McMasters Guide to Homicide · #1
Murder Your Employer
A New York Times bestseller! From Edgar Award–winning novelist, playwright, and story-songwriter Rupert Holmes comes a diabolical thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, “a fantasy academy laid out like a combination of Hogwarts, Downton Abbey, and a White Lotus–style resort” (Los Angeles Times) dedicated to the art of murder where students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim.
Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live.
Prepare for an education you’ll never forget. A “fiendishly funny” (Booklist) mix of witty wordplay, breathtaking twists and genuine intrigue, Murder Your Employer will gain you admission into a wholly original world, cocooned within the most entertaining book about well-intentioned would-be murderers you’ll ever read.
The series
At first glance, the McMasters Conservatory might resemble any elite academic institution—ivy-covered walls, rigorous admissions, brilliant minds at work. But behind its genteel façade lies an education unlike any other: this is a school where the curriculum is murder, and the golden rule is simple—only kill those who truly deserve it.
Read full series description
Set in a world just one shade removed from our own, McMasters Guide to Homicide blends satirical sharpness with twisty plotting, offering a wickedly original spin on the traditional crime series. Here, would-be murderers are refined, not raw—taught to eliminate with elegance, ethics, and discretion. From forging untraceable poisons to mastering psychological manipulation, the students of McMasters aren’t just learning how to get away with it; they’re learning how to do it right.
The series unfolds with sly humor and a touch of theatrical flair, echoing the author’s background in mystery and stagecraft. The tone is darkly comic, with just enough noir to cast a long, intelligent shadow. What makes this world so compelling isn't just its premise, but its ability to walk the tightrope between parody and suspense—where the line between justice and vengeance is constantly redrawn.
Characters are not your average killers. They’re misfits, idealists, even romantics—drawn to the art of homicide not for power, but for purpose. And as the story delves deeper into the Conservatory’s secretive corridors, readers begin to question the very nature of morality, consequence, and control.
Witty, cerebral, and brimming with macabre charm, this series carves out a niche all its own in the realm of intelligent crime fiction. It's not about who did it—but how, why, and whether they truly deserved to die.
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