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Shop nowWest Heart Kill
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Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“Boy howdy did this book sneak up on me. Admittedly I enjoy a book that breaks fourth wall, but sometimes, in acknowledging tired tropes, a book becomes too self aware and turns into a tired trope of its own. NOT THIS BOOK. McDormand, with a deft hand, kept the story, structure, and pacing so fresh. It was smart, but not didactic. Meta, but not opaque. And I gasped at the end. TWICE. And then I laughed at the sheer cleverness. My only complaint is (as always), the epilogue. It should have ended on the ellipses (IYKYK!). ”
— Maren • Nook & Cranny Books
Bookseller recommendation
“If you like detective whodunnit stories and meta fiction, look no further, this book is for you! The setting is classic: a long 4th of July weekend in a country club, a storm, murders, and a detective who asks (too many) questions. The narration, however, is quite original: throughout the book, the narrator addresses the reader and tells anecdotes about crime novels and the history of detective stories, pointing the resemblances with the novel we’re reading. I liked this novel a lot, and had so much fun reading about famous and not so famous anecdotes of history of literature! As for the plot in itself, I found it well written and relatively unexpected, and the fact that the narrator is so self-conscious of all the detective stereotypes he put in the story made it even more fun to read. ”
— Marie • Emma's Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Wow! This book is entirely captivating and such an interesting take on the mystery genre. Adam McAnnis, detective and friend of one of West Heart Hunting Club's founding family members, is allowed to join the Bicentennial weekend at the exclusive club. All seems relatively normal, but with a mystery it never really is normal, is it? Murder, lies, old money, infidelity, and an unreliable narrator voice guide this story, and McDorman bends the book's structure in a way that I have never seen before, making comments about the genre, plot, characters, and reader as it moves along to make for a fully immersive experience. Loved it!”
— Kalynn • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman is not your typical mystery or ordinary murder. Four days, three dead bodies, one inconvenient storm, set in a remote exclusive hunting club, and a cast of greedy, unsavory, and most unloyal elites is told through a narration style similar to a film with director's commentary. As the reader, you'll be glad that the author breaks the fourth wall, giving you a glimpse of clues that the others don't. But the suspense dials up a notch when the reader becomes a character. What a wild ride and remarkably fun to read. ”
— Michelle • Mysterious Galaxy Books
LOOKING FOR AN ANYTHING-BUT-ORDINARY WHODUNIT? • Welcome to the West Heart Club. Where the drinks are neat but behind closed doors . . . things can get messy. Where upright citizens are deemed downright boring. Where the only missing piece of the puzzle is you, dear reader.
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.
"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 . . .
DANN McDORMAN is an Emmy-nominated TV news producer, who has also worked as a newspaper reporter, book reviewer, and cabinet maker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.
Reviews
“Potent. . . . McDorman's knowledge is abundant, as is his cleverness.”—Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review
“Fun, clever, and innovative. A remarkable novel by a major talent, who has created a crime novel that feels entirely unique.”
—Stuart Turton, international best-selling author of The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
"West Heart Kill is a true unicorn: a thoroughly original suspense novel that hops across elements of the genre—spot-on historical fiction and a diabolical locked-room mystery interspersed with a fascinating primer on the history of the form—while always being tremendous fun to read."
—Chris Pavone, New York Times best-selling author of Two Nights in Lisbon
“A crime novel that unpicks traditional storytelling… engrossing, surprising, clever, genre-bending.”
—New York Times best-selling author Val McDermid
“A brain-teaser and a crowd-pleaser. I loved it.”
—Benjamin Stevenson, author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
“Phenomenal…totally unique . . . a treat for every murder mystery fan.”
—Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal
“McDorman simultaneously revels in and comments on the multi-faceted plot as the narrator directly addresses the reader with the assumption that she is equally knowledgeable and ardent about mysteries, decanting intriguing insights into the genre and its luminaries . . . McDorman is funny, canny, and nimble in this clever, unusual, and enormously entertaining mix of criticism and suspense, this mystery propelled by witty banter, hidden trauma, messy affairs, and vicious schemes.”
—Donna Seaman, Booklist
“Entertaining.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“West Heart Kill is definitely ambitious and absolutely entertaining…. McDorman does an excellent job of peeling the onion-like layers of his detective tale, carefully doling out surprises as the pages turn…. Sure to spawn exceptionally lively book club debates.”
—BookPage
"A delightful spin on the form."
—CrimeReads
“Irresistible..... West Heart Kill is about both the rules and the breaking of the rules, the conventions of the murder mystery and their subversion.... A complete original – and a total delight.”
—BookTrib
“This is no run of the mill whodunnit — the writing swiftly causes readers to sit up and take notice, and pay attention…. Both honoring the classic crime genre and turning it on its head, this is a talented unique read.”
—Belfast Telegraph Expand reviews