Murder Your Employer is a novel I wanted to read based on the title alone.
The story begins following Cliff Iverson. He’s on his way to – you guessed it – murder his employer. His employer caused the suicide of the woman he liked, and the murder of his best friend, all of whom worked for the same company. And he got fired in the process. But he fails in his “deletion”. And two mysterious folks are hot on his trail, but they don’t want to arrest him. Instead, Cliff Iverson ends up at an academy for wannabe murderers, with his tuition fees paid for by a mysterious benefactor. Think of it kind of like Hogwarts for adults instead of children, and for wannabe murderers instead of magic users.
Once we get into it, we begin following two characters we meet along the way. They each have people they want to off, and their own reasons for wanting to do so. One is a nurse, Gemma, being blackmailed by her boss. The other is an actress, Dulcie, being blacklisted by hers. Each of the characters we meet are unique and likeable – even the bad ones. The plot is full of twists and turns, and you’ll be begging to know who survives the academy, and then who succeeds in the titular instruction. The writing is witty and clever, chock full of puns and plays on words. There are so many that many fly under the radar and go unnoticed. But they never become annoying or get in the way. The book is humorous already, but these additions elevate Holmes’s writing.
Oh, and in case you didn’t know, the Rupert Holmes (fitting surname) who wrote this is the same Rupert Holmes of Escape (The Piña Colada Song) fame. So you can make a playlist for your reading sessions.
I’m not a massive murder mystery fan (although this feels more like a ‘will they murder mystery’). Yet, I couldn’t resist this book’s charms. It pulled me in right away and kept my attention all the way through.
If you like dark humour, give this book a go; if you have similar tastes to me, you’ll find it delightful.
★★★★☆
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