mystery

Murder Your Employer

/ Denise / Leave a comment
Cover of Murder Your Employer next to a set of books with a skull and potion on them.

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. 

Find it here

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

/ Denise / 2 Comments
Book cover of Ordinary Monster with a gauzy blue background.

In 1872, a pair of detectives (Alice Quicke and Mr. Coulton) are searching the world for Talents – children with extraordinary powers.  They take their foundlings back to the Cairndale Institute, a school and home for these ordinary monsters.  There, the children learn how to use and control their unique abilities, along with all the other basic subjects any child would learn. 

When the story opens, there are two specific children for whom the pair are searching.  Marlowe is a young boy born under tragic circumstances. His skin sometimes glows blue and he can heal or melt others. Unbeknownst to him initially, there is some kind of smoke monster stalking him.  Charlie Ovid, a teenage Black boy living in Mississippi, heals instantaneously, though he still feels all the pain inflicted upon him. 

The Cairndale employees soon find their charges, but what should be a relatively straightforward task of installing the boys in their new home is anything but.  There’s the smoke monster, lichts, and other dark forces seeking Cairndale’s secrets.  It’s up to Alice, Coulton, Charlie, Marlowe, and a handful of other Talents to disrupt their plans, while facing their own darkness as well.

Ordinary Monsters is a huge book, which is fitting for a tale that travels between Europe, the United States, and Japan.  Overall, I liked all the world building and didn’t notice the length much.  There was one section with Charlie that I felt didn’t quite fit though.  It seemed like it was setting up something else or that instead of simply getting lost in the streets of London, Charlie accidentally wandered out of his book and into one of Dickens’ before finding his way back.  It didn’t destroy the narrative or anything and there were still some connections to the larger story, but it just seemed a bit out of place.

One of the things that really struck me about this book was how many times things seemed impossible or hopeless, but the characters chose to keep going or keep fighting anyway.  It’s a good reminder for all of us that sometimes we just have to keep going through, no matter how pointless it seems.  And maybe we won’t “win” or change what already happened, but there’s still a chance that we can alter the future enough that something good can come from it later.

I also really liked the historical setting.  It felt very realistic, even with the magic sprinkled all around the world.  Yet again, the Pinkertons popped up, but like in The Devil’s Revolver, they’re still a bunch of bastards.  Again, realistic.  Alice is definitely my favorite character, both for her ability to get the job done and her annoyance with the restrictions society places on her.  In some ways, she reminded me of Sara Howard from The Alienist (another book I greatly enjoyed). 

From what I’ve seen, it sounds like Ordinary Monsters is the first of a series.  While I’ll check out any sequels, I thought this worked well as a stand-alone novel.  It took me a bit before I got to a point where I didn’t want to stop reading. Once that hit, I was stuck in my usual tug-of-war between wanting to hurry through to see what happens next and not wanting it to end. 

So if you’re looking for a thick book with magical kids, Victorian settings, some globe-trotting mysteries, and humor mixed with some light horror, Ordinary Monsters may be for you!

Find it here.