a great entree while you're eating it). I also got used to the changing POV. (Didn't love it, but tolerated it.)

But after awhile it felt like the ruse started to fall apart. Suddenly the narrator is one of the guests at the resort (or the guests acting as a Greek chorus?) Then the book shifts to a play structure with an omniscient "reader" who has all the answers (who has hereto been unidentified.) But maybe the "reader" is US? 'Cept I did not know all the answers!

Ultimately, the murder isn't never named and we're wrapped in layers of narrators and innuendos and the whole thing became a bit twee. I could have used like 45% less gimmick and more solid plot.

Anyway, cool idea. Execution was just alright for me, personally. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5 stars. Sorry! Meta fiction just isn't for me.

This book probably went right over my head. The characters were uninteresting to me and the book was hard to follow. I thought this was going to be more focused on the mystery itself. Overall, I agree with other reviewers, people are going to either love it or hate it, and unfortunately, I disliked it, but I think it's simply because I was set on it being mystery focused.

Thanks to the author, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, and NetGalley for allowing me digital access in exchange for my honest review.

I actually couldn’t finish the first chapter of this. It’s written in second person, and it was weird. It kept telling me how I felt, and I didn’t feel any of those emotions at all. I’m pretty sure I’ve read in second person before but it definitely doesn’t work for me. I cannot continue reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy. This was my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dann McDorman for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 1/5 Stars

While I really wanted to love this book - I did not. It was super hard to get through and not enjoyable at all.

I throughly enjoyed this book. An homage to the classic golden age mystery novels, this one set in the more sleazy decade of the 70s, manages to upset all the traditional elements of the genre, while at the same time educating the reader on these elements. The writer consistently breaks the fourth wall, drawing the reader into the story. I think any mystery aficionado won’t be able to keep themselves from devouring this book. Highly recommended.

Mysterious deaths at a remote hunting lodge during the bicentennial make for a great premise. In between segments of the story, the author also explores classic detective stories and the murder mystery genre, which was fascinating and also allowed for foreshadowing in the main story. The narrative style switches frequently, moving from third person addressing the reader, to first person, to first person plural, to a screenplay. This made the story feel disjointed and I don’t think it quite lived up to its potential. An interesting read if you love a classic “whodunnit.”

Received a complimentary copy of West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

BOOK REPORT
I really wanted to like West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman. As someone who developed a huge crush on the mystery genre in general while in elementary school, and fell hard-core in love with murder mysteries proper in high school (thank you, Sir A. Conan Doyle and Dame Agatha Christie)—never to fall out—I really, really did.

But I didn’t.

I really, really didn’t.

I was bored by this book. Yep, you guessed it—pass out stone-cold-sober bored. The characters were caricatures, and the pacing was weird/off-putting. The meta-meta approach, etc., gave me an annoying little behind-the-left-eye headache, which is unfortunately usually a precursor to a migraine. So, having just in the past week-and-a-half having been delivered two memos from the universe that Life Is Short (death of an 11-year-old pet and death of a younger member of our extended family), I decided to punt on p28 of 199.

And it was with a great sigh of relief that I did so, realizing how hard I had struggled over the course of three days and two separate reading sessions to get engaged with this book.

The sad thing is that it was supposed to be one of my beach reads. Sigh.

Well, can’t win ‘em all. And, I’m starting to think that I can’t win very many of ‘em with NetGalley, and that publishers are probably not going to want to route their advanced reader copies through me, given that I seem to be so often an outlier. So be it. Maybe someday everybody will remember me as that high school English teacher who was _so_ hard on them but in fact was really telling them the truth nobody else had the guts to do so?

Maybe.

West Heart Kill is an explanation of the how and why of various mystery writers and scenarios, while at the same time presenting murder mysteries that need solving. It is mind-boggling and quite a challenge to read. Try it, you might like the puzzle.

Forget the locked room, let’s trade that in for a snowed in group at a private hunting lodge in 1970s upstate New York. Adam joins his friend for the weekend and when one of the members if found dead, a fierce storm settles in, stranding everyone at the lodge. With more deaths and a group of privilege members, Adam is going to have his work cut out for him.

A new author paying homage to the things we love most about classic mysteries brings this book to life. Well done fir a first book, but a list of characters and how they relate to each other would have helped to follow along a bit more.. I do believe we may have another master of of old style mystery on our hand with Dann McDorman and a few more books at honing his own personal style.

I do not agree with accolades given to West Heart Kill. The characters all seemed alike -- snobby, of old money (but running out of it) and everyone secretly sleeps with another's spouse. This is the second book I've read of late that include you/the reader. I hope this is not a trend. The book is interesting in the way it moves the plot along using different elements. But in trying to be clever (including cover art), it gave me no interest in solving the mysteries.

I found this to be a good overall thriller with a new take on the genre and it felt it had and engaging plot and characters.

This was advertised as an irresistibly clever Meta murder mystery. Well, then, guess it worked because I was unable to resist it. And having read it, am glad to report that there is indeed truth in advertising in this instance.
This book IS clever.
Viciously, deliciously so.
I’ve been pretty burnt out on modern thrillers: too predictable, too formulaic, too trite. I was looking for something like this…a book that simultaneously plays with genre presets and dares to defy them.
On a surface, it’s a typical locked private club mystery. A group of wealthy individuals that goes back a while gathers together to hunt. Or rather, a group of ostensibly wealthy incestuous liars and cheats gets together to play games with each other.
Some games are deadlier than others.
In their midst, is a private detective hired by (mystery) there to (mystery). AT first, he just enjoys the high life, but then the bodies begin to drop, and he has to get to work.
And while all of that may sound like a very familiar mystery plot, nothing about this novel itself is familiar. From its structure to its twist.
From the very first chapter, the author essentially takes a sledgehammer to the fourth wall, and he doesn’t stop until the very end. He talks to us or at us. He switches perspectives and tones to suit the mood. He goes on discursive discussions of mystery genre and its masters. It’s all rather brilliant. It really is.
It can also probably seem like a lot, especially for readers who are used to the conventional the-wife-or-the-husband-did-this-because-of-the-secrets-in-their-past, etc. sort of mystery thrillers.
This is very much a thinking person mystery. Like most very clever (and aware of it and not ashamed to flaunt it) things and people, it won’t be for everyone. But it definitely worked for me. Strikingly original and yes, clever, impressively clever, this is a mystery for mystery lovers looking for something different, something with substance and intelligence to charm and wow. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

For the most part, I found this to be an engaging and propulsive read with spoiled, suspicious characters and a lush setting. The format is an interesting one as well, dancing between narrative and how we consume mysteries. However, I found the ending twist to be unsatisfying, but that is up to the individual how it lands.

This was a really interesting book! The writing style changes throughout the book, which I wasn’t expecting. Once I figured out what was happening with their writing, I really enjoyed it! I haven’t read too many other books that have done that and it was refreshing and definitely piqued my interest. I enjoyed the story and characters, although I didn’t enjoy the multiple povs, but that’s just a personal preference. It was a great read overall and I’ll definitely revisit in the future.

This book had so much going for it. It had a great setting (1970s and a remote but wealthy hunting camp). The plot and characters were interesting. However, the author thought themselves clever and changed POV's and style many times. Then they took to rambling about different genre authors. Some changes were fine. For example, it changed to a question/answer format when the characters were being interrogated. However, the narration changes felt like a gimmick instead of a way to forward the plot. I was interested in the motives and the murders but nothing gets a satisfactory solution.
Thanks NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman is a thoroughly engaging mystery/thriller with dynamic characters and a plot that does not disappoint. I found the pacing, especially, to be flawless with the perfect balance of action and exposition. I would happily read more from this author,