Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide

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The first half is a slow-burn with focus on campus life in an idyllic setting of unknown location. In fact, the school’s location is so secret, students arrive blindfolded after being taken on quite a circuitous journey. Upon arrival, they don’t even know what country they are in. I do have a couple of gripes, however. The events occurred in the 1950s but the setting barely lent anything to the story; it could’ve all happened within the last twenty years and there would’ve been no substantial difference. I literally only realized it was set in the chosen decade after an explicit mention of the fact past the 90% mark. Maybe I missed something or maybe it just went over my head, but as I was paying very close attention given that this was a mystery, I highly doubt it. The ending was a bit too neat for my taste and left me wanting way more of my favorite character. But that sly little last chapter somewhat made up for it . Kudos to Holmes for that clever final stroke. Consider me teased and prepped for a next installment. The results speak for themselves, and for me,” Fiedler replied with maddening self-assurance. “We’re number one in the region.” When Cliff Iverson finds himself wanting to kill his employer, he tries to execute what he feels is the perfect plan. He soon discovers that his thinking is anything but perfect and the police show up on his doorstep moments later. Thinking that he is headed to the slammer, Cliff prepares himself, only to find himself at the gates to the elusive McMasters Conservatory. This is where his life changes forever. First off, the story is written as if you're opening an actual manual. It's about this school where people who have plans to kill somebody get shipped off to to learn how to do it. It's all written with a pretty blasé and funny tone. But my issue isn't with the tone. I really appreciated the tone, actually, but I disliked the writing. Too many unneccessary details, too many adjectives. The language used just didn't mesh with me. It didn't read easily.

Here Holmes successfully turns the mystery genre upside down by making us root for our three goodhearted killers, who if they fail, don’t just receive an F — they pay with their lives. Gulp. An exclusive institution for aspiring murderers …oh sorry, I mean “deletists” situated in an undisclosed location, The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts covers an expansive syllabus in the homicidal arts ranging from “Herbicide” to forgery to “Eroticide” and much more. Of course, the selection process for aspiring students is quite rigorous (the fate of rejected candidates is another matter, altogether!) and follows a procedure beginning with justifying one’s proposed “thesis” based upon certain principles, The Four Enquiries:

They both looked almost pleased with me, as if I’d successfully completed some unholy hazing ritual. I sputtered, “What... what kind of policemen are you?” The telling difference would be that this particular shove would occur while Fiedler was standing at the edge of the platform as the IRT train bulleted into the station.

Well, I assume there’s been some crime committed in the hotel and you’re talking to all the guests,” I said casually. “But yes, I would like to know what this is about.” A devilish thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder where earnest students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim. It’s still a safety,” said the sergeant, adding, “Oh, and Cliff? The gun isn’t loaded. But the captain’s is.” It feels wrong saying I was fascinated and pleasantly surprised by this book, when you only have the title to judge. After all, it is a guide on how to murder your employer. Disclaimer to all my colleagues: I promise it’s fiction!

Welcome to the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts – a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder where earnest students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim. Although I don’t consider myself particularly vain (except perhaps for considering myself more often than I should), I was pleased to have conceived such an expert murder, especially since I’d never previously considered committing one. The first portion of the book centers on Cliff Iverson, who is anonymously "sponsored" into becoming a student at the McMaster Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a clandestine academy designed to help its students learn how to become "deletists," otherwise known as murderers. This first half alternates between sections from the academy's textbook/manual, and journal entries from Iverson and from the dean of McMaster. I felt that the use of journals kept the reader one step removed from the action, and 1/3 of the way through, I was missing much sense of a plot. The world-building felt a bit heavy-handed.