Has it ever crossed your mind that the world would be a better place without a particularly odious person? Perhaps someone who makes life hell for everyone else?

Well, provided you have a sound reason for wanting them dead and you’re really serious about killing them, you need to attend the McMaster’s Conservatory for the Applied Arts. There you will learn all the tools you need to successfully kill (or as those at MacMasters prefer to say ‘delete’) your target.

You must first convince the Dean you have a strong ethical reason to murder your target and then you will be allowed to enrol at a beautiful campus, in a location kept secret from all who attend. You will learn the fine arts of deception, disguise, poisons, martial arts, flirting and seduction, along with building perfect alibis and so much more. When you leave you will be perfectly equipped and assured of carrying out the perfect ‘deletion’ and getting away with it. However, don’t be mistaken in thinking that McMasters is a school for training assassins or serial murderers. It is not. Carrying out just one perfect murder is the expectation and will allow you to complete your graduation.

This delightfully entertaining novel is darkly devious, intelligently written and so much fun. Once accepted into McMasters, students cannot leave until they complete or fail the course (you don’t want to know what happens if you fail), but the campus sounds enchanting, with tasteful buildings, pleasant leafy grounds, and enticing shops and restaurants.

Set in the 1950s, the novel opens with a somewhat dry tongue in cheek guide to McMasters to set the scene. Do not abandon the book at this point, as it then goes on to more interestingly follow the case histories of three of McMasters students: Cliff is an engineer whose boss is endangering the lives of many by his actions, while Gemma’s boss is a blackmailing bully and Doria, an actress wants to rid the world of her studio boss who only gives out the best roles in return for sex.

The McMasters staff and the training they provide are just as interesting as its students and, of course, not all the students are pleasant people who play by the rules (remember, they are training to be murderers). Reading about unique and inventive ways of killing (sorry, deleting) people that need to be removed from the human race never became tiring and I could easily read more about the staff and students at McMasters. Once the students have finely honed their skills, they are sent out to carry out their final graduation project (ie. murder their employer). How they chose to go about it and how it turns out it is just as entertaining as their training.

Author Rupert Holmes is a celebrated musician, well known for his song writing and production, as well as a playwright and novelist. Much like his famous Pina Colada Song (aka ‘Escape’), this inventive, character-driven novel is full of quirky charm that is sure to delight many readers.

Set in the 50's this is a unique, funny, entertaining read. I really enjoyed this book and the unorthodox subject matter was great. I am sure most of us have had an errant thought pass thru our mind contemplating someone's untimely demise. What if there was a school to teach the tips and tricks, the how to of it and of how to get away with it? Can you imagine the characters who would enroll? Well they are right here in this book, told in 3 POV's of those attending the "academy" and they are as unique as the plot of the book.
Highly recommend, totally entertaining, you won't be sorry!
Thank you to Avid Reader Press and to Net Galley for the ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

This is a fun read, but not great. I enjoyed the story a lot and the writing style but something has not convinced me at the end. Still will recommend it.

The beginning of this story had me absolutely hooked - I loved the witty writing style packed with clever puns. It made me feel like I was plopped in the midst of a classic murder mystery with a fresh twist - in this universe, people enroll at the McMasters academy to learn how to effectively get away with murder. It was amazing!

But by the middle/end, the story lost me. It was extremely wordy and spent a lot of time giving character back stories or every minute detail of a scene, which made it feel like a chore to get through. At times, the magic was recaptured and I remembered what I found so charming in the beginning, but ultimately it wasn't able to hold my intrigue. And by the end, the arc of the story felt... off to me. It was unsatisfying, partially because I felt so distant from these characters and wasn't very invested in the culmination of their journeys.

I feel like this would be much more effective played out on screen, or with more "to the point" writing, although that's just based on my personal opinion/what I find enjoyable!

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How could I possibly resist a book with such an *intriguing* title? And then, to my delight, I found out it was a book about a school dedicated to the arts of offing one's enemies without being caught. I didn’t quite know what to expect, other than a good time!
It begins with a few definitions, and a foreword by Dean Harbinger Harrow introducing us to the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts and the three characters we would be focusing on. Cliff Iverson was fired from his engineering position with an aviation company for pointing out the changes his superior made would be deadly. The same superior was also tangentially responsible for Cliff’s mentor and a woman at the company he was interested in. When Cliff fails to push Fiedler, his hated superior, in front of the subway train Cliff is whisked away to McMasters. There he meets Gemma Lindley, a soft spoken woman of many talents, and apparently a desire to murder the woman blackmailing her. Gemma is one of McMasters more hesitant students, though she must go through with her deletion (a more tasteful and obscure word for murder) otherwise she herself will be deleted. Then there’s Doria Maye, Hollywood actress, who is enthusiastically attending McMasters so that she might be rid of her studio director who is holding a grudge against her for sleeping with someone else. If she doesn’t she’ll be stuck voicing an animated pig and her career will surely be over.
The characters are a delightfully interesting bunch, and though their goal is homicide they’re very easy to sympathize with because each has been obviously wronged. While that doesn’t make the “deletion” right, it certainly becomes understandable. McMasters itself is a fascinating school - it’s a picturesque campus in a secret location, and the classes are specifically geared towards a variety of techniques one might employ to commit the perfect crime. Everything from forgery to poisoning and seduction to disguise are available to study, though they have much more mundane names and the students’ curriculum are tailored to their specific method of deletion (their thesis).
I had a great deal of fun reading this though at first I was somewhat put off by the number of colloquialisms I didn’t quite understand. Then as I read further, I realized it was set in the 1950’s and that made much more sense. I don’t know if this is intended to be the start of a series, as the ending both implied it was planned and implied that nothing of the sort would happen. You’ll understand what I mean by that when you get to Dean Harrow’s epilogue if you choose to read this. I would definitely recommend it if you’d like a unique school setting with older characters and don’t mind the extensive number of murder puns.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for this ARC.

This writing style was a unique way of telling a story. The story was told mostly through journaling, a choice that will work for many readers. Unfortunately, it wasn't a style I enjoyed reading. The concept was interesting, but I couldn't connect with the plot. I recommend everyone give it a shot and see if it is a style you enjoy. For me, it was a miss. I give this book 2/5 stars but would recommend it to others to decide for themselves.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rupert Holmes for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder Your Employer coming out February 21, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Who hasn’t thought about what the world would be like if a person who was the object of your trials and tribulations poofed into thin air?

The McMasters Conservatory is a prestigious school of the homicidal arts. To enroll, a student must have an ethical reason for eliminating someone who deserves a fate like death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college has an unknown location, even those who study there. It’s a place where you might be the practice target of a classmate. The mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world better. Be prepared for a deadly education.

Overall, this book didn’t work for me. I had high expectations that it would be a fun how-to murder guide. I thought it’d be similar to Deadly Class. At nearly 400 pages, it just felt like it was dragging on. I would’ve liked it to be quicker paced with more action. It was also very dense with a lot of description and less dialogue. It’s just not my favorite style. There was nothing wrong with the writing. It was very smart and educated. I just didn’t feel a connection to the characters. I enjoyed the mention of Kansas City though.

I read somewhere once that Rupert Holmes had wished he had never written Escape (The Pina Colada song), and this made me a bit sad because I’ve always enjoyed it. You can see his exceptional use of word play throughout Murder Your Employer: The McMaster’s Guide to Homicide.

Murder Your Employer takes place in the 1950’s so a lot of the references to movies and famous people back then may be missed by readers in their 30’s or younger, unless you're a fan of that era of media. Since it does take place back then you also get a lot of old Hollywood and the use of the casting couch to coerce women into sleeping with those higher up. If this book were to take place today, Holmes would have had to write a very different book.

Also because of the era, Holmes is able to write a lot of rules of murder that would not be able to be done today because of cell phones and the internet. When one of the characters, Cliff, goes to the movie theater to see cartoons and newsreels before the movie, it starts to really get across how different things were back then.

I did find some of the ways to murder people interesting and I’m also fascinated by poisons and using food or drink as the method of delivery, so that was fun.
Holmes’s characters are well developed, and after finding out the back stories as to why they want to kill their employers I did want to finish the book to see how everyone handled their thesis… even though the book did drag at times for me, and what would normally take me a couple of days to read, ending up taking five days.

If you like historical crime novels and/or dark humor, you should definitely give Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes a read.

One of the most original thrillers I have ever read! I absolutely loved this book, and truly can’t recommend it enough. The synopsis is a little vague, but I think it’s best to go into this one not knowing a lot. Just know you’ll be in for a wild ride. This book has excellent characters, an original plot that keeps you turning pages, and a sharp sense of humour sprinkled throughout. I read this book in two sittings because I just couldn’t put it down. This is definitely a new favorite for me, and I highly recommend.

I will start by stating this book is so much fun!! Told by different points of view, we follow these characters as they are enrolled in an "academic institution" to learn the art of "deletion" ( murder) of their insufferable employers. Oh yes, and how to get away with it. The campus is a secret and one must complete their "thesis", or face the consequence. Will they all succeed or will some fail?

This is a great premise and the author keeps the book moving along. It is indeed a walk on the dark side, but oh so delightful. The characters are well developed and the world the author creates reminded me of the Harry Potter books. I highly recommend devoting an afternoon to read, you will want to know how it all resolves. I look forward to reading more from Rupert Holmes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for an ARC. The review is my own.

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 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’s 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.

So much fun! A secret school where the students learn how to literally get away with murder .. and who hadn't thought about murdering their employer at some point in their working life? The story follows three unique individuals through their time at the school through their "graduation," the successful "deletion" of their target. Highly recommended, and much thanks to the Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

Unique premise about a school to teach you how to murder. I enjoyed reading about their training and the final product! Fun book.

This was a fun and entertaining read. I will say it took me a while to get used to the style of writing, but the story was captivating and once I got used to the narrative style, enjoyable. The plot was unique and the scenarios were fun.

Murder Your Employer is a tale of three killings in the 1950s, as told in a book from McMasters, a school that teaches ordinary people how to get away with the perfect righteous murder. Students are taught all the tricks they need to know in order to complete their “thesis” - meaning, murder their deserving target. But to protect this highly secretive school, failure to successfully complete either your course of study or your thesis means that the only one dying will be you.

This book is cleverly and engagingly written, and very funny at times, in a dark and absurd sort of way. I liked the characters and really enjoyed the three concurrent (murder) plots.

CW: suicide, and lots of cheerful discussion about murdering people

Representation: POC character, queer characters

Darkly enriching…this intriguing tale of mystery, mayhem, and murder is the perfect blend of intelligence and intricacy. Written from multiple perspectives, we follow the lives of three individuals on a mission to untangle their lives by order of ‘deletion’ (murder). As the story unfolds and you uncover what brought these students to learn the art of murder, you find yourself rooting for a killer. 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

"So you have decided to commit a murder. Congratulations!"
I had the chance to read this arc thanks to Netgalley.
This book was dense, in a good/bad way. The story is very intriguing, but sometimes as a foreign reader I had hard times reading this, because it was very technical in some parts.
The idea behind the plot is wow, Mastermind! It resembles a tales, but with murder and mistery. In particolar I loved the multipov and the pictures and the inserts.

You can find my review on goodreads here:
http://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?invite_token=N2IyMDJjZmQtNjEyYS00M2NhLThlNjEtOTBhOWEyN2NiZDBk

This unique story focuses on a clandestine college that teaches students how best to murder their most deserving victim. To gain admission to the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, the student must have an ethical reason for "deleting" the person. The progress of three current students are featured: Cliff, an American aeronautical engineer, whose scholarship is being paid for by an anonymous donor; Gemma, a British nurse; & Doria, a Hollywood actress sent to film purgatory by a vengeful studio head. The students learn about unique poisons, how to set up alibis, wear convincing disguises etc. Cliff, Gemma and Doria are monitored by the faculty and then allowed to leave the McMasters campus to "complete their thesis" in the second part of the book with varying degrees of success and follow-up consequences.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon and Schuster. All opinions are my own.

This has to be the most charming primer on murder I have ever read, right up to and including the end. Who is the person who, if “deleted” from this world, would take with them all of your problems? Such is the question McMasters asks of its students, providing them with the tools and theories to help them successfully take deletion into their own hands. This book provides a campus novel, three capers, and even a romance. There is something for everyone to enjoy in this book, sadly never to be a series.

Murder Your Employer is about McMasters Conservatory where everyone majors in murder but not everyone successfully graduates. After a botched attempt at murder, Cliff Iverson is recruited to attend McMasters in order to learn the proper way to delete someone. The first part of the book is told in a journal format with Cliff narrating his education for the benefit of the anonymous sponsor funding his scholarship. The rest of the book follows the stories of his classmates Doria and Gemma. All have reasons as to why they want to murder their targets and all are devising the best way to do so without being caught. The tone of the book is rather lighthearted considering the focus on murder and while the format may be hard for some readers to get into, others will enjoy the quirky, offbeat humor.