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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
How to murder your Boss – McMasters Handbuch zum Morden by Rupert Holmes
69 reviews
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Violence
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really liked it and I think there was only one person in my book club that didn't like it at all. It was very innovative and different. Everything that happens during the middle of the book all comes full circle which can be a very hard thing to do considering that there are three different main characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment
I mention the descriptions about because one of the characters, Doria, experiences sexism/sexual harassments from her target and of course the name of the book isn't a hidden message. There is murder in the book. Also two of the characters commit suicide although the man who did (whose name slips from me) is revealed to do so later. You also will get to know who Cliff's sponsor is.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I will admit, when I first picked up this book I was slow in the uptake, especially when trying to navigate a lot of the 50’s slang. However, once you get into the meat and potatoes of the story, this is a really fun and well-executed (pun intended!) book. I really enjoy seeing the reflections on each of the students personal stories, and how their experiences are so similar and yet vastly different from one another. The world of McMasters is well thought out, and it feels as though every detail mentioned fulfilled its purpose, even if the payoff isn’t until much later in the book. Each character’s ending was not the most gratifying I will say, but I think it helps add to the realism of the story. I did enjoy it and I’ll definitely consider coming back for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.25/5
This one was so fun! The concept and execution of it was superb. It dragged a bit at the beginning but was fully into it midway through. When you follow each individual’s journey as they carry out their plans, it was really interesting! The mild romance was a bit forced and some part predictable, but didn’t detract from my experience generally.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Neil Patrick Harris was great in it as well!
It was a bit weird through for the women to be voiced by an old British manand towards the end they bring NPH in for one last hurrah and he is opposite the old British man playing a woman he’s trying to woo. So that part was weird. Otherwise really liked it!
This one was so fun! The concept and execution of it was superb. It dragged a bit at the beginning but was fully into it midway through. When you follow each individual’s journey as they carry out their plans, it was really interesting! The mild romance was a bit forced and some part predictable, but didn’t detract from my experience generally.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Neil Patrick Harris was great in it as well!
It was a bit weird through for the women to be voiced by an old British man
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nice book if you’re in the mood for some dark academia shenanigans. The chapter sizes are small, which makes it a fairly quick read. I always like books that have “journal entry” formats. I did feel like even though this is a multi-POV book, they didn’t spend much time on the two female MCs. It got a bit better as the book progressed, but while they were at the school, we didn’t see any of them learning ; actually, on that note, they barely spend any time at the school. I would’ve loved to have read more about the murder curriculum, but it feels like barely any time is spent on that :( And towards the end, the segments with Cliff are hard to follow.
But overall its not a bad read and I had a fun time with it.
3.25/5
Recommended For: Fans of darkly humorous dark academia set in the past
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia
homophobia transphobia racism:The period this book takes place in is the early to mid-1900s so some of the characters are bigoted Murder/ViolenceRead. The. Title. Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment One of the targets to be murdered is a boss that sleeps with female employees and blackmails them. One of these employees is mentioned to be drugged. Another target is another boss who sleeps with several employees. SuicideThe Main character recounts an employee committing suicide after being drugged assaulted and blackmailed by her boss, another character is revealed to have faked his suicide to look like a murder. Also lots of talk of making murder seem like suicide.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
TLDR: Very good Golden Age Style Mystery with a few twists.
I was pleasantly surprised by this mystery novel. The blurb promises entertainment which is delivered mostly in puns in the first half of the book. Then Mr Holmes gets to work with an intricately plotted how-they done-it novel.
The forward is a bit tiresome, but necessary to understanding the setting. The rest of the narrative is an omnipresent narrator and a mix of journal entries from the main character to his patron, reports, and letters. The later being indicated by chapter headings. The style is down to earth with enough description to fill in the blanks but not be flowery. The action is pretty easy to follow and main characters are easy to differentiate.
The characterisation was okay, the minor characters suffered in particular. Main characters were somewhat stereotyped though they acted consistent with their characters throughout the novel. The first part of the novel was rather under peopled though filling a school like it should be is always tricky for both the writer and the reader.
In true Golden Age fashion all the would be deletees were nasty humans. I thought two of them deserved an Orient Express experience to tell the truth. I anticipate there were after the funeral parties. The setting is 1950’s America so at least the author didn’t have to worry about the modern banes of deleters existence DNA and mobile phones. Though one deletion method was old fashioned, the other two were quite novel.
The postscript does make me wonder if the punishment will fit the crime.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It’s okay, but the schtick got old very quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Suicide, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a really interesting and unique book! I could really really see this working as an 8-10 part mini series and thus was a bit lengthy at some points.
I found myself enjoying one of the MCs vastly more than the other 2 simply due to the time spent with them.
There is also a weird I think thinly veiled anti-abortion tiny side plot for about 3 pages that feels out of place but maybe I’m just misreading it.
I found myself enjoying one of the MCs vastly more than the other 2 simply due to the time spent with them.
There is also a weird I think thinly veiled anti-abortion tiny side plot for about 3 pages that feels out of place but maybe I’m just misreading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment