The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Jonathan Hoag has a curious problem. Every evening, he finds a mysterious reddish substance under his fingernails, with no memory what he was doing during the day to get it there. Jonathan hires the husband and wife detective team of Ted and Cynthia Randall to follow him during the day and find out. But Ted and Cynthia find themselves instantly out of their depth. Jonathan leaves no fingerprints. His few memories about his profession turn out to be false. Even stranger, Ted and Cynthia's own memories of what happens during their investigation do not match. There is a thirteenth floor to Jonathan's building that does not exist, there are mysterious and threatening beings living inside mirrors, and all of reality is not what they thought it was. Part supernatural thriller, part noir detective story, Heinlein's trip down the rabbit hole leads where you never expected.©2003 the Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

Part supernatural thriller, part noir detective story, Heinlein's trip down the rabbit hole leads where you never expected. Currently in development to be a feature film.
"One of the grand masters of science fiction." ( Wall Street Journal)
"The most influential science fiction writer of all time!" ( Locus)

Memorable

I read this as a teenager. Now in my seventies, this has held up as a classic.

Unusual Example of Early Heinlein

This is a fun little Robert A. Heinlein novella. Jonathan Hoag doesn’t know what he does for a living. He has no recollection of his days. All he knows is he gets paid every week and has a weird red substance under his fingernails after work. So he hires some private detectives to follow him and things really get strange.

In this short work, Heinlein explores what one of his typically rational and hard-science based heroes would do if he appeared to run into the supernatural. As you would expect from Heinlein, this tension leads to one heck of a ride and a very exciting (if not totally satisfactory) conclusion. Great for the serious fan of Heinlein’s fiction, but not a great choice if you’re just wondering what all the fuss regarding Heinlein is all about.

A Different Side of Heinlein

I first read this on a paperback my dad gave to me - probably 40-some years ago. I was a fairly new reader at the time but had read a fair amount of Heinlein and Asimov, so I thought I knew what to expect. Wrong. I’ve have been looking for a copy for decades, and while I had the most vague recollection of the plot, the story was still a nice surprise.

Brilliant Sci-Fi Detective Action!

Any additional comments?

This is truly such a unique story that I believe it would translate into an excellent film. It's not often that you see the cross between detective mystery fiction and sci-fi, but it honestly REALLY works. The book is only around a 4 hour listen but TOTALLY worth the price of a credit. You won't be sorry you listened to this one.

9.5 / 10

Pleasantly surprised by this one

I enjoy Heinlein occasionally, but was surprised when reading this that it really felt like a Philip K Dick story.

I recommend going in with as little foreknowledge as possible and just enjoy the ride. The payoff at the end is exceptional