Reviews tagging 'Classism'

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

7 reviews

dkamada's review against another edition

funny informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

bigheadcam's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Murder Your Employer is like if Harry Potter was written for the macabre, in a good way. It's a fun story with some interesting (if at times, simple) characters as well as a fantastical setting in the form of McMasters and the U.S. in the 1950s. 

It's worth mentioning that I think part of the reason that this book takes place in this time period is because quite a few of the methods mentioned in this book around "getting away with murder" would not be possible due to today's surveillance state and much more accurate and sensitive forensic technologies. Still, a good romp through hypothetical murders and the fantasy by proxy of an evil employer being shown the door!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

emilywemily6's review

dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The dry, witty sense of humor in this book is my cup of tea. Listening on audio was hilarious! So many death puns. The concept was original and I loved the first half of the book. I did feel like we knew Cliff better than the other two characters highlighted in the book, and I wish we had learned more. I honestly was not a fan of Gemma as a person or her storyline, so when her storyline was a more prominent part of the book, I enjoyed reading this book a bit less. I found her a bit pathetic and uncreative in her deletion thesis, whereas I was totally on board with both Cliff and Doria’s plans, executions, and contingencies. The only other gripe I have is that the setting in the 1950s was pretty subtle for most of the book, so I had to remind myself what the culture was at that time to understand the book. Overall, this book was so fun to read, witty and smart.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

drastichopeful's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really, really liked this book!  The characters were funny, the plotting was tense, and the ending was fantastic.  Saying too much more would spoil things.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

toffishay's review

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I liked this book well-enough, but I definitely wanted to like it more. The premise is so fun: a school that teaches you how to murder is ripe for puns and gags and you definitely get plenty of those. It still has adult subject matter though, so you get the vibes of a Series of Unfortunate Events or Truly, Devious, but with a mature element that really serves as a strong suit. The pacing is a little off for me. <SPOILER> The first part of the book centers around getting us acclimated to McMasters Academy, but then in the middle of the book the characters leave to carry out their "theses". At that point things slow down a lot of the three characters that we follow end up being so spread out that it can be a little bit of a slog to get through. I think that this isn't helped by the fact that even though we are following three main characters, the stories of Gemma and Dulci/Dorie felt way underdeveloped compared to Cliff's. Gemma is portrayed in a very middling way that makes you sympathetic to her, but she isn't very interesting to follow. Dulcie/Dorie is more interesting, but her ending falls so flat that it feels like the narrative is trying to punish her in a way that it isn't doing with Gemma and Cliff. And in both the cases of Gemma and Dulcie/Dorie, there endings feel rushed and incomplete, like all the attention was on Cliff and then the author remembers that they have to wrap up the other stories too. The romance between Cliff and Gemma felt weird too. He spends all of their interactions idolizing her for seeming nicer than other students and also being upset with her for her assignment with another character, Jud, because she is spending time with a man. And then at the end, it picks back up insinuating that they will get togehter? It feels underdeveloped. Ultimately, I think that this books could have been better served by focusing on Cliff's story, since that is the one that the author seemed the most attached too. <END SPOILER> I only have so much to say because I really wanted to love this book! It does hit on a lot of things that I like with a fun tongue-in-cheek framing, interesting mystery elements, a anti-hero stance that sides with the underdogs. All of that is great. But the characters, the length, and the division of the action/plot really drag this one down. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

In addition to listed content warnings, story also contains mention of "Gambling/Gambling Addiction"

calicat42's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book isn’t as dark and menacing as I thought it would be! It actually turned out to be quite an insightful, sometimes comical and sometimes sad, commentary on humans and our institutions. Yes, the apparent commentary is provided through a darker narrative, but I ended up having so many philosophical and moral conversations as I moved through each characters’ stories. I think the use of a darker and over-the-top narrative worked so perfectly! In no way does this book justify such violence (nor should it), but I do think it starts great conversations and it was a fun read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kat1105's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment