West Heart Kill

A Novel

By: Dann McDorman

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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 listener.

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 . . .

©2023 Dann McDorman (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Robert Petkoff solidifies his position as one of the finest narrators in the audiobook world with this metafictional mystery. His voice is fluid, and his attitude is exactly right for both the omniscient self-congratulatory narrator (who frequently interrupts the story to comment) and for PI McAnnis, who is on a case. Petkoff keeps one's attention even while delivering the long list of dramatis personae.... Petkoff's performance makes for entertaining listening." (AudioFile)

“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

Literature 101

I found myself back in college taking a literature class on how to write a murder mystery. I really wanted to like this but found the dialogue distracting.

Meh

Tortured - more intent on reviewing the murder mystery genre than weaving and engrossing story. Then just disgorges facts and circumstances in a big final reveal.

Unsatisfying End

I liked the academic conceit of the book, but the story and character development were lacking, and I still don’t know whodunit.

I don’t know how this title got into my library!!!!

I am going to ask for a credit if I actually paid for this! Sometimes i do try books that are included with my membership and end up enjoying them. BUT don’t bother wasting your time with this one.

Not for mystery lovers

I like a good mystery. This was a huge disappointment. All tricks, no treat. It’s all about the writer, not the story.

Not sure how to rate

I’m really not sure how to rate this book. I’ve stopped listening to it. I was thinking I was getting a mystery murder story but it reads like a tutorial on how to write a mystery murder story. So in essence it’s not what I was expecting

Academic article disguised as fiction

A writer who knows an excessive amount about the genre in which he writes, but lacks the creativity to successfully complete a whodunnit. Stick to academia, bro.

Two different books

I was really excited about this book, but the interludes on how to write a mystery were a bit confusing. It felt at times like two different books. That being said, it was an interesting concept.

Unanswered: Who did it?

This very good writer likes to muse about the means and methods of detective fiction history. Covering this is a threadbare plot. The writer makes the plot matter as he undermines it. Good characters wander in, make an impact and disappear. One is left hanging in a terrible situation. In the end, the writer won't say who the murderer is. I wouldn't have listened to it had I known. There's such a thing as too clever.

Interesting storytelling

The writing is very clever. The story is told in a unique and interesting manner. The narrator is great. This seems to me to be a book written in the manner of Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes, neither of which I am a fan (nor have I read any of their books completely, so forgive me if I’m off-base). If you love clever storytelling, this may be the book for you.