If you enjoy twisty plots; a group of characters that all have secrets, intertwined relationships, and motives for bad behavior; and a secluded setting perfect for dark deeds - then try out West Heart Kill. The detective makes up stories to suit his audience, changing tack as it becomes necessary to gain confidences and fit in. Readers are left wondering exactly who he is and why he is there.
The narrator often interrupts the story to comment on the conventions of detective fiction, or address the reader directly. For instance, within the first chapter: "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?" The reader's knowledge of the usual methods used by writers to drop clues that are easy to overlook or to point the attention elsewhere through sleight of hand are acknowledged, but also exploited to mislead and complicate.
As Adam, our sleuth, moves deeper into the tangle of current situations and vendettas from the past, the number of affairs, grudges, and lies multiplies. And then the deaths start. We find out about earlier deaths, attempted suicides, and a tradition of keeping things within the group and hidden from the outside world. Who has sent Adam (or invited him in) and what do they expect him to find?
A Peyton Place in the woods with firearms, alcohol, drugs, sex, fireworks, and something darker simmering beneath it all, stirred and seasoned by an author determined to keep us guessing until the very end - and perhaps beyond.
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