Author:P. S. Hogan
He has the key to hundreds of houses.
Maybe even to yours.
A gripping, sinister, deeply unsettling novel from the most sociopathic narrator of 2018. Meet Mr Heming...
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William Heming is an estate agent. He’s kept a copy of every key to every house he’s ever sold. Sometimes he visits them. He lets himself in when the owners are out. But what will happen if he gets caught?
What will he do next?
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'Wonderfully creepy ... a deeply unsettling and original hero' Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister
A superbly plotted and genuinely creepy novel' Sunday Express
'A brilliant read, almost unbearably tense at times' Daily Mail
'I loved it - gripping, sinister, original and brilliant' Sophie Hannah, author of Did You See Melody?
'A wonderfully sinister fable of property and obsession' Observer
'One to watch: aneerie page-turner' Cathy Rentzenbrink
*Previously published as A Pleasure and A Calling*
A wonderfully creepy voice, macabre and blackly comic with a deeply unsettling and original hero.
—— Rosamund Lupton, author of 'Sister'There is a delicious feeling of complicity in his misdemeanours: Heming gets in side your head as easily as he gets into his neighbours' houses... a superbly plotted and genuinely creepy novel. it deserves to be a bestseller.
—— Sunday ExpressA brilliant read, almost unbearably tense at times.
—— Daily MailI loved it - gripping, sinister, original and brilliant!
—— Sophie Hannah, author of 'Did You See Melody?'Very clever. A creepily alluring voice.
—— Julia CrouchA wonderfully sinister fable of property and obsession.
—— ObserverBrims with wry wit and taut tension [and] delivers one surprise after another.
—— The New York TimesOne to watch: an eerie page-turner.
—— Cathy Rentzenbrink , The BooksellerThe first-person portrayal of a truly cold-blooded protagonist is a hard thing to pull off, especially one whose outward appearance is so benign but Phil Hogan has created an antihero horrifically ruthless and disquieting.
—— GuardianYou'll definitely want to change your locks after reading this original and darkly funny novel that will send shivers down your spine.
—— StylistAnother unreliable narrator we really should not be siding, but who proves so engaging that we can't help but go along for the ride in this gripping, thrilling novel.
—— David Barrnett , Independent on SundayBrilliantly creepy
—— ObserverA creepy and unexpected tale that will remain with the reader long after the book is finished.
—— The StarSeriously creepy!
—— Emma Curtis, author of 'One Little Mistake'Not only brilliantly plotted, with espionage, secrecy, and obsession, it’s a story about survivors, told by three complex and fully realised characters, each battling their own personal demons. John portrays the hardships of North Korea and its people with painful accuracy while never losing sight of their humanity. This one is definitely a star.
—— Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Never Let You Go and Still MissingAn exhilarating, tightly-plotted page-turner - and a very moving one, too. Full of characters who will capture your heart and have you staying up far too late to find out their fate.
—— Emily Koch, author of IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKEA fascinating, disturbing insight into this secretive country
—— Alison Flood , ObserveryI’ll never again find anything funny about podgy North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, after reading this ripped-from-the-front-pages thriller.
—— Alex Gordon , Peterborough Evening Telegraph[A] multistranded espionage thriller…told with drama and flair.
—— Wall Street JournalTruly absorbing
—— Strong WordsJohn tells his story with skill
—— Patrick Anderson , Washington PostJohn’s achievement is to embed these revelations in a vivid, convincing thriller. Long passages of undigested research are mercifully absent and it never feels like a mere pretext for an info-dump
—— John Dugdale , Sunday Times‘[John] tells his exciting story well and is a fine writer of action scenes. But what really makes the book unmissable is its portrayal of everyday life for ordinary people in North Korea
—— Charlotte Heathcote , Sunday Express- [A]n exceptionally exciting and stylish thriller
—— Irish Independent[A] cast of marvellous characters and a storyline that blows your senses
—— Northern EchoIt’s a good plot, greatly enriched by the portrait of the totalitarian society that John draws
—— Marcel Berlins , The TimesA gripping novel of extraordinary insight… The fiction grips and the reality behind it bites – hard. A terrific and disturbing read
—— Guto Harri , The Tablet, **Books of the Year**Courageous...intriguing...entertaining
—— ObserverA beautiful exploration of mental health and love
—— StylistThe sequel to Beartown is finally here, and it does not disappoint.
—— Hello Giggles, USThis is a tale of the pitfalls of group mentality as well as the loss of an
innocence we all take for granted - and it will grip you from start to finish.
Just as the cult TV hit Friday Night Lights wasn't just about high-school
football, this sequel to Beartown is about more than small-town hockey.
Us Against You is a story of hopes, dreams, loyalty, friendship, and - after
someone is left for dead - the lengths people will go to for the love of the game.
We have a rare book for you. [Us Against You] is not only about hockeyand sports. It's about everything that makes a man a man.
—— Pravo, Czech RepublicBackman uses an abundance of thrilling hints about upcoming events,
and it works. You simply have to continue reading. The story is
wonderful, deeply touching and very thought-provoking, and hats off
again to the author's ability to portray people and trends in society. The
novel plays on your entire register of emotions, and you live and breathe
alongside the many different characters, all of which are precisely and empathetically depicted.
A beautiful and brutal drama.
—— Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark"Fredrik Backman is one of Sweden's best authors. He's mastered how
to depict a village and its citizens so that you both love and hate them.
/.../ Backman writes with emotion, and it goes straight to your heart. /.../
As always with Backman, there's still hope for humanity, because wherethere is violence and hatred, there is also forgiveness and love."
Us Against You is an excellent novel that's easy to read and skillfully
handles great themes. /.../ The world created by Backman lives andbreathes and the characters are both human and complex.
Backman keeps you hooked from the first to the last page. For allBeartown fans, Us Against You feels like coming home.
—— Hebban, NetherlandsFredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men, with a love and
understanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with theirfists. It's hard not to love it.
Backman knows how to construct a thrilling plot, and what he writes
engages. /.../ And when he hits his stride among the emotions, the
sentimental turns into an asset - like a hockey puck straight to the heart.
The perfect book for the beach.
—— Daily MailThe most authentic, gripping presidential thriller ever.
—— EssenceThe perfect book for the beach: a big, fast-paced, twisty engrossing thriller packed with spectacular detail of what it is really like to be President of the United States.
—— Daily Mail IrelandFast-paced is too inadequate a description for this dark, suspense-filled tale.
—— GuardianBoth a first-rate thriller and fascinating insight into the goings on within the White House.
—— Trucker magazineA page-turner from start to finish
—— The People's FriendInsightful and gripping
—— Good Living (ASDA)A top-notch thriller.
—— Sun