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    A Pleasure and a Calling: A Novel
    A Pleasure and a Calling: A Novel
    A Pleasure and a Calling: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    A Pleasure and a Calling: A Novel

    Written by Phil Hogan

    Narrated by Michael Page

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In the tradition of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley novels comes a deliciously unsettling, darkly funny novel about a man who quietly spies on the private lives of his neighbors.

    You won’t remember Mr. Heming. He was the estate agent who showed you around your comfortable home, suggested a financial package, negotiated a price with the owner, and called you with the good news. The less good news is that, all these years later, he still has the key. That’s absurd, you laugh. Of all the many hundreds of houses he has sold, why would he still have the key to mine? The answer is; he has the keys to them all.

    William Heming’s most at home in a stranger’s private things. He makes it his business to know all their secrets, and how they arrange their lives. His every pleasure is in his leafy community. He loves and knows every inch of it, feels nurtured by it, and would defend it—perhaps not with his life but if it came to it, with yours. Things begin to change when Mr. Hemings’ obsession shifts from many people to one, and then a dead body winds up in someone’s garden. For a man who is used to going unremarked, Mr. Heming’s finds his natural routine becomes uncomfortably interrupted.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJan 6, 2015
    ISBN9781501220722
    A Pleasure and a Calling: A Novel
    Author

    Phil Hogan

    Phil Hogan was born in a small town in northern England, and now lives in a small town in southern England. A journalist for twenty-five years, he has written for The Observer and The Guardian. He is married with four children.

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    Reviews for A Pleasure and a Calling

    3.5/5

    125 ratings16 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Wonderfully twisted. Excellent narrator. I’m looking forward to more by this author.
    • 3/5
      Eh, this psychological thriller started out quite strong but sort of fizzled out in the second half as my interest waned. Rather well written though, I'd read another by Mr Hogan.
    • 5/5
      What a delightful story. I guess maybe delightful isn't the right word, since it's creepy and thrilling and full of suspense, but it really was delightful and a joy to read. Mr. Heming is totally immoral, mad actually. And has been that way since birth most likely. You can picture him as that kid who pulls the wings off flies. But he was so interesting that half the time I forget he really wasn't a good guy and wanted things to go well for him. The writing and plot are well constructed and the story moves along quickly and smoothly. A great read that I recommend without hesitation.
    • 4/5
      Very fun, very creepy thriller with an extraordinary narrator who's part Dexter and part Talented Mr Ripley and maybe part Carson the butler from Downton Abbey.
    • 4/5
      This was more than a little creepy. Well written psychological crime novel which may make you just a little less trusting.
    • 5/5
      The main character William Heming is one creepy man. Real estate agent, he has the keys to every home and sneaks in when you're not around, eating or taking souvenirs. Since his choldhood, something is not right with William and getting older, things haven't changed.

      Told as a diary, you discover the depth Heming will go to set things right , well the right thing that would benefit him.

      Creepy, funny thriller!
    • 4/5
      Good characterization; characters are believable, you can picture them and relate to them; the reader feels an emotional tie to the characters.Good plot with some surprises; usually more complex.Excellent book, well recommended. Any flaws are relatively minor and/or do not detract significantly from the work.
    • 5/5
      This was a good book. I can definitely see this turning into a movie! I found myself unable to decide if I liked or hated William. He surely gives you the creeps! A peeping Tom who doesn't actually look through windows. He's up to no good but at the same time can do good deeds.
    • 4/5
      A PLEASURE AND A CALLING by Phil Hogan is one dark, twisted and creepy exploration of a man's obsession; a psychological suspense thriller, written cleverly, with dark humor, keeping you hooked until the end. William Heming, a real estate agent in the lovely and charming middle-class English village, with keys to every home he has ever sold or rented. All kinds of keys which gives him the entrance to many secret lives. He likes watching, observing, and wants to know everything about the people who live behind closed doors. He takes a few things and he may leave some surprises – whatever his twisted mind feels necessary for his overall plan. He acts as a protector, and as a God-like character, seeking to reward some and punish others. What makes the man behind the keys and chilling behavior? His past? He was forced to leave boarding school with a hint of foul play, a mystery, leading a man to live a chilling double life. Is he a killer? The novel flashes back and forth from present day to his youth, as he becomes the broker of his real estate firm. There is a back history of missing children, attack at boarding school, and now the constant invading of other lives in the town. I listened to the audible book narrated by Michael Page, delivering a chilling performance. A PLEASURE AND A CALLING, a psychological thriller which will intrigue you, and draw you into a world of obsession. (nice cover). As a former Realtor, for years, cannot image doing something like this, as so intrusive; however, Heming, enjoys the wicked thrill, living a double life with engaging twists and turns for a combination of literary, crime, mystery, and psychological thriller. Change your locks! Looking forward to reading more from this intriguing author.
    • 5/5
      Ooh, this is a wicked book. The main character (I hesitate to call him a hero) is a very dangerous man. A clinical stalker, nut-case, and profoundly introverted, Mr Heming operates within the self-affirming rationale of his own delusions. Mr Heming is a sick man.So why am I smiling so much through this book? Because the author keeps us wondering both how Mr Heming is going to act next, and thrills us with the mild horrors of his twisted world. Hogan does a great job of helping us see how Mr Heming has constructed a self-justifying reality. It is not just a little reminiscent of how some pedophiles justify their worlds. But Mr Heming is no child abuser, nor although he is a stalker he's not a sexual predator. This is not a story about a sex maniac. Just a regular maniac.Part of the intrigue of the novel is how the author is going to resolve Mr Heming's increasing criminality. Will he be caught? Will his victims be avenged? Sorry, no spoiler here.
    • 3/5
      When you think about things that would bother you, I imagine that having someone enter your house without your permission and snooping around through your things is pretty high up on the list. Our homes are a public area to an extent but when our guests leave, it is private space where we can relax. Enter Mr. Heming, an estate agent. He's found the perfect profession to indulge his penchant for sneaking into people's living spaces and soaking up the atmosphere of their lives, perhaps even taking a small souvenir.Mr. Heming (his first name is William, but he insists on formal address - note his own requirement of distance while he invades other people's personal spheres) is not a very reliable narrator, unsurprisingly. He is relatively forthcoming about his present activities, but his past takes a while to come out in a series of reflections. More happens in the plot than just entering people's homes, of course, but i think it's best to let those events unfold as Mr. Heming would like them to.I liked many parts of this book - in particular, I thought the narrative voice was strong and well-realized. At times I got impatient with the obfuscation that is by necessity part of the narration; Mr. Heming is very practiced at being coy. On the other hand, I think that the same frustrations are what make some of the reveals so chilling. If the premise sounds appealing to a reader, I imagine this is a book that will be enjoyed.Recommended for: Hitchcock fans, thriller readers.Quote: "I am not a stalker, or a voyeur. I am simply sharing an experience, a life as it happens. Think of me as an invisible brother or uncle or boyfriend. I'm no trouble. I may be there when you are, or when you are gone, or more likely just before you arrive."
    • 5/5
      Library book.If you have recently purchased a home, you might want to think about having all the locks changed--especially if the agent handling the sale was William Heming. You see, Heming keeps copies of the keys to every house he ever sold...consider yourself warned. Heming narrates his own story and he's led an interesting life of being interested in other peoples lives. We wonder: will it all catch up with him?I can't say more about this real estate noir without spoilers. Read it.
    • 4/5
      Before I begin this review, I have to let out a prolonged shudder. shuuuuuddddderrr Because this is one deeply creepy, disturbing little book with an unforgettable (or rather, too forgettable, too seemingly normal but entirely villainous) narrator. As a new parent who recently purchased her first house...through a real estate agent, this book gave me an anxiety-induced stomach ache. It made me seriously consider waking my my husband in the middle of the night to talk about changing our locks and installing security cameras. Because this book made me realize that you never know who might have a copy of a key to your house, and you never know who has been in your house when you weren't there. Even worse, you never know who may be hiding in your attic, listening to your everyday movements two floors down. Like I said before, shuuuuddddderr.Mr. William Heming is an attractive, successful real estate agent who deeply cares about the community in which he does business. His vocation can be considered both "a pleasure and a calling," as the title may suggest. He contributes and cares for his community from behind the scenes; his unmemorable, average demeanor is purposely cultivated to avoid suspicion and prying eyes. His eyes are the only eyes that are allowed it pry, of course, and it is only because he is so invested in his fellow neighbors' well-being...or un-doing, depending on if you've rubbed Mr. Hemming the wrong way. This story is primarily the story of how a philandering professor rubbed Mr. Hemming the wrong way and how Mr. Hemming sought to right the perceived wrong. It is also the story of unrequited, unrealized love, the type of love that can, of course, never be requited because the imagined love is always better than the cold reality of actual relationships. It is a creepy, cold story of a boy who watches everything from the outside, occasionally inserting himself into situations, unnoticed and ignored, to disastrous consequences. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a fan. I have a weakness for unreliable narrators; I must have a touch of the crazy in me because I really love entering a mind-space that deviates from the norm. Mr. Heming has a unique morality that governs his actions, a difference sense of right and wrong, if you will; but, I appreciate that he has a sense of morality that governs his actions, warped though that morality may be. In many ways, his younger self drew comparison to Frank from [The Wasp Factory], and his older self had undertones of the rule-abiding yet manipulative Barbara Covett from [Notes on a Scandal]. Mr. Heming is delightfully devious, and this book works as a study of his heinous character. Thanks NetGalley. This book was a double edged sword. I'm thankful for the opportunity to read the galley; however, I'm a bit skeeved out by the whole thing to the nth degree. This book has succeeded in cultivating the new (slightly irrational - or is it rational?) fear of my real estate agent living in my attic, coming into my home and touching our things, eating our food, wearing our clothes when we leave the house. Thanks for that, too.
    • 4/5
      A deliciously creepy novel, very clever, very different. As the blurb says, ‘William Heming's every pleasure is in his leafy community. He loves and knows every inch of it, feels nurtured by it, and would defend it - perhaps not with his life but if it came to it, with yours.’
      William is a very complex character, who excels in being charming, yet invisible in order to worm his way into the lives of his estate agency’s clients. Worming being the operative word, as he literally worms his way into their attics and cupboards to revel in their lives as he watches them unobserved. But how far will he go to protect his way of life?
    • 4/5
      Do you know who has a key to your house? The premise of this story is that you don't. William Heming is an estate agent who abuses the trust his clients put in him by copying their house keys which he then uses to enter their properties whilst they are out. This book has as the main part of its story an altercation with a man which leads to Heming's infatuation with a woman.I really enjoyed this very easy to read novel. I was expecting something much more sinister given the subject matter but William's narration in a matter of fact tone made it less so. He made it sound like an everyday thing to be snooping around people's homes. I was drawn to this book because of its original and intriguing storyline. There's also some clever plotting going on and the reader is frequently left dangling as Heming drops a fact into the story but doesn't follow it up until later.Quite a dark book with some humour and enough to make you wonder who has keys to your house........... Thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book through NetGalley.
    • 5/5
      Who has your house keys?A Pleasure and a Calling is the chilling psychological thriller written by journalist and author Phil Hogan, and I want to know how twisted is Hogan’s mind? This thriller is certainly has a brilliant twisted thread all the way through it which makes this such an enthralling and rather worrying read. I certainly want to make sure I am the only one with the keys to my house if not then I hope an estate agent has not got a set.William Heming is our narrator throughout the novel and we see the world from his point of view and at times we can be inside his head. We find that Heming has always been the same an observer a snooper on the outside of the circle in a community he is there but you do not see him. He really is Mr Nobody you is everywhere and nowhere at the same time and he has been like this as a child all the way through school to adulthood.William Heming is the friendly estate agent in a leafy market town in the Home Counties who has the most successful agency in town with a very hidden secret. For every sale he has ever made he has a set of keys to the property that he has sold or rented out. All round his flat he has the keys hung up, and he has kept many notes on the properties and the people who have bought them. He likes to tour the houses he has sold and get to know the family or the person he likes to observe from close but not as a peeping tom more of a voyeur of lives.Heming also sees himself as the moral guardian of the town and punishes those who do wrong. He also likes to leave his mark in the properties that he enters where nobody will ever find it. Heming is his very own neighbourhood watch his town’s protector he makes interventions against those who sin and puts right things for the innocent.What really makes us doubt Heming are the fragmented recollections of his childhood, of things happening suspicion of what he may have been involved with from his home life to the reasons why he was forced to leave his boarding school there is something seriously wrong with him but you cannot quite put your finger on it. There is always the suggestion of some sort of wrong doing or a death he may or may not have been involved with.It is not until later in the book that we are really aware of him killing someone and then we have his dance with the police. He leaves the police various crumbs enough for them to doubt him but not enough to ever charge him. Things turn up that confuse the picture so that he can ever be accused of anything even if there may be a suspicion. Heming like many people really does have a double life, one as the town estate agent and the other as the killer guardian but how he covers his tracks is what makes this thriller a psychological twisted thriller and rather brilliant too. We can see that Heming is deranged at best and his mix of rationality and his logic we can actually sympathise with him, which is uncomfortable for the reader when you sympathise with the killer in an empathetic way.Hogan has written a brilliant book that makes you think about what do people know about you what do they see about you and are they observing you. Hogan has brought all his journalistic skill of being a professional snooper to bear on Heming but where we all dislike journalists and have no sympathy with them, Hogan writes so we identify part of ourselves in Heming. He is only doing what many of would like to do and that is solve the problems in our locality. How the oddity of Heming ends up with the sympathy from the reader is down to the skill of Hogan’s writing. This is a brilliant novel, and do you know who has the keys to your house?