Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

5 reviews

bigheadcam's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Murder Your Employer is like if Harry Potter was written for the macabre, in a good way. It's a fun story with some interesting (if at times, simple) characters as well as a fantastical setting in the form of McMasters and the U.S. in the 1950s. 

It's worth mentioning that I think part of the reason that this book takes place in this time period is because quite a few of the methods mentioned in this book around "getting away with murder" would not be possible due to today's surveillance state and much more accurate and sensitive forensic technologies. Still, a good romp through hypothetical murders and the fantasy by proxy of an evil employer being shown the door!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Homophobia, Death, Classism, Suicide, Pregnancy, Bullying, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Kidnapping

emilywemily6's review

dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The dry, witty sense of humor in this book is my cup of tea. Listening on audio was hilarious! So many death puns. The concept was original and I loved the first half of the book. I did feel like we knew Cliff better than the other two characters highlighted in the book, and I wish we had learned more. I honestly was not a fan of Gemma as a person or her storyline, so when her storyline was a more prominent part of the book, I enjoyed reading this book a bit less. I found her a bit pathetic and uncreative in her deletion thesis, whereas I was totally on board with both Cliff and Doria’s plans, executions, and contingencies. The only other gripe I have is that the setting in the 1950s was pretty subtle for most of the book, so I had to remind myself what the culture was at that time to understand the book. Overall, this book was so fun to read, witty and smart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Classism, Sexism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Cursing, and Misogyny

imds's review

• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Terminal illness, Death, Gaslighting, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Suicide

purplepenning's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Wryly humorous, darkly satisfying, and only a bit too clever for it's own good, MURDER YOUR EMPLOYER is an ambitious and entertaining murder mystery turned inside out. Readers of this case study guide to homicide follow three would-be student assassins in the 1950s as they study, train, and enact their final murderous theses to successfully matriculate from McMasters Conservatory of the Applied [Homicidal] Arts. McMasters is a [poison] Ivy League-calibre "finishing school for finishing people off." The course work is high stakes but each student has such a deserving thesis subject that we can't help but root for high marks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Racism and Pregnancy

Blackmail, assisted suicide, organized crime, vigilante justice, and a scene that plays too dangerously close to homophobic/transphobic for Reasons (those being context, motivation, and era)

mals_reads's review

funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

A punny story of bad bosses and chaotically good people, where controlled murder makes the world a better place. Appropriately lighthearted and delightfully macabre, plus it has a killer ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Gaslighting and Suicide

Minor: Gun violence