It’s difficult to talk too much about this type of book without giving away the story. Jude wants the ghost gone, and the ghost wants Jude - and anyone who interferes - dead. I found this part especially terrifying: how in the hell can you battle a ghost that has the ability to take over and control your mind?įrom this point on the story moves with a spine-tingling urgency. The ghost soon begins messing with their minds and taking over their thoughts (turns out he was a sadistic hypnotist in life) all the while bringing that gleaming razor blade that he dangles on a chain from his bony hand ever closer. This is the real deal, and they soon learn that the ghost’s name is Craddock McDermott and he isn’t only impossible to get rid of, he is vengeful and extremely dangerous - and he is scary as hell. When it arrives, Jude and his most recent girlfriend Georgia (whose real name is Mary Beth – he always nicknames is girlfriends from the state their from: Florida, Georgia, etc.) quickly learn that this suit isn’t some relic that you can tuck on the top shelf of a closet and ignore. So yeah, that didn’t work out so well for him. So when he sees a notice on an auction site stating that they are selling their stepfather’s ghost to the highest bidder, how could he refuse? So for a thousand dollars, Jude becomes the proud owner of the dead man’s suit, which, the ad claimed, is haunted by a spirit. The Heart-Shaped Box follows an aging rock star, 54-year-old Judas Coyne who is a collector of macabre objects. This was my first Joe Hill novel, and I definitely plan on reading more. Both an original effort and an honorable homage to the author’s father, horrormeister Stephen King (Hill’s real surname is King, too), Heart-Shaped Box heralds the arrival of a horribly good new talent.For those of you who don’t know, Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son.

Hill’s tone is gleefully morbid, and his plot plunges and flies like a roller coaster trying to dump all of its shrieking passengers. Even Jude is not immune to the phantom’s murderous lullabies and finds himself in the front seat of his cream-puff Mustang, inhaling carbon monoxide. Swinging a curved razor, the black-eyed spirit hypnotizes its victims.

The specter resides in an old-fashioned Sunday suit, and, once released from the titular heart-shaped box, begins a mission of revenge. Jude’s latest addition to his ghoulish collection is a ghost. Aging rock god Jude Coyne is enjoying his semi-retirement as a recluse on his farm with his beloved dogs his latest groupie-cum-girlfriend, Georgia and a creepy hobby, collecting objets des macabres. This riveting debut novel is so hip and so frightening that there are sure to be scaredy copycats next year.

Heart shaped box hill