West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

You.
Yes, you, reading this.
Get in the car.

Sit in the back – you’re joining the detective and the other guy who’s driving. They’re both in the front. Don’t think about the other guy. He’s not important.

You’re going to the West Heart clubhouse. The country club that’s so swanky it’s in the title of this book. Kill. It’s not that kind of kill. Or maybe it is, after all.

You arrive, it’s the Fourth of July weekend and look – there’s cocktails on the lawn. What’s your poison?

Don’t flick forward. You just have to wait. Especially for the part when you find out what happens on page XX.

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I don’t take on many review requests and instead prefer to read and review my own books, but when the opportunity to read West Heart Kill arose, I couldn’t resist.  The description led me to expect something a little different in a crowded genre, and I was not disappointed.

My first impression upon starting this novel was that readers will either love or hate it, and that stayed with me throughout.  Luckily, I fell on the former side of that statement.  What makes the novel so different to others that I’ve read is that the author breaks the fourth wall, talking directly to the reader throughout.  This does have the effect of pulling the reader out of the story occasionally – in one moment, you’ll be reading about the residents of West Heart, and then McDorman will “talk” to you directly, pointing out noteworthy pieces of information, and highlighting what you may or may not have been thinking, and what you may or may not have missed.  I love playing armchair sleuth in reading crime fiction, and so I found the invitation to get a step closer to the action irresistible.  A bit of flattery doesn’t hurt, either.

You are alert – as a veteran of murder, you know that one of these new characters is likely to be the killer, but which one?  You hope that this writer is skilled enough to avoid too heavy-handed a clue; even the wrong adjective, or adverb, or the subtle rhythm of a sentence or phrase can tip off a canny reader to the ultimate conclusion.

While some readers will enjoy this writing style more than others, the author uses it to their advantage to lay their own unique clues and red herrings to guide and distract the reader in the formulation of their own conclusions.  McDorman also uses it as an opportunity to explore crime fiction more generally, including its history and some of the great works of the genre, as well as the generally accepted rules of the mystery novel – the typical dos and don’ts and the concept of fair play in allowing the reader the opportunity to solve the crime themselves.  I particularly liked this line about Agatha Christie:

T. S. Eliot had five.  Jorge Luis Borges had six.  Ronald Knox had ten (the famous “Decalogue”).  S. S. Van Dine had twenty.  Agatha Christie, of course, knew all the rules and broke most of them, brilliantly.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot itself, other than to emphasise that there is an intriguing mystery at the heart of the novel – this is not an instance of style over substance.  A detective has been hired – by whom and for what purpose aren’t immediately revealed – and so is present at West Heart, a country club for the affluent, for their fourth of July celebrations (I imagined it as something similar to the setting of Dirty Dancing).  The club is populated by largely unpleasant individuals – brash, self-entitled, rich (although perhaps not quite as rich as they make out), and seemingly unhappy families, judging by their infidelities – widely known but never discussed – and the alcohol consumed.  Thus the scene is set for a murder, but of and by whom aren’t obvious, nor is the motive, which all makes for a wonderful puzzle for the reader to get lost in.  

West Heart Kill is one of the most original novels I’ve read for quite some time.  I love the way in which it plays with style and form, inviting the reader to solve the mystery themselves.  Upon finishing it, I was tempted to go straight back to the beginning and read it again – I expect it’s one that reveals more upon a second pass through.  A unique mystery that is both clever and different – I’ll be interested to see what this author does next.

West Heart Kill is published in paperback today (4^th July, which is entirely fitting) by Raven Books and is also available in digital and audio formats, and I’d love to know how that works!  With thanks to Graeme Williams for the opportunity to read and review the novel ahead of the paperback publication. 

Disclaimer – I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review.

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Book 4 of 20 Books of Summer 2024.