Chapter summaries Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rupert Holmes

Chapter 1: Terms of the Applied Arts – Summary and Analysis

Spoiler Notice

This summary and analysis contains no spoilers for the broader plot of Murder Your Employer, as Chapter 1 is a glossary of terms. However, it does reveal the euphemistic lexicon of McMasters, which may inform your reading of subsequent chapters.

Summary

Chapter 1, “Terms of the Applied Arts,” opens the McMasters Guide to Homicide by defining the specialized vocabulary that will be used throughout the book. The chapter is structured as a glossary with six entries. Deletion is the preferred term for murder; the vulgar word is discouraged. Executive replaces “victim” to avoid subjective bias and legal liability. Executor denotes the student who plans and carries out the deletion, with a stress on the second syllable to distinguish from the cowboy term. Deletist refers to a McMasters graduate deemed capable or who has successfully completed a deletion. Homicidalist honors historical figures who achieved successful deletions without McMasters training; this list includes Bess Houdini, Buffalo Bob Smith, Lucretia Garfield, Colonel Sanders, Queen Victoria, Dale Carnegie, and Joan Sutherland. Finally, The Enemy encompasses police, district attorneys, and forensic scientists—but notably excludes the FBI, which counts many McMasters alumni. The glossary establishes a controlled, euphemistic language that reframes criminal acts as applied arts.

Key Events

  • The book introduces itself as a guide from the McMasters Conservatory.
  • DELETION: Defined as the institutional term for murder.
  • EXECUTIVE: Defined as the target, with a note that “victim” is considered too subjective.
  • EXECUTOR: Defined as the would-be deletist, with a pronunciation guide.
  • DELETIST: Defined as a successful graduate.
  • HOMICIDALIST: A list of seven historical figures cited as untaught predecessors.
  • THE ENEMY: The list of adversarial forces (local law enforcement, forensic labs), with a clear exception for the FBI.

Character Development

No named characters from the story’s narrative appear in this chapter. The only individuals referenced are the historical figures listed as homicidalists: Bess Weiss (known as Bess Houdini), Buffalo Bob Smith, Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, Colonel Harland David Sanders, Queen Victoria, Dale Carnegie, and Joan Sutherland. These brief mentions plant early seeds for the book’s lore. The chapter also establishes an implied narrator—the McMasters institution—whose authoritative, tongue-in-cheek voice will carry through the rest of the guide.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Euphemism as Control: By replacing “murder” with “deletion” and “victim” with “executive,” the guide asserts linguistic dominance over morally fraught material. The argot minimizes guilt and reframes the act as a technical skill.
  • Inverted Morality: The term “executor” and the pride associated with “deletist” status invert traditional criminal stigma. McMasters treats homicide as a craft to be mastered.
  • Dark Comedy: The inclusion of figures like Queen Victoria and Dale Carnegie as homicidalists creates an absurd juxtaposition of domestic respectability and violent capability.
  • Us vs. Them: “The Enemy” explicitly includes law enforcement but spares the FBI, hinting at a hidden network of former students within that agency. This builds an atmosphere of conspiracy and institutional capture.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 1 performs essential groundwork for the entire book. It gives the reader the vocabulary needed to engage with the McMasters world, ensuring that later chapters are understood within the guide’s own framework. By defining key terms in a deadpan, faux-academic manner, the chapter immediately establishes the novel’s tone: darkly comic, satirical, and deliberately subversive. It also introduces the idea that successful murder can be a learned art—a premise that will drive the plot forward. The list of homicidalists expands the book’s world beyond the campus, connecting McMasters to real history in a playful way.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does McMasters prefer “deletion” over “murder”?
    The term is meant to strip away vulgar connotations and reframe the act as a precise, technical operation. Using “deletion” also sounds less incriminating if overheard or recorded.

  2. What is the purpose of the “Homicidalist” list?
    The list validates the practice of deletion by associating it with respected or famous historical figures (e.g., a U.S. First Lady, a queen, a pop sociologist). It suggests that successful, untaught deletions are worthy of honor, thereby normalizing the skill within an elite lineage.

  3. Why is the FBI excluded from “The Enemy”?
    The guide states that the FBI counts many McMasters alumni among its ranks. This exclusion implies that the institution has infiltrated federal law enforcement, turning a potential threat into an ally. It also reinforces the secret society aesthetic.

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