A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan

Rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ stars

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. There has been a huge saturation of books with unreliable narrators recently. I have read several of these popular books, but none have struck me the way this one did.

Mr. Heming is not your typical real estate agent. After he sells your house he discreetly copies your house key so that he can visit whenever he wants. Of course these visits are rarely happen when you are home. If he decides to visit while you are home you would never know he was there. That creak on the stairs, that shuffle in the attic, a shadow that seems to follow you as you fold laundry. All are because of Mr. Heming. He started his voyeuristic adventures as a youth both at home and also once he was sent to boarding school. At times he uses his special talent to help right an obvious wrong, but more often than not he just wants to have a snoop into your life.

When Mr. Heming finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation, he does everything in his power to steer the police in the direction he desires. This direction absolutely involves not letting the police see his apartment covered in thousands of house keys. With every police inquiry it seems inevitable that Mr. Heming is getting in deeper trouble. Will his snooping be discovered? Can Mr. Heming out maneuver the police and loosen the noose slowing tightening around his neck? All these questions and more are answered in the final chapters of this exhilarating book. I can’t say more without spoiling some major moments in this novel. This was a fantastic story and well worth the read. It was refreshing to read an unreliable narrator that you actually kind of root for throughout the entire book.

Recommendation:  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has read The Girl on the Train or someone who enjoys a unique and juicy psychological thriller.

Purchase here:  http://amzn.to/1y6GeBL

Recently I was introduced to The Bookworm Box. It is a monthly box that contains 1-2 books from various authors plus book swag. A generous percentage of the cost of each box is donated to charity. I tried to sign up for the March box, but it sold out in a few short minutes. On March 20th the April boxes went on sale. I attentively watched the clock until the purchase link went live. I quickly signed up to receive the featured box and was pleased to see my order was successful. Again, the April boxes sold out within minutes. I chose the featured box because it contains 2 books plus book swag. The indie box (which is a bit cheaper) only contains 1 book. The April boxes ship out around April 15, and I am anxiously awaiting mine. Once I receive it I will share some pictures of the contents of the box as well as a review of the products it contains. Below you can find a link to The Bookworm Box website so you can check it out for yourself.

Happy reading, bookworms!

http://thebookwormbox.com

My friend Maria Ann Green wrote a fantastic book called In The Rearview, and today is the release day! Here are some basics about the book:

Title: In the Rearview
Author: Maria Ann Green
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release date: August 19th
Main Character: Meagan

When Meagan’s secret is found out, and she realizes there is no way to outrun her habit of cutting, she tries to work through it, and her depression, before she cuts too deep, making a mistake that can never be undone.

Meagan’s problems aren’t like every other adolescent’s no matter how much she wishes they could be. Hers are worse. They’ve pulled her down into the depths of a depression that is anything but normal. She begins her pattern of self-harm as her depression threatens to drown her. She starts with one cut that leads to the next, and the next. After starting, it’s apparent that there’s no stopping, and Meagan spirals into a dark and cruel world she doesn’t understand. Meagan cuts to feel better, but that comfort doesn’t last long enough, and soon life is worse than it ever was before.

While learning to quit cutting Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process. IN THE REARVIEW is a story of pain, loss, confusion, and hope told through Meagan’s poems, journal entries, and a splash of narrative.

 

 

Here is an excerpt from the book : 

Meagan stared down at her desk. Her focus moved beyond the assignment in front of her without actually seeing what she was looking toward. There were lines, spaces of white, and blobs of writing, but nothing seemed important enough to consider closely. Truthfully she didn’t care.
She didn’t feel the need to focus.
Her gaze slowly moved up to the front of the classroom, and again she fixated on a point past what was before her. She did not concentrate on the teacher. There was a face, a moving mouth, but she didn’t connect it with the sounds struggling slowly, like sticky sludge past her ears. She didn’t hear the instructions being uttered; each word fell on deaf ears as she mindlessly doodled.
Twisting her hair around her finger, she thought about how nice it would be to be at home, in bed, with the curtains closed instead of in this loud and hyper school. It seemed her classmates had recently started caring too much about what was going on around them. There was too much drama, too much noise, too much concern jumping all around her. It was all so taxing.
It was such a bother.
Meagan, in contrast, was usually in a world of her own. Her head felt fuzzy most of the time, and unless she used a lot of energy, most conversations sounded muffled, like there was cotton in her ears. She didn’t feel the need to engage anymore. Her desire to try so hard just to do what had once come easily had dwindled to nothing. At first she’d tried, but not now. Not anymore. It had become too difficult to care.
And that was her biggest problem. Meagan didn’t care much about any of these changes. She was fine walking through school without any effort. Her feet felt a little heavier as each day passed, and her head felt a little more under pressure of a crushing fog that numbed her, but she pushed through it all. She didn’t mind neglecting what used to bring her excitement. In fact, it was just easier not to give a crap.
Everything was distinctly lackluster these days.

Here’s the link to buy it on Amazon:   In The Rearview

To learn more about the amazing Maria Ann Green check out her author blog: http://www.mariaanngreen.com

I want this first post to be a bit of an explanation of what will be on my blog. As I stated in my ‘about me’ section, I love to read. If I could read all day, every day I would. Unfortunately with two kids and a house to run my reading time is limited. That’s where you, my fellow readers, come in. I am hoping to post at least one book review per month.  I will be accepting book review submissions by email every week and will post two at random per month. I want to hear about what you love to read. I am going to be very loose with the submission rules in the beginning. Any genre. Any published work. If things get out of hand, I will set strict rules. Please play nicely! I love finding new books to read and what better way than through a fellow reader’s recommendation!

I will also be posting about writing and editing at times. I have a page about my editing services on this blog. Any inquiries must be made through email not the comments section.

Email me at jenniferegan.author@yahoo.com

I hope to have fun with this and discover some new books. I’ll leave you with a beautiful picture of my favorite thing… books!