Murder Your Employer- Review

Author: Rupert Holmes

Genre: Mystery / Thriller

Format: Paperback

Pages: 389

This was my February Spotlight read based on the fact that Rupert Holmes wrote the Piña Colada song. The cover also played a part because it's gorgeous. Also, once you read the synopsis, it caught my attention. A school to teach you how to murder. Sounds like something I'd read.

Not having read any other books by Rupert Holmes, I wasn't really sure what I was about to dive into. I just hoped it was going to be as funny as the book flap made it out to be. The fact the ends pages were a map of McMasters School was the first win. 

Because who doesn't love a book with a map?

I did love that this book is kind of told in three parts. We start off with Cliff, and for the most part, we see the school through his eyes. From there we meet Gemma and Doria. Once at the school, we jump from Cliff's journal he's keeping for the person who sponsored him to go to McMasters, and the pov of both women.

Honestly, I could have read the whole book just at McMasters. Because the school itself was a lot of fun, Holmes set it up so readers could follow a dozen different students, to a dozen different kinds of classes.

That being said, I really enjoyed the end of this book and saw our three main characters put their thesis into play. Cliff's was hands down the most satisfying of the three, and it was an adventure from start to finish once he left the school. It even had a little twist at the end of Cliff's story that left me on the edge of my seat.

The end of Gemma's story stays true to her character from start to finish, and I liked it. She was one of my favorite characters. So I'm glad out of everyone she got a happy ending. 

Doria was easily my least favorite character for a mountain of reasons. Yes, the person she was going to kill deserved it, he was a worm of a man. But, was Doria any better? Her chapters were easily my least favorite because I just didn't care about her. But, she did get the ending she also deserved. So in the end it was worth not skipping her pages because Karma got her in the end.

The story itself does move quick, personally, I would have loved a few more pages of Cliff and Gemma at McMasters. However, that's just my personal preference because I was enjoying the school itself. Once out of the school, I loved how we bounced from three characters as they completed their thesis. 

I never found myself confused as we jumped from character to character. Either Dean Harrow told us we were about to follow the girls' point of view for a bit, or the chapter started with their names. And, it all flowed very easily. 

I liked that it wasn't just journal entries from Cliff or little snapshot moments from Doria and Gemma. We also got a little of the point of view from the staff here and there. And the actual ending of the book also felt solid. Even if it bummed me out a bit. 

However, I do love an open ending like this. Could there be another book? Maybe, but there doesn't need to be. 

My only real issue with this book was that there is a lot of wordplay in it, and because it's set in the '50s/'60s, it took me a minute to settle into the writing. But, once I found my legs, I devoured this book. It was solid and a lot of fun, never really taking itself series, but all three theses were well thought out. 

It's a trip from start to finish. 

HAPPY READING!!