Holmes (Swing: A Mystery) is a gifted wordsmith whose latest is a top-notch read that both entertains and amuses. Many have fantasized about killing their boss, but few feel adequate to do the job. The sole purpose of the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts is training students to dispose of odious employers and get away scot-free. The school stresses that the task must only be committed after you have given your intended victim every chance at redemption, This delightfully wicked tale chronicles the adventures of three students: Cliff blames his former boss for the death of a woman he loved; nurse Gemma is being blackmailed by her superior; and film star Doria has been put on the back burner by a vengeful studio executive. The three are schooled in everything from poisons to disguises and are even offered a class entitled "Eroticide." As the story line deliciously unfolds, the three aspiring killers study hard and reenter the world with their "deletion plans" ready. Told in alternating chapters among the three students, as well as narration by the school's charming dean, the book's satisfying conclusion is just as delightful as its premise. VERDICT An amusing and cheeky tale with excellent pacing replete with droll observations.--Amy Nolan

Edgar winner Holmes (Swing) frames this cheeky 1950s-set crime novel as a self-study guide for those who can't afford tuition to the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a "finishing school for finishing people off" whose location is kept secret from even those enrolled. The book-within-a-book's author, McMasters dean Harbinger Harrow, chronicles the experiences of three students to educate at-home pupils by example. Baltimore engineer Cliff Iverson, British hospital worker Gemma Lindley, and incognito Hollywood star Dulcie Mown may hail from different walks of life, but all are at McMasters for the same reason: to learn how to kill their sadistic employers without getting caught. Harbinger warns from the start that not all three students will succeed in their respective missions, fostering a sense of mystery surrounding who fails, why they fail, and how spectacularly. Though the book feels overlong, sapping some of its drive, and Holmes never fully commits to his conceit, his farcical plotting, idiosyncratic characters, and witty, stylish prose combine for a fun, frothy read. Fans of humorous historical fiction will be well entertained. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM Partners. (Feb.)

The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts would never turn up in an ordinary school search, mainly because it's an extraordinary place--a school for murder, but not just any kind of murder. You go there to learn how to murder someone who deserves it. Like your boss. Someone whose death would leave the world a better place. If you succeed, you graduate, with all of the possibilities that the "Poison Ivy League" can offer. If you fail, expect to depart "in an attractive urn." The Conservatory graduation rate is nearly 83 percent. From the fiendishly funny hand of the Edgar- and Tony-winning Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), this somewhat dense thriller is delightfully dark and compelling. Curiously, it's like reading a textbook but one in which the student receives advice like "Don't commit a homicide. Commit a tragedy." The narrative contains three case studies from students (and would-be murderers), each told in a distinct voice, with an annotator of sorts supplementing the students theses. Perfect for readers looking for something very different.

A new novel from the man who wrote Swing (2005), Where the Truth Lies (2003), and "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)." When Cliff Iverson tries--and fails--to murder his toxic boss, he is apprehended almost instantly. But instead of taking him down to the station, the "cops" who catch him whisk him away to the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts. Set in a secret location, this very exclusive institution boasts a bucolic campus, three (unpublished) Michelin stars, and a comprehensive education in assassination. Cliff is there as a scholarship student, and much of the novel is addressed to the benefactor who made it possible for him to become a more effective murderer. There are also entries written by faculty and administrators as well as scenes following the educations of Dulcie Mown and Gemma Lindley, two other students. Once Cliff, Dulcie, and Gemma graduate, we follow them into the world as they scheme to complete their thesis projects--that is, as they attempt to "delete" their targets. There are a lot of genres happening at once in this novel. The debt to British boarding school stories is obvious, although the vibe is very different when the students aren't adolescents finding themselves and their places in the world but, rather, full-grown adults playing water polo and enjoying sumptuous meals as they learn best practices for taking lives without getting caught. The journeys of Cliff, Dulcie, and Gemma unfold like mysteries in reverse. And, while the story is set in the 1950s, the plot and dialogue are much indebted to the screwball comedies of the 1930s. If this sounds like a lot, that's because it is a lot. Everything about this book is a lot--if not too much. Holmes asks readers to suspend disbelief from the get-go, and he just keeps asking for more blind credulity as the narrative advances. Maybe more significantly, Holmes seems incapable of passing up an opportunity to be cute or clever. There are so many puns. This tendency slows the narrative in a way that almost invites readers to look for plot holes, of which there are many. Fun for readers who think that murder is cute. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.