West Heart Kill - Dann McDorman

 West Heart Kill --- Dann McDorman

Publication Date:  Oct. 17, 2023

She read

West Heart Kill - Dann McDorman

Publication Date: October 13, 2023

She read

Private Detective Adam McAnnis contacts a college friend he hasn’t seen in quite a while and finagles an invitation to join him during The Bicentennial Fourth of July weekend at a private upstate New York hunting club.  Why is he really there?  The corpses pile up among the moneyed, adulterous residents in this creative, unconventional mystery.

This is a very unique approach to a mystery story.  The narrative styles vacillate.  The reader’s role changes from that of voyeur to that of sleuth; the writing style devolves from narrative into play script. Along the way, through multiple digressions, the reader is schooled in the nature of mysteries and techniques of their writers through the ages.

I’m not quite sure what to make of this book.  I give the author credit for his clever reimagining of a traditional mystery and I enjoyed the references to classic stories and tropes of this genre.

However, I was disappointed in the way it concluded, having felt that it deteriorated near the end leaving this reader less than satisfied.

Those looking for creativity or who enjoy metafiction will like this book.  Just don’t go into it expecting a customary whodoneit. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #knopf for the ARC

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