The keeper of the keys…
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
William Heming has always been fascinated by the lives of the people around him. Some might call him a stalker, but he wouldn’t call himself that. He just likes to find out all about people…without them knowing. So when he is given a job as an estate agent, what joy! The ability to poke and pry round other people’s houses; and better yet, to be able to copy the keys of the houses so that he can pop back when the owners are out – or even when they’re in…
Mr Heming (as he prefers to be called) is the most original creation I’ve come across in a long time. He is telling us his story in the first person and despite his increasingly outrageous behaviour the reader can’t help developing a sneaking fondness for him, while being very, very glad that he’s fictional! Although he got into trouble frequently as a child, he has now made an outwardly respectable life for himself as the owner of the small-town estate agency. He does have the strange little habit of sneaking into people’s houses, making a nest for himself in their attics and listening to the goings-on below, but otherwise he’s quite a decent chap really – always willing to secretly help a neighbour, even if by doing so he’ll frighten them half to death.
And if he’d only stuck to this life, everything would have been fine. But one day, he accidentally gets actively involved in the life of the Sharp family and at the same time falls in love, and suddenly he’s involved in a murder investigation that risks revealing his peculiar little habits to the world. This is the story of how Mr Heming sets about keeping his secrets safe…
This is a hugely entertaining read, both creepy and humorous. Twisty and turny all the way through, it kept me guessing right up to the end. As Mr Heming gets more and more involved in the police investigation we see him becoming ever more creative in trying to direct their attention elsewhere. There are distinct elements of farce here, with people whisking out of back doors as others come through the front etc., but it’s all handled with huge skill and a lot of humour so that the reader ends up completely ambivalent about the awful Mr Heming – laughing along with his wicked sense of humour even while condemning his ever-more extreme behaviour. Guilt by association!

Very well-written, the characterisation is strong throughout, but Mr Heming himself is the key to this book – a wonderful creation. While the current story unfolds, we are taken back through his life to see what brought him to this point, but though he had a difficult childhood we get the distinct impression he was born this way, not made. And the worst thing is that it’s all so chillingly possible…
Highly recommended…but I must dash! Got to get my locks changed!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Transworld.
FictionFan – Hmmm…creepy and humorous. That’s not an easy combination to pull off. I’m glad you liked this one so much. I’ve read some raves about this one in other places too, and was just making up my mind whether or not to read it. Looks as though I ought to.
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Definitely recommended, Margot – a fun read but with plenty of real meat to the story too. 🙂
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A five Yikes! rating!
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Haha! I should use Yikes! instead of smilies…
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Haha, seems like a good one. I love books with a strong, humorous character like this. What was the fellow’s middle name?
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Scary and funny – a good combination! Funny you should ask – I think it was Jellyfish…
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You’re kidding!
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😆 How did you guess?
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I feel sooooo stupid at times. 😆
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At times, huh? 😉
(Now be honest, wasn’t it better when I was being nice to you? 😉 )
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😯 😥
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No, no! I can’t bear it when you cry – I’ll just have to go back to being sweet to you whether you like or not!
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But which is the real FEF?
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Which do you think? (Now isn’t that a very Professorial question?)
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😆 It is, dadblameit! You’ve learned well, Anakin. Now…the sweet one?
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Who’s Anakin?
😀 Definitely the sweet one – most of the time…
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A Jedi. (Notice the straightforward answer. 🙂 )
I agree with that.
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See? You can do it…when you try…
😀
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The Professor actually came to mind as I read the description of Mr Heming. *sigh* My TBR just keeps growing…
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That’s what I’m here for! 😉
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I was afraid you were going to tell me that.
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😀
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Gah, I keep seeing this book highly recommended everywhere – I think you’ve finally pushed me over the edge – it’s on my TBR now…!!!!
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Good!! I think you’ll enjoy it – great fun but with a good story too! I think it’s going to be a best-seller if it isn’t already…
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Sounds like a candidate for Tuesday Terror. One of the reasons I like living with animals is that it stops me from worrying about unexplained noises in the night – don’t know if this one would be very suitable for someone who lives alone. Quite an achievement by the author to make a creepy character attractive.
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Yes, it was very cleverly done. I don’t think he’d be quite so attractive in real life though… 😉
I think you’d probably enjoy this one though – it’s not horror-scary, no ghosties or gore.
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I knew there was another reason why I swore I would never move again after the last time (the people who had sold me the house refused to move out!). Now I know what it was.
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Haha! I hope they went eventually and aren’t still living in your attic…
I once gave a set of keys to a cat-sitter and never got them back. Every now and again I’d remember about them…and wonder! Different house, thankfully. 😉
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I’m so glad that you enjoyed this as much as I did. I think we may have another candidate for authors looking like their books here too? 😉
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😆 I know! He just so looks like Mr Heming, doesn’t he? I think the pic might be more frightening than the book!
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😆 my thoughts exactly!
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Ha! Great review. Any book that can make you change your locks? It my deserves attention….
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Thanks! Definitely worth your attention…a fairly light read but with a good strong story, and good fun in a twisted kind of way…
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Oh dear, what to do? Guess I’ll have to take a look at this one. It sounds wonderfully off beat, fascinating and funny. But will I be able to sleep at night, wondering if someone is nesting above me in the attic?
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Well, he was quite good at fixing things round the house while people were out, so maybe a stranger in the attic could be quite useful… 😉
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Your review has clearly piqued interest in this book, FF – great stuff!
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Thanks, Angela – it’s a really enjoyable book!
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I need to get this book! Awesome review, glad to see you also enjoyed it.
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Thanks! It’s a really good one – nice and light but still with a strong storyline. 🙂
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Glad we both agree about this one – deliciously spine chilling.
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Yep, one of the books of the year, I’d think!
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Read Wolf – Mo Hayder
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It’s on the TBR but it’ll be a couple of weeks before I get to it. Glad to hear it’s a goodie though! 🙂
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Glad to hear you liked it as much as I did – it was just so funny and macabre and sinister all at once! Mr Heming seems to be the Ripley of the Home Counties…
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Got to be one of the best books of the year, I think. I loved the way he made us sort of like Mr Heming despite it all…
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[…] of the most brilliantly drawn disturbed central characters I’ve read in a long time – think Mr Heming or The Dinner or Zoran Drvenkar. Then add in relentless pacing that drives the book forward at a […]
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