Dann McDorman: West Heart Kill (EBook, Knopf)
eBook, 288 pages
English language
Published by Knopf.
An irresistible literary 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 and marks the arrival of a major new talent
"A thoroughly original suspense novel that hops across elements of the genre—a diabolical locked-room mystery interspersed with a fascinating primer on the form—while always being tremendous fun to read."—Chris Pavone, best-selling author of Two Nights in Lisbon
An isolated hunt club. A raging storm. Three corpses, discovered within four days. A cast of monied, scheming, unfaithful characters.
When private detective Adam McAnnis joins an old college friend for the Bicentennial weekend at the exclusive West Heart club in upstate New York, he finds himself among a set of not-entirely-friendly strangers. Then the body of one of the members is found at the lake’s edge; hours later, a major …
An irresistible literary 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 and marks the arrival of a major new talent
"A thoroughly original suspense novel that hops across elements of the genre—a diabolical locked-room mystery interspersed with a fascinating primer on the form—while always being tremendous fun to read."—Chris Pavone, best-selling author of Two Nights in Lisbon
An isolated hunt club. A raging storm. Three corpses, discovered within four days. A cast of monied, scheming, unfaithful characters.
When private detective Adam McAnnis joins an old college friend for the Bicentennial weekend at the exclusive West Heart club in upstate New York, he finds himself among a set of not-entirely-friendly strangers. Then the body of one of the members is found at the lake’s edge; hours later, a major storm hits. By the time power is restored on Sunday, two more people will be dead.
The elements of the classic murder mystery are all present in West Heart Kill, but it’s the daring structure and mischievously subversive narration that set this debut apart. This is no ordinary whodunit. Both an homage to the masters of the genre, and a wholly original spin on the form, it’s a sheer delight from start to finish.
I don't understand why I do this to myself. I always end up reading a whodunnit that tries to be so smart that it fails miserably. I really wanted to yank the collar of the author by the end (if you get to it, you will know why).
This book even got a NYT author profile!! I cannot even. www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/books/dann-mcdorman-west-heart-kill.html
West Heart Kill is a hunting camp, decades old, run and operated by a group of families who have made this quiet, remote place in the woods their private getaway from their ordinary lives. There is just one road into West Heart Kill, so during and after a damaging storm, it would seem to be a perfect place to stage a locked room mystery. (By the way, the word kill is a dutch term for a body of water.)
This particular mystery was written in a way I’ve never encountered before. It’s a high concept sort of mystery novel, mixing points of view and passing around the narration baton. It’s also a meta novel, with the author letting us into some of the process. Reader is also a character.
For me, unfortunately, this creative style obscured the mystery. The character development in many mysteries isn’t deep, but when the writer …
West Heart Kill is a hunting camp, decades old, run and operated by a group of families who have made this quiet, remote place in the woods their private getaway from their ordinary lives. There is just one road into West Heart Kill, so during and after a damaging storm, it would seem to be a perfect place to stage a locked room mystery. (By the way, the word kill is a dutch term for a body of water.)
This particular mystery was written in a way I’ve never encountered before. It’s a high concept sort of mystery novel, mixing points of view and passing around the narration baton. It’s also a meta novel, with the author letting us into some of the process. Reader is also a character.
For me, unfortunately, this creative style obscured the mystery. The character development in many mysteries isn’t deep, but when the writer leaves the story to wander down another path for a bit, it can make it hard for Reader to focus on the facts about the West Heart Kill denizens. In addition, these asides killed the pace of the story. Even though I thought the information the author related was interesting, it sometimes felt like an intrusion. The ending was both intriguing and jarring.
Overall, this mystery did not keep my attention very well because of the pacing problems and my lack of interest for the characters. I was impressed with its creativity, but it served to bog down this novel more than it added interest. The writing style was pleasing, however, and I would be interested in reading more from this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for letting me preview this mystery.
Available for loan
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/285851.