Created by Dann McDorman
“Of course there is a detective. There must be a detective.”
— just in case you were wondering.
Cozy? Hard-boiled? Meta-fiction? A sly update on Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game? A rip on John Dickson Carr’s locked room mysteries? A edible-fueled game of Clue? Postmodernism run amuck?
It’s hard to tell.
I mean, you’ve got an isolated lodge in the middle of nowhere, a bunch of not particularly likable but mostly well-off strangers, a major storm approaching that’s almost certain to knock out the power and any lines of communication to the outside world, a detective who just happens to be present, and of course a murder or two. So far, so good…
But before we get to any of that, the narrator has already smashed the third wall, grilling the reader directly and offering a running commentary on both the narrative as it unfolds and the history, tricks, and tropes of the mystery genre. There’s even a handy list of characters, just like an old Dell Mapback, although it’s been redacted.
Of course it has.
Here are the opening paragraphs of Dann McDorman’s 2023 playful, shape-shifting headscratcher, West Heart Kill, in case you don’t believe me…
This murder mystery, like all murder mysteries, begins with the evocation of what the reader understands to be its atmosphere, the accumulation of small, curated details to create a shared myth of mood, time, and place—though not all at once, of course, that is important. The writer of murder, like all writers, must be a miser, conceding revelations bit by bit; for every novel is a puzzle, and every reader a sleuth.
Not all mysteries begin with the protagonist, but this one does. He is riding in the passenger seat of a car; these opening sentences don’t reveal the year, model, and make, that would be too simple, but you do see the protagonist pushing an 8-track into the dashboard, Wings at the Speed of Sound, music bounces out—“Let ’Em In.” The protagonist is smoking something, a joint, passing it back to a new character, the driver, whose presence was implied at the start of this paragraph but never explicitly stated… The two men—yes, both men—are dressed similarly, in clothes of an era that is not your own but that you recognize from film and television: the clues accumulate…
Yeah. Fasten your seat belt…
It’s July 1976, and Big Apple private eye ADAM McANNIS is invited by an old college pal to the snooty and very exclusive West Heart hunting and fishing club in upstate New York to obstensibly celebrate the Bicentennial Weekend, although the actual reasons for the invitation seem a little murky.
Then again, most of the details of the actual mystery are a little murky, and often more than a little skimpy. Truth to tell, I found some of the discussions (digressions?) on crime fiction more interesting.
Your mileage may vary…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dann McDorman is an Emmy-nominated TV news producer. He’s also worked as a newspaper reporter, book reviewer and cabinet maker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.
UNDER OATH
- “From the first page, McDorman addresses the reader directly as he discourses at length about plots, detective novel tropes, postmodern writers… and the metaphorical significance of locked-room mysteries. All of this could slow down the narrative, except that it soon becomes clear that these asides are, in fact, the narrative. Does this approach work? Occasionally.”
—Sarah Weinman (The New York Times Book Review) - “West Heart Killis a true unicorn: a thoroughly original suspense novel that hops across elements of the genre—spot-on historical fiction and a diabolical locked-room mystery interspersed with a fascinating primer on the history of the form—while always being tremendous fun to read,”
— Chris Pavone - “Dann McDorman simultaneously revels in and comments on the multi-faceted plot as the narrator directly addresses the reader with the assumption that she is equally knowledgeable and ardent about mysteries, decanting intriguing insights into the genre and its luminaries. McDorman is funny, canny, and nimble in this clever, unusual, and enormously entertaining mix of criticism and suspense, this mystery propelled by witty banter, hidden trauma, messy affairs, and vicious schemes.”
— Donna Seaman (Booklist) - “I love the meta-ness of it – the idea that you’re getting to think about the influences on this writing as you’re reading it… But your enjoyment of this novel will very much depend on your willingness to get through all its narrative quirks.”
— The Cozy Owlet - “Don’t believe everything you read. If you like a very unique take on the mystery genre, and are willing to go on a journey that is littered with diversions and distraction, then this may well be the book for you. I can’t quite make up my mind about it. Was this a true murder (possibly) mystery, or a story wrapped up in a thesis on the art of writing crime fiction? Why not try the book for yourself and see if you can figure it out.”
— Jen Med’s Book Reviews
NOVELS
- West Heart Kill (2023) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- “Oh, Mama, I got the post-modern metafictional blues again…”
Who reads this stuff?
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
