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skylarkblue1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Representations: https://trello.com/c/riOkOBY6/91-west-heart-kill-by-dann-mcdorman
I honestly don't even know where to begin with this review. This book was absolutely batshit insane and was one of the most unique books I've ever read. Trying to explain it would 1) be impossible and 2) make it seem worse than it is. On paper, if you list out everything this book does it sounds like a complete mess. In execution however, somehow it works. I have no idea how it works but in my opinion it does.
Don't go into this book blind - this doesn't mean spoil yourself on twists and the puzzles and such - know how esoteric it gets with the multiple different writing styles and make sure you have pencils/pens, paper and sticky notes to mark pages at the ready! You, as the reader, are very much a part of the story as much as any of the other characters. The narrator - essentially the voice of the author - switches between fiction and non-fiction (The interjections of the history of murder mysteries and such where quite interesting) and the book overall uses countless different writing styles. First person, third person, second person - even plural third person(?? the only way I can describe that lol) - and more.
The characters - some you'll love, some you'll hate. A fair few you'll really hate. But that's also part of the point, many of these characters weren't designed to be loveable. Character development is complicated - partially due to the writing styles and partially because of how short of a time-frame this is set over (thursday, friday, saturday, sunday) - but there is certainly some from some of the characters especially during the final climax.
It's not perfect, there's a fair few flaws. For one, the constant writing style changes can be confusing at first and with so many characters it can be hard to remember who everyone is. I had to write down a list of everyone and who they where, what they did, etc just to remember (though I think that is what you're intended to do to be fair). The puzzle as well was incredibly complicated and required a few logic leaps - some information also gets withheld from the reader which was a bit fustrating and sort of lessened one of the parts of the ending for me as I just didn't get it before the reveal. Some of the non-fiction parts as well - while most of them felt incredibly random in placement some did piece together and make sense as you read on - they just felt like "why is this here?" I learnt a fair bit (I'm not a major reader of murder mysteries and/or classics either) and certainly got interested in a fair few books just because of this book, but like why is some of this in here? Like did I really need to learn about Oulipo to understand more of the book's story?
It's funny in parts as well, which is well placed and helps bring up the mood a bit quite nicely. The clues are - mostly - well laid out and make sense. While there are some leaps in logic and some clues feel a tad unnatural, you can trace them back and see how it all connects pretty easily. The twists and reveals are parts of the puzzles so they're not fully intended to be like major suprises/completely unpredictable. There's certainly some unpredicable-ness however, and since I wasn't smart enough to be able to solve everything myself, some of the reveals where a suprise.
I think overall, it's well worth a read. It's an incredibly unique piece of literature and I think everyone from murder mystery buffs to people new to the genre would enjoy it. Just don't expect an easy read!
Representations: https://trello.com/c/riOkOBY6/91-west-heart-kill-by-dann-mcdorman
I honestly don't even know where to begin with this review. This book was absolutely batshit insane and was one of the most unique books I've ever read. Trying to explain it would 1) be impossible and 2) make it seem worse than it is. On paper, if you list out everything this book does it sounds like a complete mess. In execution however, somehow it works. I have no idea how it works but in my opinion it does.
Don't go into this book blind - this doesn't mean spoil yourself on twists and the puzzles and such - know how esoteric it gets with the multiple different writing styles and make sure you have pencils/pens, paper and sticky notes to mark pages at the ready! You, as the reader, are very much a part of the story as much as any of the other characters. The narrator - essentially the voice of the author - switches between fiction and non-fiction (The interjections of the history of murder mysteries and such where quite interesting) and the book overall uses countless different writing styles. First person, third person, second person - even plural third person(?? the only way I can describe that lol) - and more.
The characters - some you'll love, some you'll hate. A fair few you'll really hate. But that's also part of the point, many of these characters weren't designed to be loveable. Character development is complicated - partially due to the writing styles and partially because of how short of a time-frame this is set over (thursday, friday, saturday, sunday) - but there is certainly some from some of the characters especially during the final climax.
It's not perfect, there's a fair few flaws. For one, the constant writing style changes can be confusing at first and with so many characters it can be hard to remember who everyone is. I had to write down a list of everyone and who they where, what they did, etc just to remember (though I think that is what you're intended to do to be fair). The puzzle as well was incredibly complicated and required a few logic leaps - some information also gets withheld from the reader which was a bit fustrating and sort of lessened one of the parts of the ending for me as I just didn't get it before the reveal. Some of the non-fiction parts as well - while most of them felt incredibly random in placement some did piece together and make sense as you read on - they just felt like "why is this here?" I learnt a fair bit (I'm not a major reader of murder mysteries and/or classics either) and certainly got interested in a fair few books just because of this book, but like why is some of this in here? Like did I really need to learn about Oulipo to understand more of the book's story?
It's funny in parts as well, which is well placed and helps bring up the mood a bit quite nicely. The clues are - mostly - well laid out and make sense. While there are some leaps in logic and some clues feel a tad unnatural, you can trace them back and see how it all connects pretty easily. The twists and reveals are parts of the puzzles so they're not fully intended to be like major suprises/completely unpredictable. There's certainly some unpredicable-ness however, and since I wasn't smart enough to be able to solve everything myself, some of the reveals where a suprise.
I think overall, it's well worth a read. It's an incredibly unique piece of literature and I think everyone from murder mystery buffs to people new to the genre would enjoy it. Just don't expect an easy read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny, Child death, Gore, Ableism, and Suicide
ajawritesthings's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
West Heart Kill in one word: unexpected. And for a mystery novel, that’s exactly what you want. You want a narrative that subverts tropes and bends the rules (sometimes even breaking them!).
Everyone is a suspect and things get messy very quickly. The novel follows the elite members of the West Heart hunting club and as their secrets get revealed you realize no one is safe.
Anyone who reads this book will be sure to feel like an active participant in revealing the truth, which makes the book so much more enjoyable than other books that I’ve read before.
I’m not as familiar with the mystery genre, but I did appreciate the history sprinkled throughout the book. At times, it did feel overwhelming and unrelated to the plot but as a novice to the mystery genre, I really do think that it added a unique detail to the narrative.
SPOILERS
The ending was a bit of a let down, I can't lie. There are lots of things I saw coming, but the one thing I didn't see coming (and that I was a bit peeved by) was the cause of death of the detective. The author inserts himself as the ultimate villain, which could have had a powerful effect on the book, but felt cheap like some of the other reflective moments of the book. I think that the ending and some of the history bits kept me from enjoying the novel and giving it at least 4 stars. But I did appreciate that it feels like a fresh approach to writing a mystery novel. If only it had been executed more expertly, I would have loved it.
SPOILERS
I read this book in one sitting and literally couldn't put it down until I solved the murders. West Heart Kill has a star quality and fans of sleuthing will devour this novel. 3.75 stars.
Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Child death, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Antisemitism and War
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