by Rupert Holmes
I often bring a book to work with me to read on my lunch break. Occasionally a coworker might walk by and ask what I’m reading. While I’m normally delighted to share titles, it becomes a little awkward when the one in question is Murder Your Employer. Regardless, I’m happy to recommend it to anyone interested in a fun and devious take on murder mysteries.
Set in an unknown location in the 1950s, Murder Your Employer is a recruitment book for those interested in joining the student body (if not bodies) of the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts. The secretive school admits those willing and able to pay its hefty fees and provides them with a well-rounded education in committing – and perhaps more importantly, getting away with – murder. To entice us potential recruits, the author – the Dean of McMasters – tells the tale of three students who shared a common goal: to murder their employer. The book then switches between the stories of Cliff Iverson, Dulcie Mown, and Gemma Lindley and their struggles, triumphs, and failures as they attempt to finish their “theses” (and their employers).
Our would-be murderers are quite sympathetic; their victims, not at all. This is no accident, as the Dean consistently reminds us that McMasters does not exist to create serial killers or bring harm to innocent bystanders. There are rules students must follow when it comes to their thesis. It is not something to be entered into lightly. There’s also no grading on a curve, unless you count the curve of a blade. For failure to complete one’s course of study means instant, permanent termination.
Author Rupert Holmes does an admirable job weaving the tales together, despite little overlap between the students. Cliff’s story is perhaps the best developed, as it is told through his own journal entries, written to the mysterious benefactor who enrolled him in the school and is paying his tuition. I was less interested in the other two at the beginning, but as I reached the denouement, it became nearly impossible to put the book down.
What makes it all so satisfying is that none of these projects relied on just a quick attack in the dark of the night. Each student considers a multitude of angles and prepares for unforeseeable problems. In some ways, it reminded me of Dantes’ elaborate plans to avenge himself as the Count of Monte Cristo and the elaborate layers based on one’s knowledge of their victim’s psyche, peccadilloes, and personality. The employers in question are odious enough that one cannot help but worry about the Dean’s warning in the introduction that not all of the students he is about to describe succeeded.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next volume. There was a great deal of dark humor, which I always appreciate, and great use of euphemisms regarding the school’s purpose. My main quibbles surrounded the development of Gemma and Dulcie (along with their employers). Compared to Cliff and his employer, I felt there wasn’t as much insight. Additionally, the time at the school itself was a bit hit or miss. But the last third or so of the book made up for any shortcomings that came before.