Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

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

15 reviews

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.

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sprossa's review

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3.0

I genuinely enjoyed this book VERY much! My critique, and what knocks it down half a star, is that I found a couple things a bit problematic. I didn’t love the way

Spoiler

Doria killed her targeted and the use of drag in her story, I get it but I think in todays climate it felt off to demonize queer gender expression. I also felt that Gemma being immediately failed had she not saved Adele’s life (even not knowing she was pregnant) felt a bit off. It makes sense for the time period of the book, but I’m just not sure I like either inclusion.

I don’t think either of these ruined my experience and they’re not blatantly problematic, I do think the book is funny and a genuinely enjoyable thriller (from someone who doesn’t read thrillers) but it did dampen my enjoyment just a little!

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drastichopeful's review

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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.

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cozyscones's review against another edition

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dark funny tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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emeryboyd's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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toffishay's review

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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.

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madamenovelist's review

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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

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bebidocrimes's review

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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)"

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chris_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.25

Very good whimsical fun. The narration was cheeky and full of deadly euphemisms. The 1950s academic setting really worked here. The characters were surprisingly sympathetic given their field of study. The murders and methods were creative and complex. And I especially loved the audiobook performance.
There was one aspect that kind of bothered me: That being a side character using a cross-dresser, though fictitious, as the scapegoat for their plans. While it's certainly a unique means of execution, I don't like the implications. Though I don't think we're meant to particularly like this character or agree with her, so I can't speak to any underlying bias of the author.

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jenn_reads's review

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adventurous funny medium-paced

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

3.5

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