If you enjoy twisty plots; a group of characters that all have secrets, intertwined relationships, and motives for bad behavior; and a secluded setting perfect for dark deeds - then try out West Heart Kill. The detective makes up stories to suit his audience, changing tack as it becomes necessary to gain confidences and fit in. Readers are left wondering exactly who he is and why he is there.

The narrator often interrupts the story to comment on the conventions of detective fiction, or address the reader directly. For instance, within the first chapter: "You are alert - as a veteran of murder, you know that one of these new characters is likely to be the killer, but which one?" The reader's knowledge of the usual methods used by writers to drop clues that are easy to overlook or to point the attention elsewhere through sleight of hand are acknowledged, but also exploited to mislead and complicate.

As Adam, our sleuth, moves deeper into the tangle of current situations and vendettas from the past, the number of affairs, grudges, and lies multiplies. And then the deaths start. We find out about earlier deaths, attempted suicides, and a tradition of keeping things within the group and hidden from the outside world. Who has sent Adam (or invited him in) and what do they expect him to find?

A Peyton Place in the woods with firearms, alcohol, drugs, sex, fireworks, and something darker simmering beneath it all, stirred and seasoned by an author determined to keep us guessing until the very end - and perhaps beyond.

I really wish I liked this book. I enjoy trying different kinds of storytelling and I liked the premise of this unique structure to tell this particular story. However it was a little *too* clever for me and I never really sunk into the story.

This novel promises a unique and thrilling whodunit that defies the conventions of the genre. It blends elements of a diabolical locked-room mystery with a fascinating exploration of the form itself. Readers can expect a suspenseful and fun read that keeps them guessing until the very end.

This book sounded excellent. The first half was excellent. I loved the setup of a private eye conning his way into a hunting weekend at a secretive private club in the middle of the woods. Especially when everyone’s secrets started coming out. I liked the quirky anecdotes about Agatha Christie’s writing habits.

The second half was something out of a quaalude-filled theoretical writer’s dreams. It was barely readable. There was no consistent perspective (seriously, it hit first/second/third person and then more I didn’t even know existed). It was part narrative, part script, part history of murder writing, part nonsense? And there wasn’t an ending. Or a resolution. The book kind of abruptly stopped and said “there’s your answer…or not.”

Not for me. Maybe it will be for you?

The first word that comes to mind when looking back at West Heart Kill is definitely “unique”. After being hired to spend time investigating the high class hunting club, West Heart, detective Adam McAnnis finds himself thoroughly embroiled in the drama of the current members. The formula of this book is unlike anything I have ever read. The narration style and perspective changes often, from first person to third, from story narration to factual expression of information, making it a wild ride of a story.

The unique storytelling started strong and remained throughout the entire book. Whenever a moment started to lag, the style would change and bring everything back to action once again. The moments of stereotypical storytelling were strong and easy to follow, the more factual insertions were still easy to follow, but not always easy to understand why they were there in the first place. This is probably the first novel I have ever read that taught me about the process of mystery writing and the history of some of the greatest mystery writers of all time all while still maintaining my interest in the fictional mystery.

The stylization made it difficult to get to know any of the characters. While all the information needed to solve the mystery was provided, it was difficult to pick out what was relevant. Usually, by getting to know the characters, it’s easier to breakdown some of the facts based on personality traits. This was not the case in this book due to the writing style as well as the sheer number of characters involved in the case. The beginning of the book consisted of a constant stream of character introductions that while handy to look back on, were also overwhelming.

This book is definitely recommended for someone who is looking for something different in their mystery reading. Someone looking to feel challenged and ready to learn will love the different aspects of this book. It really has some great potential, and I can’t wait to see what comes next from Dann McDorman.

⅗ stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a truly unique book to kick off 2023. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

West Heart Kill is part whodoneit, part character study and part locked room murder mystery. Taking place at a remote hunting club named West Heart Kill, Adam McAnnis is a detective assigned by a mysterious benefactor to investigate the club. He easily scores an invite to the club via his former college buddy and is soon sent into a world full of infidelity, jealousy, lies and murder. The members of West Heart are several elite, uppercrust, intertwined families that have been members for generations. As their secrets and lies become exposed by Adam, members begin to drop like flies and it's a race to the finish to stop the murderer among them.

The book is told from the POV of Adam, but also breaks the fourth wall and is told from the POV of a mystery person. Could it be the writer of the book, another member of West Heart or, perhaps, the murderer? When the fourth wall is broken, the narrator throws in interesting quips about the origin of murder, the writers of murder mysteries, and speculation as to who/what/where/when or why these events are occurring.

Again, this was a truly unique read unlike anything I've read in the past few years. Overall, I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the characters' lives, but the end could be considered a bit polarizing ( I literally had to Google the ending to get a better understanding) which is why I rated it 3.5 stars.

dnf @40%
i somewhat enjoyed the setup and mystery itself, but i’m realizing that i am really not a fan of tongue-in-cheek writing in this genre (i wasn’t a fan of Everyone in my family… either). author thinks it’s funny and clever but i find it eyeroll-inducing

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was definitely something. I'm not sure what, but it was something. I wasn't able to finish it in it's entirety. I think the issue is trying to read it as an ebook through a phone just did not translate to the best experience for consuming this book. I maybe be inclined to pick it up from the library soon and give it another shot.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Edit:

Please see below for my initial review of this book.

So, I ended up returning to WEST HEART KILL but via audiobook. And, while listening to this book was definitely a superior experience, I'm still not sure I'm the target audience for this book. It's clever, well written, and thoroughly researched (I think I learned more about the mystery genre than I ever expected to learn)... there was something smarmy about the book that I couldn't get past.

I stand by my initial statement that you will either LOVE or hate this book, unfortunately I fall into the latter group.

.

The publisher has advertised this book as a unique take on the mystery genre, and from page one WEST HEART KILL delivers. With a biting, and arguably omniscient narrator, McDorman has created a voice of his own in the mystery genre and, I’m sure, a strong following already.

Unfortunately, I will not be rating this book because I was not the target audience. From the very beginning, this book seemed more suited to be a screenplay or audiobook and I personally found it difficult to follow at the best of times.

However, if you enjoy unique narrative styles and a mystery– I encourage you to read a sample of this book and decide for yourself whether or not this book is intriguing!

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman is a 1970s murder mystery, Agatha Christie meets Stephen King. Long poetic descriptive scenes with very dialogue heavy interactions. When most murder mystery scenes seem to follow a recipe of sorts, this novel is open about switching from third to first person narratives - breaking the 4th wall so to speak. It is a very interesting and fresh dynamic. I’ll be honest and say it took me awhile to enjoy a new perspective. There’s a lot of introspection and name-dropping of all his influences. But by the end I’m glad I read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dann McDorman for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of the more unique murder mystery books I have read. I enjoyed the authorial intrusion/breaking the fourth wall with all the explanations and break downs of the history of murder mystery stories and writers, but the actual mystery portion of the book got lost somewhere in there. With the over direction to the reader on what we should be focusing on I found I lost focus on the actual characters and plot of the book. This was just alright for me.

Unique murder mystery set in a remote hunting lodge where characters are trapped while bad weather rages and 3 corpses are discovered. I appreciated the premise of this book but found the writing style a bit difficult and tedious

⭐️⭐️

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.

Ahhh, I’m so bummed I ended up not enjoying this book. I picked it up when it was a read now on NetGalley as it sounded so interesting. Unfortunately, I thought the premise was intriguing but the execution didn’t do it for me.

I always love a good mystery every now and then, however, I felt like the mystery element in this story wasn’t fully developed. There were so many characters that left me confused throughout the book. Also, I just feel like the writing wasn’t for me.

I think this book could’ve done with a lot less commentary. It just felt so random and scattered throughout. While I loved the setting of the book, the story as a whole wasn’t interesting in my opinion.

Overall, I don’t know who I would recommend this book to, but it wasn’t for me. The commentary itself ruined the vibes and I didn’t find myself intrigued by the mystery. There was also a sort of screenplay element to it that just added so much more confusion. I think the premise was interesting, but the story didn’t work for me

Thank you so much NetGalley and Knopf for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

This wasn't for me unfortunately. I think if I had read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle prior to requesting this arc, I would not have indeed requested it because they reminded me of each other a fair amount and I did not like either of them. I am giving this three stars, though, because I think it's a strong debut with an interesting construction, just not for me.

This is a murder mystery in three parts, with two different narrators (one unknown), and the third act as a play. Take all that in. It's a lot. And though this book is fairly short, it dragged for me because I kept putting it down. I think it's such an original way to tell a story but this book didn't get it quite right.

The ending was also a little too ambiguous for my tastes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC!

West Heart Kill is a great locked room mystery read with a fresh twist. I loved the narration and the fresh take on an old trope. I had fun reading this one and I recommend it.

The location: an elite hunting club resort held by the same families for decades.
The time: the Seventies
The strangers: a private eye and a prospective new member, who's Jewish
The deaths: nope, not giving that away

West Heart Kill playfully addresses so many tropes in classic mysteries. I mean, for real, omniscient narrator/author literally (no pun intended) points out the similarities to Agatha Christie, isolating storms, locked room murders, making the reader part of the mystery in a new fresh way, while keeping us entertained and trying to figure out who the murderer is, why, etc. It reads like the narrator has an encyclopedic memory of every murder book - and then we switch to the play. Much like Wes Anderson's Asteroid City is a play masquerading as a movie or vice versa, we are treated to the denouement of the suspects being grilled on stage. Is there a Greek Chorus or is it the dear reader as the audience?

This book is so very meta. I absolutely adored it and was astounded by this new take on murder.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

West Heart Kill was too experimental for me. I found the writing style distracting. Ended up as a did not finish.

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman is a debut historical mystery metafiction with mixed media elements.

Picture a murder mystery set at a remote hunting lodge in 1976... but also a treatise on creating a locked room mystery. It feels like Dirty Dancing meets Knives Out.

I can see why this book is so polarizing. I'm a big fan of metafiction, so this was right up my alley. I also love mixed media; this book offers a map, interview transcripts, and a play among others.

Chapters are long--with many subsections and POVs--and span what happens each individual day from Thursday to Sunday.

CW: animal death (page 28, not detailed), murder, suicide, suicidal ideation

This is a unique mystery. I liked the way it started out, with the narrator giving the reader insight into the mystery genre, the characters, etc. The style is fantastic. Then the next day (part 2 if you will) completely changes the writing style to first person from the detective's point of view. Every day the perspective changes. I really got lost when all of a sudden it switched to a play format. I'm not sure what the thought process was from the author with all these narrative switches. For me, the play format just didn't work as well.

The book started out with great promise, but I felt like the ending fizzled. I'm sure there are some people who get what the author was trying to do and really enjoyed this one. I'm just not one of them. LOL.