Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

21 reviews

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"

madamenovelist's review

adventurous dark funny informative sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

jessiereads98's review

dark funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Murder Your Employer is unique and so much fun. I’ve never read anything quite like it. Rupert Holmes utilizes humour masterfully to create a comedic murder mystery where you’re along for the murder. I love how he turned common phrases on their head along with utilizing tropes in unique ways. The description of settings also makes you feel like you’re right there in it without overdoing it on exposition. The use of Dean Harbringer Harrow as a narrator and interlocutor was genius and created a compelling flow through the unique tone the storytelling took.

This doesn’t quite make 5 stars for me as I felt the stories of Doria Maye and Gemma Lindley weren’t as well done as that of Cliff Iverson. At times those stories felt like they didn’t quite fit in with the rest or were rushed, creating an overall impression of a lack of focus. I wish the characters had interacted more than we got to see. I also didn’t particularly care for the ending to Doria’s story. The ending of Cliff and Gemma’s stories were predictable although not unsatisfactory. I just didn’t find the writing of the endings as compelling as the rest of the book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Alcohol

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

bebidocrimes's review

funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

This book is labeled as Volume 1, and while the author wrote himself a loophole in case he really doesn't want to continue, I need more! I'm doing mental math based on when this was published vs. when it is set and I think Harrow may have been like 100 years old, unless the Guide was published in-universe at a different time than this physical copy has been published. This kind of mental knotting up is precisely what this book feels like all the way through in the most fun way possible. I was watching minor characters with a side-eye waiting for them to become more relevant, so I expect sequels so I can read [REDACTED] get deleted. Also, I swear the janitorial and waitstaff have something up their sleeves. Maybe with Gemma's fate, we can get a bigger glimpse at it. There are so many plays on words and puns, I can't believe it never overstepped from charming and cheeky to straight-up annoying. I think this series could really play on the idea of 'who deserves to die' vs. 'who deserves to kill', which McMasters seems to try and uphold a moral standard for...mostly... I think I would like to explore the campus a bit deeper, especially the Poison Garden and the Menagerie. ALSO THE AUTHOR WROTE AND SANG "ESCAPE (THE PIÑA COLADA SONG)"

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Blackmailing

mtnest's review

funny informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tea_at_mole_end's review

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

honeywine's review

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This books starts out a little on the slow side (which is surprising given what it’s about) but once I got around 50 pages in, it really took off for me. It’s definitely a dark comedy with a lot of joke of the “oh hohoho wasn’t that a clever turn of phrase” category. 

By the end, I stayed up way way way too late in order to finish. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

purplepenning's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Wryly humorous, darkly satisfying, and only a bit too clever for it's own good, MURDER YOUR EMPLOYER is an ambitious and entertaining murder mystery turned inside out. Readers of this case study guide to homicide follow three would-be student assassins in the 1950s as they study, train, and enact their final murderous theses to successfully matriculate from McMasters Conservatory of the Applied [Homicidal] Arts. McMasters is a [poison] Ivy League-calibre "finishing school for finishing people off." The course work is high stakes but each student has such a deserving thesis subject that we can't help but root for high marks.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Racism and Pregnancy

Blackmail, assisted suicide, organized crime, vigilante justice, and a scene that plays too dangerously close to homophobic/transphobic for Reasons (those being context, motivation, and era)

kayceeisbookish's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, Stalking, and Alcohol