Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide By Rupert Holmes

Dez the Bookworm

Death is a sweet release… Unless it’s your own.

Darkly enriching…this intriguing tale of mystery, mayhem and murder is the perfect blend of intelligence and intricacy.

Slow burn to edge of your seat, this story leaves you guessing and assuming…only to be questioning if what you read was truly fiction, or entirely possible.

Written from multiple perspectives, we follow the lives of three individuals on a mission to untangle their lives by order of ‘deletion’ (murder). Is it a justified killing, or simply revenge? As the story unfolds and you uncover what brought these students to learn the art of murder, you find yourself on the dark side, rooting for a killer.

Slow burn first half and eventually ramping up, all the backstory comes into play and becomes worth the read. I would have liked just a little more thrilling moments sprinkled through the slow burn to keep me more invested, but overall it was quite the fun read!

Sujoya

4.5⭐
(Plot 4/5 ; Audio Narration : 5/5)

An exclusive institution for aspiring murderers …oh sorry, I mean “deletists” situated in an undisclosed location, The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts covers an expansive syllabus in the homicidal arts ranging from “Herbicide” to forgery to “Eroticide” and much more. Of course, the selection process for aspiring students is quite rigorous (the fate of rejected candidates is another matter, altogether!) and follows a procedure beginning with justifying one’s proposed “thesis” based upon certain principles, The Four Enquiries:

#1: Is this murder necessary?
#2: Have you given your target every last chance to redeem themselves?
#3: What innocent person might suffer by your actions?
#4: Will this deletion improve the life of others?

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes is presented as a handbook written by Dean Harbinger Harrow of McMasters Conservatory and details the experiences of three students from the graduating class – aeronautics engineer Cliff Iverson (whose anonymous sponsor remains a mystery revealed at the end of the story), hospital employee Gemma Lindley and Dulcie Mown (alias for Hollywood diva Doria Maye) - each of whom seeks to execute a sanctioned deletion of their respective employer/boss. We follow all three candidates through their orientation, training and ultimately their “thesis” which translates into how to apply all they have learned in executing their plan, failing which has its own set of consequences. Much of Cliff Iverson’s story is told through journal entries (first person PoV).

Dark humor, the world of academics (complete with its infighting, rivalry and politics), and sanctioned homicidal intent with an element of mystery – what a fascinating combination! I enjoyed all three storylines but was partial to Cliff’s story which is discussed in much depth. Set in the 1950s, the author creates an intriguing and atmospheric setting with a cast of interesting characters. However, I do feel that the pace does slow down considerably in parts owing to excessive detail (mostly in the first half of the novel) which also renders the narrative a tad too lengthy. The second half of the novel definitely picks up the pace as we follow the three graduates as they embark on their individual projects. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The author has done a great job of weaving an intriguing narrative around such a creative and unique premise. The illustrations by Anna Louizos perfectly complement the text. I wish we had more of those.

I paired my reading with the superb audio narration by Neil Patrick Harris and Simon Vance which made for an entertaining and immersive experience. This was my first time reading Rupert Holmes and now I can’t wait to read more of his work!

Melissa (Way Behind Again!)

Not sure why this took me so long to get through! It's certainly a uniquely told story from a unique author, filled with a bit of mystery and humor and a lot of drama. In some ways, it reminded me of a TJ Klune book, and in other ways of a quirky suspense tale.

We are introduced to our main character Cliff Iverson when he attempts unsuccessfully to kill his horrible boss. Presented in the form of a textbook for the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, we follow Cliff mostly through his journal entries as he navigates his education to learn how to successfully "delete" (aka murder) his employer, and most importantly, to get away with it. We also follow two of his other classmates, Gemma and Doria, as they learn the skills to both murder their own employers and to avoid getting murdered themselves.

One of the things that I missed at first that really would have helped me was knowing that this book is set in the 1950s as I struggled for a while with the time setting. There is so much dry humor here, I could totally picture it as a movie on the screen with the witty one-liners. I came to really care for the characters and was rooting for their success in their deletions as their employers were truly awful people.

There are some parts that were slow and dragged a bit, but overall this is a highly original tale that has widespread appeal. The ending is superb, so even if you get to some of the slower parts definitely power through and you'll be rewarded in the end.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Teres

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide, Vol. 1 is the clever brainchild of author, playwright, composer, and singer-songwriter Rupert Holmes.

Those of a certain age (ahem) may remember him for 1979’s earworm “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”

Full of endless puns, dry humor, and nostalgia for a bygone era that evokes the early 1950s, Murder Your Employer chronicles the experiences of students at McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a finishing school that teaches one how to “finish” people off.

McMasters dean Harbinger Harrow, offers the case studies of three pupils — Baltimore engineer Cliff Iverson (on full scholarship from a mysterious benefactor), British hospital worker Gemma Lindley, and incognito Hollywood star Dulcie Mown — to educate at-home students by example.

The first half is a slow-burn with focus on campus life in an idyllic setting of unknown location. In fact, the school’s location is so secret, students arrive blindfolded after being taken on quite a circuitous journey. Upon arrival, they don’t even know what country they are in.

You see, once a student sets foot on campus, there are only two ways to depart: either as a fully accredited graduate or in an attractive urn.

From slow burn to edge of your seat, the second half of the novel picks up the pace considerably.

Having received a comprehensive education in assassination, our three case studies return to life outside of the conservatory to execute their final thesis: delete their targets without being caught.

Here Holmes successfully turns the mystery genre upside down by making us root for our three goodhearted killers, who if they fail, don’t just receive an F — they pay with their lives. Gulp.

Should this at-home study manual entice you to enroll in this fine finishing school, remember: don’t skip a class, develop good study habits, pay attention in your courses on weapons, poisons, and the art of disguise.

Most importantly, remember the McMasters golden rule: "Do in others as you would have others do you in."

After all, your undertaking may result in… undertaking.

Dab

What a ride!

Cliff’s boss is a psychopath. And a powerful one at that. He managed to ruin Cliff’s career, have his best friend murdered and make the girl Cliff liked commit suicide. Cliff is a nice guy, but he decides to kill his boss for the greater good. He fails miserably but that’s where the McMasters “finishing school” (pun intended) comes to play.

The beginning of this book reminded me of Monty Python and Futurama, it was bizarre and so funny! The academy with its seemingly jovial and good natured dean was idyllic and cozy which contrasted with its murderous purpose in a brilliant way.

There are kitchen gardens so the food is fresh and there’s an ice cream van to complete the bucolic setting. But there are also poison gardens and there is ground glass in the ice cream.

As the story progressed it got darker. It should not have been a surprise, given the subject, but it was a little. All the twisted logic about murder (or deletion) being basically the only option for some individuals. All the mind tricks making you understand the motives and subsequently… root for the killer.

My only complaint is that this book is very long and at some point it started dragging.
However if you like dark humor and witty, intelligent writing, you will love it!

Thank you NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

James

Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes, a new author I found on NetGalley, is a 2023 mystery novel. Set on a campus where the institution teaches undergraduates how to murder someone without getting caught, the story was an original and filled with fun characters. Overall, I enjoyed the writing and the plot, and the descriptions were very imaginative. I found myself eager to see where the tale would go, as it's both a mystery and an instructional guide of sorts (thru journal entries and educational prose). It follows 1 main character and 2 other potential murderers as they take their courses and learn how to correct past mistakes. The beginning very much felt like a Harry Potter-esque tale (minus the fantasy elements) where you are whisked away to an unknown place by someone claiming to be your sponsor / secret guardian. And when it all unfolds, you think... wow, what type of craziness is this! Mostly, the content was interesting but it was about 20% too long, which I only mention because there were pages of background that while helpful and important detracted from the pace and action. Also, sometimes it got too wordy and technical, which had some charm and merit but it also caused a reader to feel tossed out of the imaginary world and forced into a sense of... "wait, what is going on here and who is this person again?" I think it would make a very cool movie or television series for that reason tho, so kudos to the writer for the concept and execution on many levels.

OutlawPoet

I’m honestly not sure that any book exclusively about murder has the right to be so wonderfully wholesome, but this one is. It’s just a freaking delight!

All of our characters, even those who really ought to be murdered, are funny. The writing is clever and smart and before you know it, you’ve finished the entire book!

My main fear was that the premise would get too precious and get a bit tiresome. It did not. Somehow the book stayed fresh and entertaining to the very last page.

I’m very glad I read this one. A true pleasure of a read!

• ARC via Publisher

kay

Thank you to Avid Reader Press for this ARC.

I have to be honest, I went into this with low expectations and was absolutely blown away. Murder your Employer follows the stories of three McMasters students as they prepare to, well, murder their employers. There are multiple POVs and an omniscient narrator, which I don't see a lot of but thought was the perfect choice for this book.

I had so much fun with this read. I was gripped by Cliff's story and by the time we got to the McMasters conservatory I was completely in the book's clutches. I'm a sucker for worldbuilding and when it's done well I will eat up every miniscule detail like a little snack and MYE was a whole feast of visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory and olfactory imagery and the illustrations were the cherry on top. Boarding school is such a fun trope and now I can add Holmes to the list of authors who did it excellently.

The cast of characters is big, which I thought fit the setting very well. I had fun finding out everyone's motivations, and the side characters felt fleshed out as well as the main cast, with Doria definitely taking the number one spot in my heart (sorry Cliff).

Now, the writing. I have to admit, the beginning had me scared that I wouldn't get far. It felt a bit gimmicky and it took a while until I realized there was actually a story here, and not an actual guide (a tweak in the description could help). Past that, it was smooth sailing. I'm too young to have understood some of references to pop culture at the time, but they didn't feel condescending as it's often the case. The writing was witty without being exhausting, the dialogue flowed and the twists and turns conveyed just right. For a mystery that's about commiting a murder rather than solving it, the suspense was real and palpable.

I can't wait to see more of McMasters.

scthoughts

description

The plot had me intrigued and invested the whole time. I loved the setting of the school, from classes to the assignments given to through the eyes of our main characters. Witty dialogue and banter helped the book to maintain a consistent flow instead of feeling stunted. A story with humor that's not overdone, details and "twists" were logical and keeps you on your toes along with characters that aren't the ordinary papier-mâché stereotypes.

The writing drew me in from the beginning and the personalities of the characters were established rather quickly and easily. These are the morally grey characters that are fun to read about. Cliff was definitely my favorite. He was a gullible doofus at times but I was rooting for him the whole time and felt proud of him as his skills approved. It's a little odd to say this when murder is involved but there was a wholesome nature to it. Also, it was a bonus that I kept imagining the schools dean as Keith Michell's character of Dennis Stanton in Murder, She Wrote. 😂 It just made sense. 🤷🏾‍♀️

If this were to become a duology or series then I'll definitely read it. I would consider this to be a dark academia novel that fits more along my tastes. I genuinely had a fun time from beginning to end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for providing a copy for an honest review.

Marleen

1.5 stars

I thought this story was going to be amazing, but it just didn't work for me. It was messy, the writing didn't work for me, there were way too many unneccessary details and I felt no connection to the characters.

First off, the story is written as if you're opening an actual manual. It's about this school where people who have plans to kill somebody get shipped off to to learn how to do it. It's all written with a pretty blasé and funny tone. But my issue isn't with the tone. I really appreciated the tone, actually, but I disliked the writing. Too many unneccessary details, too many adjectives. The language used just didn't mesh with me. It didn't read easily.

Added to that, the set up wasn't consistent. First, you open up the book to read the foreword of the current dean of McMasters, the school. Then it starts adding exerpts in from one of the new students' diary, the diary of Cliff Iverson. The first chunk of the book is actually just that, with some additional quotes and info from the dean. But then, quite a chunk in, we start to have two more perspectives. So where, from Cliff's and the dean's perspective we see Dulcie and Gemma as side characters for a big part of the story, all of a sudden they're also main characters??

Which, okay. Fine, I could get used to. But then the book kind of deviates from its entire concept: it being a manual and it including written reports of these students. It just follows Gemma and Dulcie and Cliff on their separate murder planning from their own perspectives, no diaries involved. Like, if you're committing to a concept, why not follow through with it?

Another gripe I had with this book is that the perspectives are all very "extrospective". Meaning it's mainly just characters describing a lot of what happens around them (hence the massive amounts of details describing A LOT of things), instead of them describing themselves, their character or their feelings. The characters only had a little bit of backstory and were solely focussed on preparing and executing their murders. This resulted in them having practically no personality, except for maybe the one or two traits Dulcie displayed. The author also tried to imply a little bit of a romance, or at least an interest, between Gemma and Cliff. But because they had no personality, this was wholly unbelievable.

With all of the detailing and overtly explaining how they all learned and planned their murders - the methods were smart, don't get me wrong - it became kind of repetitive. The book was way too long.

Long story short: where this book hooked me with its concept, it fell short on the execution.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this eARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

AndiReads

Super Fun ! Rupert Holmes is a well know novelist and playwright. He captures our (at least my) imagination with the title of his new book, Murder Your Employer.

MYE features the fantastic McMasters Conservatory - a school focused upon the deletion of your employer. McMasters has it's own lingo of course and deletion is preferred to murder! This super fun book covers the stories of a handful of people who have been disrespected so much by their employer that death (deletion) is truly the only solution. Potential students are recruited and find out very quickly that once you set foot on the Poison Ivy League Campus, you have no choice but to follow through. In fact, once you learn about McMasters, you become a member for life - however long or short that life may be.

Be prepared however, because to graduate you must present a successful Masters thesis - an untraceable death of your former employer. Failure, is simply not an option.

If you dislike your job, fantasize about killing your employer or just would enjoy a British style dark academia for adults, Murder Your Employer is for you!
.#AvidReaderPress

Nicola Stevenson

This was a charming & delightfully dark read! I loved the Poison Ivy League college and seeing the students learn the practical & theoretical ways ways they could end the life of their chosen target. I thought the setting of an undetermined place & era just added to the mystery of the story. The case studies we follow, from the same class, were really different - the motivations for our heroes to carry out their deletions, the villains, the methodology, and even the characters themselves. I thought the characters were well written & fully fleshed out, and I was cheering them on. While the pacing in the first half is slow, I feel that it’s mostly justified as there’s a lot of background that needs to be supplied. The pacing does pick up in the second half when we see the practical side of the thesis’s being carried out, and this had me eagerly turning the pages to see who was successful. This was an engaging tale & I hope that there is a second.

Thanks to Avid Reader Press & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lexxi

The premise of this book is that it's a nonfiction book provided by the McMasters school so we can learn some of the school curriculum without needing to attend the secret school. The book starts with a very dry introduction (which worried me the whole book was going to be like this, but did help establish that this was a nonfiction book since my eyes usually glaze over during nonfiction intros). Then, we follow 3 students as they attend McMasters and go back into the world to complete their thesis (murder their employer or be murdered by the school). After the intro, the story was much more engaging, so I would suggest to reads like me - don't be put off from the intro if it's not your style.

The book was really well written and entertaining. I loved the world of the school where learning how to murder (called "deletion") was a common, normal thing. I appreciate how the school was creating the thoughtful deletionist to commit one deletion vs training someone to be a serial killer. It was also strange when our 3 students were back in the real world and I was rooting for them to commit murder ("complete their thesis") so they would pass.

There obviously is some dark humor in the book - I was chuckling throughout. I was engaged throughout the book. The students Cliff and Doria had the stronger stories, where Gemma's was a bit weaker. The book primarily focused on Cliff - he was an unwitting student and had to keep a journal for his sponsor (the person paying the tuition), which is how we got the details for the nonfiction how to book.

The book does a great job of creating a believable narrative as well as an engaging story. It was also minimally gory so if people are worried - you'll likely be okay.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

Me, My Shelf, & I

PSA: This is not a book about murdering your employer.
This is a book about a confusing school (we'll get there) in which the primary main character is interested in killing his boss, but the other students all have separate reasons and separate murders that brought them there. Once again I was drawn in by a cheeky title that implied more than it ultimately delivered.

After a botched murder attempt the MC finds himself bagged over the head and enrolled in this school, taking courses on herbicide and having life-or-death pop quizzes sprung over dinner (eg one of the dishes is poisoned, figure it out or die/get very sick).

DNF:
I'm so bored that I forgot I was reading this book multiple times while literally reading this book. Several reviews mention that it's a real slow-burn of a first half, but I need more than a snoozefest to get me invested enough to make it to the halfway point and beyond. Please someone spoil this whole thing for me because I just can't make it through.

The School:
So some of the students enrolled themselves and pay their own tuition, and our primary main character had no idea the school existed but has been unwillingly enrolled as a sponsored student. The logic of the school doesn't make sense-- you can't leave unless you graduate or die, because you know too many secrets (which makes sense if you choose to be there, but not if you're given no choice as a sponsoree); students test their skills on each other (even the unaware, new students); the school seems to train its students to commit ONE specific murder in their lives but also trains them to be accomplished/well-rounded murderers? I don't get it.

The cheeky concept only gets you so far, you have to actually do something interesting with it.

The Women:
It's not bad but it is notable and cringe how the women are described in the beginning. I know (because the narrative straight up tells you so) that 2 of the female students will become main characters in their own rights... but the way their appearances are called out more than the men, the way the MC automatically starts seeing them as a crush and paying attention to how they interact with all other men... blah. Stop pushing such a weird, heterosexual agenda as soon as there's an established male and female character. They don't have to end up together/have a fling or whatever automatically.

It's 2023: my standards are not this low.

The Writing:
There's a LOT of describing things and quirky details and constant threats of death, but there's nothing happening. I'm not feeling like I know the characters and their interests, I'm not seeing a plot take shape... the most invested I felt to this point was during a flashback from well before the story started-- and I feel like that's never a good sign.

It doesn't have any biting social commentary or clever puns, I think the humor is supposed to mostly be derived from the juxtaposition of scholastically/academically studying how to murder? But there are hundreds of assassin school books already, so I guess I don't inherently find the concept funny.

The Audiobook:
I normally love Neil Patrick Harris as an actor, but his recitation lacks all emotion and interest. The other narrator, Simon Vance, simply puts him to shame at every turn. Maybe put this on if you're having trouble sleeping, because I was constantly battling to keep my eyes open with this one.

Brittany

This was alright. Narration was good. The start was dry as intended as it was set up to be like a textbook. It is introduced to us through the Dean of the school as this is to be his textbook and goes on to follow 3 students in their journeys to delete people.
Loved the concept but with the format I felt like I was too far removed from the story itself and there was more of a telling instead of a showing style for much of the book. It starts slowly, taking its time to get going. There are some very enjoyable parts but overall the story turned out to be just average instead of the great one I was hoping for.
Not sure why the book was set in the 1950's, it would have been useful to know going into the book but it worked. There's some good dry humour and I agree with some other reviewers that it could make for a good movie.

Worth the read though!

Bella Martinez

This is quite possibly one of the best, most tightly woven stories I've ever read.

Samantha

It’s very rare to come across a truly original premise for a book, so i was delighted by this story, reminiscent of other favorites but wholly unique in plot.

I am, of course, a perpetual sucker for anything with an academic setting, particularly books like this one where the author creates an immersive atmosphere for the reader at their fictional school. This has the feel of Hogwarts or Brakebills, minus the magical elements.

And like all books with this sort of school/training bent, the portion of the book set at the school is significantly more fun, clever, and interesting than the portion that comes after that. I don’t like to criticize authors too much for this because the departure from training is of course made inevitable by the plot, but it does always leave me wishing that a greater portion of the plot stayed in the central setting.

I love the clever training the students received, including everything from the rationale for certain instruction (cooking! Dancing! Baseball!) to the delightfully punny course titles (I’m still giggling at Zooicide).

My lone gripe with this one was some gross and unnecessary moralizing at the end with regard to Gemma’s plot line, but it wasn’t enough to truly leave me disappointed in the story. The end implies the possibility of a sequel or series to follow, and I very much hope that to be the case!

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Kim

We are following a few students as they attend The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts to learn the skills to perfect their thesis. This is a unique story that I enjoyed reading. However to be truly honest this did take some time for me to really get invested in the story. The first part of the story moves slowly. Once I got to know the characters better individually I was more interested in their stories. At about the halfway point the storyline pace picked up and I couldn’t put the book down. I wanted to know which students failed and which ones succeeded in perfecting their thesis.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been by anyone.

Spiritedbookishbabe

I actually didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would. It turned into a DNF at around 49%. I couldn’t get through it after that point. It was pretty boring for me. I couldn’t stay interested in the book. I had to put it down

Janet

Once in a while, a book comes along which is that little bit different, and this is one of those books both in content and style of writing.

It was an enormous pleasure to read.

Written as a tongue-in-cheek (I hope!) guide on how to murder your employer, or ‘deletion’ as The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts prefers it to be called.

McMasters is in a top secret location. Even the students don’t know where it is as they are drugged and have their heads bandaged as they are transported; the bandages only being removed upon arrival. They are not allowed to leave until they have completed their course and prepared for the perfect deletion, to rid the world of a genuinely bad person.

The ‘manual’, written for those unable to physically attend, follows three of the students in their endeavours to master their classes and complete their thesis on how they will undertake the deletion of their employer once they leave McMasters. Once the plan is approved by McMasters, they return to their lives to do the deed.

We follow each of the three, one also by way of a journal written for his unknown sponsor, through their short time at McMasters and then we join them as they carry out their dastardly deeds. But do they all succeed or will any of them them be deleted by McMasters for failing?

It was laugh out loud in places and extremely well written by the author who I am not in the least surprised has received awards for many of his novels. He also wrote The Pina Colada Song!

Just brilliant and I highly recommend reading it!

Natalie

Let me just start by saying that the premise and plot for this are absolutely bonkers and genius. A secret academy / university where matriculation means being certified not only in the finer points of murder, but in how to do it and get away with it. Absolutely amazing.

Right off the bat, this was hilarious. It’s got that British, dead pan, sarcastic humor that’s just this side of biting and cheeky in the best way.

“After all, when the behavior of another person leaves you no choice but to kill them, their murder is simply involuntary suicide.”

However, about half way through, I felt this started to lag badly and I’m not sure it ever really recovered or why it needed to be so very long. This could have been 100 pages shorter and still covered the plot adequately while also letting the saccharine jokes and humor land without feeling so encumbered or even buried by superfluous words and character exchanges that don’t end up adding much.

“Heavenly father, who gave life to all creatures on this earth and then thought it would be just as good an idea to give us death . . . thank you for the bounty we are about to receive, and also for the bounty which is not on our heads. Give us this day our daily bread—and may I just say how delicious the brioche was today, my compliments to our baker as well as to our maker—and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who’ve trespassed against us once we’ve deleted them. And may all of us soon be saying ‘Amen’ at the funeral of our targets. Amen.”

I’d still recommend this, but would caution that the second half does feel a bit long.

Thank you Simon & Schuster for my galley! This is available now and delightful on audio with fabulous British narration.

Meghan ReadsBooks

Murder Your Employer... winner for most subtle book cover that belies the fun assassin training filled plot underneath. Rupert Holmes' book is a win, sly and sneaky with its story that is somehow a deft blend of charm and darkness and a welcome change from a standard thriller while not leaning into the fantastical themes that I don't always connect with. The characters were all well drawn, with good depth, unique stories and backgrounds, and the story had strengths in the background early chapters that developed the story and moved into a kind of case study approach to develop the student characters. I really enjoyed this book and appreciate the review copy from Avid Reader Press, 4.5 stars for a creative story and a new author for me to follow.

This is a fun well written read, might be a fun book club read for groups looking for a different kind of thriller/murder theme.

Recommended for: fans of Never Saw Me Coming; Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone;

Daniela

I don't think I've ever smiled so much while reading a book about murder.

The premise of a school that teaches you how to get away with the perfect murder and has published a guide based on previous students' experiences gives literal dark academia vibes, only make it funny and somehow wholesome? I can't say I've read anything like this before.

The author does a great job of making you empathise with aspiring murderers, skillfully revealing their backstories while building three perfect mystery stories in which you already know who the killer is, you just don't know how and if they'll carry out said ~~murder~~ deletion successfully. I was anxiously rooting for them the whole way through.

If you like boarding school settings but for adults, dark humor, the 1950's, and satisfying... endings, welcome to McMasters!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest feedback.

Books Around the Corner

Think Harry Potter but with a "how to" murder academy. I LOVED the first half of this book and liked the second half. I love the idea behind the guide to homicide without ever really saying murder. Learn about the four enquiries...I mean am I the only one that would want to obtain a degree in homicide?

Fun fact author is the writer of Escape (The Pina Colada Song) and that just made me want to read it even more.

Susan Tunis

Well, this was delightful! It's a wickedly clever tale of revenge, murder, and higher education. Specifically, it's a humorous tale of a finishing school for murderers, along with a few of its stand-out students.

There are pleasures aplenty in the pages, from the intricate plotting to the sly wordplay. But for listeners of the audiobook, there is one more pleasure: Neil Patrick Harris is the primary reader. And as this is most definitely a comedy, he hits it out of the park.

Dawn

It started out with puns and potential, and ended up making me sorry I started it. The school setting is mostly abandoned halfway through, and then the book starts getting very slow. The book focuses on three students, and the methods of achieving and dodging murder are sometimes offensive by modern standards (the book is set in the 1950s, but doesn't feel like a historical novel.) Of the three students, I felt invested in one of their stories (Cliff's). He's the one we started following at the beginning of the book, and his story felt less pulled-from-modern headlines. For a book set in the 1950s, much of the school's lessons seem especially like overkill (pun intended). I preferred the McMasters POV, but we never learn about the school's origin. A prequel about its early days might appeal to some. Another note: It's weird that the title refers to employers. Murder Your Boss would have been more accurate. How to Murder Your Boss would have been a better title.

Geonn Cannon

Horrible Bosses, but make it literature. Fun, quirky, unique, and overall an enjoyable read. Not as dark as you might expect, given the subject matter.

Desiree

The singer of The Pina Colada song wrote a book and it’s just as quirky and clever. This book was so fun and unique!

The first half is SLOW. The second half is so bingeable you won’t want to put it down. The characters are wonderful. The setting is cozy. And once the main three are released back into the world to delete their targets, the twists and turns will have your head spinning. This author made getting away with murder sound like fun. Truly this is such a refreshing and new concept, I absolutely loved it.

And that cover, oh my goodness. It’s gorgeous.

Sofia

Colombo would have loved this.

For those of you who do not know Colombo, he was a police detective on a long running tv series, his cases where always very very complicated and he meticulously puzzled out each piece. He would so have loved this because the three stories presented by Holmes are so meticulously built that it would take a Colombo to catch these perpetrators.

Katie

To be honest, I had no idea what I was getting into, but wow! Containing lots of dark humor, wickedly warped and convoluted game plans that bordered on absurdity, and ridiculously punny wordplay that would make even Shakespeare proud, this book was a gem I was happy to undertake. Would definitely love to see other McMasters volumes in the future.

Title	:	Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide
Author	:	Rupert Holmes
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1451648219
ISBN-10	:	9781451648218
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Hardcover
Number of Pages	:	400
Publication	:	First published February 21, 2023

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Reviews

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