West Heart Kill

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

“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

“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