Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill (2007, Hardcover)

A recluse rock star with a dark past buys a GHOST on eBay-like internet auction site and gets much more than he bargained for when he receives the black HEART-SHAPED BOX...

Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals . . . a used hangman's noose . . . a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet. I will "sell" my stepfather's ghost to the highest bidder. . . . For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man's suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn't afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts—of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What's one more?

But what UPS delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost, no benign conversation piece. It's the real thing.

And suddenly the suit's previous owner is everywhere: behind the bedroom door . . . seated in Jude's restored vintage Mustang . . . standing outside his window . . . staring out from his widescreen TV. Waiting—with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand. .

A multiple-award winner for his short fiction, author Joe Hill immediately vaults into the top echelon of dark fantasists with a blood-chilling roller-coaster ride of a novel, a masterwork brimming with relentless thrills and acid terror.

I read a lot of scary novels in fact Horror fiction is my genre. So when I tell you that Joe Hill’s “Heart-Shaped Box” is one of the best books to come out in a long while, you'd better believe it!

It is the story of an aging heavy metal superstar named Judas Coyne who, owing to his carefully crafted public image, has developed a habit for acquiring morbid things. This includes a procession of pale Goth girlfriends, groupies who become lovers and think they’re the one who will tame the beastly Judas.

Then Judas buys a ghost online. A woman says she’s selling the suit that belonged to her stepfather, and that the man’s ghost is now “attached” to it so that whoever buys the suit will get the ghost, too. Stupid, of course, but hey, it’s only a thousand bucks, and Judas is rich, and the public eats it up when he does morbid things like buy ghosts. So why not?

Well, I’ll tell you why not. BECAUSE THE GHOST IS EVIL AND MEAN AND HE WANTS TO MAKE JUDAS KILL HIS CURRENT GOTH GIRLFRIEND AND HIMSELF!!

This book is a true "one nighter", meaning you won't be able to put it down until you have finished it! The first half, in particular, is fiendishly creepy and spooky, the kind of chilly ghost story you read only during the daytime and in public. The second half gets bloody and is more horrifying than terrifying (if you catch the difference), but no less thrilling.

It is the first novel from Joe Hill, who had previously written a collection of short stories. I just discovered that Joe Hill’s real name is Joe King, as in son of Stephen King. It’s good that he keeps that fact hidden. It would create unfair expectations of him. Also, it might make some people think that the glowing reviews heaped on “Heart-Shaped Box” are occurring automatically because of his pedigree. Think again.

In my opinion, Joe Hill has all the best from his Dad, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice all bundled into one superman!

Right now I am reading Joe Hill's other title: 20th Century Ghosts, I will report on that one next!

Joe Hill (King) knows how to weave a story. Though you don't have to have liked 80's metal music at all to enjoy this well written thriller, but if you did, you will be treated to extra tongue in cheek references that you will easily get. The story of Judas Coyne purchasing a "haunted" suit is well structured in culminates into a deeper story with a sordid past. I don't read "horror" books that often as a genre, but after reading this offering from Joe Hill I will be sure to check out whatever he writes. This book has those subtle, hair stand up on the back of your neck, moments in a crafty way. An intelligently written thriller that I couldn't put down.

Altho I've only read 15 chapters, what I've read so far is GREAT! My oldest daughter's fiance knows I'm a huge Stephen King fan, so he let me borrow his copy of Heart Shaped Box. I told him that if I liked the first few chapters, I would buy my own copy and return his. After only a couple, I ordered one and read whenever I get a chance. Joe Hill seems to have inherited his father's talent for horror. I highly recommend this book if you like King-type stories.

I usually finish all of the books I start, and I read a lot. I bought this book after reading the "rave" reviews it got in the newspaper. I was also intriged about the author since he is Stephen King's son, and I have enjoyed many of his father's books over the years. However, after reading the first 100 pages of this novel, I found that finishing it was becoming a chore, not a pleasure. On analyzing my lack of interest in this book, I would say it stemmed from the fact that I did not like or care about Joe Hill's characters. They were not people to whom I could relate, and therefore I really didn't care whether they survived or not. Also, the action in the story was predictable. At no point was I surprised at what was occurring in the story. There was no real suspense factor. When I finally found myself rooting for the ghost and thinking that if anyone deserved to be terrorized it was the self-centered, egocentric main character who was a real,human monster, I knew it was time to stop reading this book move onto something more enjoyable like cleaning my house or doing the laundry.