Review : Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Title : Heart Shaped Box
Author: Joe Hill
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

About the book:

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.


My Review:

Okk..Time for my review after a long time!
I didn't love this book. I am a little disappointed as I did not find it frightening at all. I couldn't feel any ghost lurking around my bed while I was reading this book .Nor did I tuck myself in loads of blankets :( !!  And I am totally disappointed :(


The story starts with a heavy-metal star Jude/Judas Coyne buying an old man’s haunted suit over the internet with an intention of adding an artifact in his collection! And yes, the suit comes in a heart shaped box..!
The author has built the characters nicely with his writing style. Judas Coyne is an ex-rock star, has his own record company, collector of strange and macabre items, lives with two dogs, has an office in his house where his assistant Danny works and also has a Goth girlfriend named Georgia/Marybeth who is 30 years younger to him! The description of the book says a lot.


I really waited for myself to be scared, but no, I wasn’t. It’s more of a thriller that a ghost book. I was even bored sometimes while I was reading this book. I won’t say that I hated it, but I didn’t like it much either! The end of the book is a complete attempt of not winding it off, but you can make it out! Sometimes I even thought that the vengeful ghost is actually very funny!! Seriously! I mean, whenever he is there, he starts hypnotizing..!! But can’t blame, that’s the only way he can harm Jude Coyne! I won’t say who the ghost is and why does he haunt Jude Coyne. You will have to read it yourself; else you will loose the interest in the story.


Hmm…I can’t say that the book is scary or haunting. But yes, it’s definitely disturbing to know about mostly all character’s dark past! The balance between imagination and reality described in the book is good and not confusing at all. The entry and the description of the ghost are good. The description, and the way it scared Jude was also…..good. But later when the ghost starts hypnotizing them, is really funny! I mean it!
I would give 2.5 stars to ‘Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill’ firstly because I wanted to know what happened with all of them by the end of the book. Next, for the writing style. And mainly as the main characters in the book did not quit..! They fought till their last breath!


I would surely suggest you to definitely read it once. It’s not that bad. It’s me, who hasn’t liked this book much, maybe because I expected a lot as I had read great reviews about it. Also, I am not easily scared by any horror movies or books. That’s why this book did have any haunting effect on me.