Well written with a funny and compelling storyline and well developed characters. It was twisty and unpredictable and I couldn't put it down

There is something about a book that has a title that starts with the words Murder your Employer that might just pique your interest. Let’s face it we have all at times felt the urge to do bad things to those who can hold the fate of our employment in their hands, therefore I will start by saying this is in no way an instruction manual and if I am honest after reading the motivations of the characters in this book I think I will stick to just grumbling about my bosses as on the whole they don’t seem that bad.
At the start of the book, we are introduced to Cliff Iverson who for reasons best known only to him at this time is determined to kill his former boss in a way that he hopes will also ensure that he does not get arrested for murder. He thinks he has planned it all out, but things don’t go quite as he expects, and he eventually finds himself a student at The McMasters Conservatory. This is no ordinary place, and it is not long before he is assured there are 2 ways you leave this place… either graduate, or if you fail then you yourself end up being the one that is “deleted”.
We follow Cliff as he learns techniques and how not to do things and quite a lot of the story is told via his diary entries that he has to complete for his benefactor, however we also follow the progress of two other “students”, Gemma Lindley and Dulcie Mown. They have their own motives and of the two Dulcie seems to be the most motivated to succeed.
The first half of the book focuses on their progress and creating their thesis on why and how they plan to complete the “deletion” of their target without going into too much detail. What you do learn is that there are master deceptions going on to keep them all on their toes and also ensure that the Conservatory remains a secret. They do however require all students to be able to answer the following 4 questions, 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?. For me it is the second part of the book where it becomes truly interesting as we follow them as they put all that they have learned into practice, and we find out if they are all successful or not and what happens to them as well as their intended targets. There are one or two surprises along the way that you may not expect but it’s a book that has you rooting for the killer for a change.

Thank you for the advanced copy.

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide is set in the 50s and follows three students through their studies at The McMasters Conservatory, a college dedicated to the art of deletion. It’s innovative and funny and will appeal to fans of Pratchett and Rowling.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I hope I'm never in the position where someone reads my hard drive/reading history-they will wonder what on earth I'm plotting.

I found this book clever and interesting but a little slow. Not what I expected. I'm not sure I would be interested in reading a sequel.

This book had a lot of potential; I love the concept and there were some humorous lines and anecdotes. I really liked that it is written as a manual, and the inclusion of different characters' viewpoints (especially the interjections in Cliff's section).

I enjoyed the illustrations and thought the descriptions of the school were excellent. I thought the 1950s era really came across, and as a fan of Agatha Christie I liked the slightly stilted dialogue.

I think this book would have been greatly improved with more editing. Mainly with all the puns and quips: while some of these were clever, because they were coming from all characters from all different directions they lost some of their sharpness. They also slowed down the progression of the plot, which I feel made the book too long and less enjoyable.

All in all, I loved the idea and would definitely try out more from the author. Thank you for the copy.

Slippery Elms, an authentic English country estate rebuilt somewhere only a few know and now home to The McMasters Conservatory, an elite college for would be murders. For three new enrolees the path to graduation is to plot the perfect murder of the person who they believe does not deserve to live. For Cliff it is his former bullying boss who has already driven too people to death. For Dulcie it is the studio head who abuses power and women. For Gemma it is her manager who is blackmailing her. All three are trained but who will succeed?
I picked out this book because the blurb made it sound interesting and I'm so glad I did. Mainly narrated by Cliff, the first part tells how he came to McMasters. The school itself is definitely a 'Hogwarts' for homicide! I found the labyrinthine plots that each protagonist had put together to commit their crime incredibly complex and that is the point. It's an unusual book and very funny.

Holy moly! This book was intense! It was so beautifully written and so unusual, I've never read anything like this before! Such a clever story with a great plot. I must say it's quite a long and intense read, there are lots of very difficult words and quite an unusual language, but still this book was a brilliant read and I did enjoy it! Thank you Netgalley and the wonderful Rupert Holmes for allowing me an early release of this unique book!

I LOVED THIS BOOK and have not stopped recommending it to people since I read it. I would give it 6 stars if I could!
The premise is fantastic. The McMasters Conservatory is a secretly located college, where you can go to learn the various arts needed to carry out murder, but only if your intended victim is someone that the world will be a better place without!
We follow the story of three very different characters who are there to learn how to 'delete' their victim. During their stay at the college they must plan their thesis as to how they will carry out the murder.
The first half of the novel is based at the college and I loved the campus vibe. The description of the various locations and also the various teachers.
The second half sees our three main characters back in their home environments ready to carry out the deletion. Will they succeed? How will they perform?
The storyline had me completely hooked. I loved the upside-down aspect of being on the side of the murderer, understanding their motivation and cheering them on to their end goal.
There were also so many witty puns and plays on words that made this a riot of a read.
I cannot wait for more from this series.

Wow.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book but immediately there was dark humour, witty observations and a clever narrative.
I loved following the paths of three different main characters and discovering their backstories and what got them to this point in their lives.
A real page turner and some thoroughly brilliant plot twists.

Well what can I say....... just read this now! Cliff Iverson bears a deep grudge against his boss who has no redeeming features, so Cliff decides to murder him. However is plot is foiled and Cliff finds himself at McMasters Academy for deletions. This academy is rather special, it's a place for would be murders.

The premise is fantastic, the writing is a joy and all of the characters jump from the page. This is Harry Potter without the magic for adults!

Thank you for the advanced copy.

I really loved this book, I laughed a lot and really enjoyed how it was laid out and how it was written. Very well researched and I really liked the characters and how they developed throughout the book, I even enjoyed the villains to be honest.

Highly recommended

Outstanding. A wonderful counterpoint to all the 'teenage villain' academy books that are floating about.
It's fantastic to see a contemporary version that could actually exist with authentic gritty details and possible pitfalls of premeditated 'deletion'.
I particularly enjoyed the three distinct scenarios and reasonings behind the choices of the deletists and how they achieved their aims through subterfuge and expert planning. Those bosses really did get what they deserved... well, except for one but no spoilers here.
I'm also grateful that the story didn't just end with the success of their mission but went in to talk about the post-deletion/revenge malaise and how it could affect the person.
A genuine pleasure to read.

Murder Your Employer was a dark, biting and immensely enjoyable reader.

This is Dark Academia taken to its extreme. A murder school where you either graduate to complete your “thesis”, or die trying? I am completely sold.

This is a maniacal little gem of a book. I loved how Holmes really sat with the ethical considerations of our three would-be murderers and how every “thesis” must demonstrate why their target deserves to die. We encounter some depths of human depravity, with manipulation and stomach-churning behaviour. For me, this was a mystery like no other. Trying to piece together the whys and hows was fascinating, as were our central three characters. All have very different motivations and plans, but you find yourself deeply rooting for them. They have endured hardship that has changed them on every level and the perpetrators are truly monstrous people.

The textbook style narration added that extra degree of realism, like we were reading casebook examples from long ago. There is a smirky, sarcastic tone to the omniscient narration, with little moments that hit so much harder once you fully grasp everything. For me, this book thrived in its gotcha moments. When you fully realise how artificial some of the situations are, it adds an absurdly and darkly comic level of enjoyment that I have rarely found elsewhere. I went from belly laughing to being right on the edge of my seat, nearly trembling from nerves. This is a slow burn book that allows you to fall in deep, just to ramp it all up to incendiary conclusions that left me desperately wanting more.

Murder Your Employer is a fiercely intelligent and innovative book that defies genre. It is a mystery, a comedy and a revenge tragedy all in one.

When I started this book the Pratchett fan in me couldn't help thinking about Pyramids and the descriptions of the school of the Guild of Assassins.
I laughed and throroughly enjoyed this sort of reversed mystery. It's well researched and the author did an excellent job in describing the school and developing the characters.
The villains of the story are the type of book you fantasize about killing.
There's plenty of dark humour, there a plot that flows and kept me reading even if it drags a bit in the middle.
Recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review

Murder Your Employer started off very strong but quickly became quite plodding. The premise is very fun and interesting, but after spinning its wheels for the first half, it was difficult to remain invested in the second half though the plot does pick up. It’s a very wordy novel, at times unnecessarily so. The characters that our main characters want to ‘delete’ are very hateable. The attention didn’t feel equally divided between the three mains but it’s still easy to root for them to delete their respective targets.
Murder Your Employer is definitely a fun read if you can get through the sections that feel overlong.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC! This was such a fun read and one of the cleverest books I’ve ever read.

This is a historical thriller/mystery set in the 1950’s following three people as they attend an academy that teaches you how to “delete” (A.K.A. murder) people. That’s all I’m going to say.

First off, this book is ridiculously well researched. I can’t believe the amount of research and thinking that must have gone into this book. It was so clever and well crafted. I loved the historical writing style and there were so many hilarious quotes throughout. For example: “After all, when the behaviour of another person leaves you no choice but to kill them, their murder is simply involuntary suicide”. Absolutely classic.

The McMaster’s campus is so well described, I wish we’d spent more time there but at the same time I also enjoyed where the plot ended up going. I liked that half was set at the university and half then following the three characters going about their thesis. Talking of the characters, each of them was really well defined and had different motivations and desires. Each of their stories was unique and kept me invested. I just wanted to know what was going to happen next and seeing the “deletions” unfold was fascinating seeing all of the work that went into each one and all of the preparations. That might sound morbid.

I would definitely recommend this book, it’s a really fun time with darker underlying themes of grief, revenge and manipulation. Rupert Holmes is an incredibly talented author and I look forward to the second book! This one was released on the 21st February so you can read it now!

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. When I started this book I was instantly reminded of the wonderful Scoundrels trilogy by Cornwall and Trevelyan, as the book showed great promise of laughs and things that just go wrong, and although this is where the similarities ended as the laughs are not all the way through this book, I still really enjoyed the way that help was given to aggrieved members of staff who wanted their bosses dead, and that the story followed the 3 main characters up to the point they were going to implement their carefully thought out plans and beyond. I loved how the murder college was so hidden that no one knows where it was based almost like another planet and for once you had no concept of where the story was based in those sections of the book.
I would recommend this book as something different to read and you really need to remind yourself that your boss may not be all that bad.

Beautifully Executed..
McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts - a grandiose institution where the focus is firmly on the fine art of murder. Those wishing to be entered must possess ethical reason to do so. Be prepared. This is an education like no other you could possibly imagine - or, maybe, you could. Hugely entertaining, menacingly morbid, cleverly constructed and beautifully executed - pun wholly intended. A absolute sheer joy of satirical suspense.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book. I rooted for Cliff as he'd totally been done over by his boss and felt like the only option was to kill him. Bravo! The beginning was quirky as it was a 'reading a manual' style. The downside for me was the writing style. I felt like I really needed concentrate all the time and as a fulltime working mum I snatch reading moments when I can and I'm pretty shattered most of the time. This book needs a few serious reading hours at a time to really get into.

Rupert Holmes’s Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide is hugely, hugely enjoyable. Many of us have worked for someone who is deeply unpleasant, manipulative and we know the organisation, indeed, the world, would be a much nicer place without them. The scenario is that Guy McMasters founded the Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a highly expensive school that teaches homicide. The book follows the journey of three students, contemporaries at the Conservatory. We see why they were driven to want to kill their victim (as the title discloses, each victim is the student’s employer) and thus make the world a better place; their time learning at the Conservatory; and then their attempt at their graduation (aka the attempted murder of their employer). The book is supposedly written by the dean of the faculty as a textbook / advertisement for the course.

This means we know who the (attempting) murderer is; who the victim is; and what the motive is. The remaining questions are: (a) will they succeed; and (b) how will they do it? Given that they have been trained in the art of, ah, “deletion”, we expect them to avoid leaving clues and to demonstrate a certain artistic flair. And, oh, they do so well. Their planning and preparation is exemplary.

I almost cried when I finished the book, like a small child whose sweets are all eaten and there are no more. You can tell the author had as much fun writing it as I did reading it. Here are a couple of one-liners just from the Foreword:

“It is important to remember Kipling, if only because none of us are ever likely to meet anyone else called Rudyard.”

“[…] a hymn of thanks was sung by indentured servants across the farmland – from serf to turf, as it were.”

The author’s characterisation is spot on – I could almost see the people (both the evil victims and the heroic students. Some of the chapters are extracts from one student’s journal and the voice is very well done indeed. The plot proceeds briskly and with light-touch humour – there aren’t many laugh out loud moments, but there are plenty of smile-inducing passages that brightened my day. I do hope that the author writes more books – I shall certainly look out for any.

I have one tiny quibble: a cricket pitch is not oval.

#MurderYourEmployerTheMcMastersGuidetoHomicide #NetGalley