A pacy and frightening story of revenge from beyond the grave. Ozzie-like rock star Jude, buys a ghost over the internet, and a heap of trouble along with it. What starts as a quirky haunting quickly grows into a terrifying chase across America as Jude and his girlfriend run for their lives from the horrible spectre pursuing them. If you like a suspenseful scare to keep you up all night, this is for you.
Reviewed by Sarah Broadhurst Sarah Broadhurst spent her early working life in the book trade in both retail and wholesale until the arrival of children forced her to look for freelance work she could do from… More reviews by Sarah Broadhurst
He bought it, in the shape of the dead man's suit, delivered in a heart-shaped box, because he wanted it: because his fans ate up that kind of story. It was perfect for his collection: the genuine skulls and the bones, the real honest-to-God snuff movie, the occult books and all the rest of the paraphanalia that goes along with his kind of hard/goth rock.
But the rest of his collection doesn't make the house feel cold. The bones don't make the dogs bark; the movie doesn't make Jude feel as if he's being watched. And none of the artefacts bring a vengeful old ghost with black scribbles over his eyes out of the shadows to chase Jude out of his home, and make him run for his life . . .
"While the novel's occult elements are horrific enough, the true horror is the very human cycle of abuse, as victim becomes victimiser. And the redemption is achieved without recourse to sentimentality." Eric Brown, GUARDIAN
"The slick sensory prose, snappy dialogue and a handful of spooky creative touches amount to a well packaged box of tricks. A satisfying box of Black Magic." Stuart Weightman, STARBURST
"Hill's debut novel is as assured a debut novel as I have ever read, regardless of genre. Heart-Shaped Box, itself an entertaining and superb novel, offers hints of a great writing career to come." SFFWORLD.COM
Author
About Joe Hill
Joe Hill is a recipient of the Ray Bradbury Fellowship and the winner of numerous literary, fantasy and horror awards. His short fiction has appeared in literary, mystery and horror collections and magazines in Britain and America. He lives with his wife and family in New England.
'Buy my stepfather's ghost' read the e-mail. So Jude did.
Heart-Shaped Box features in the following genres: Horror and Supernatural Fiction, Debut Books of the Month, eBooks of the Month, Thriller and Suspense, Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
Heart-Shaped Box was written by Joe Hill and published by Orion Publishing Co
Heart-Shaped Box has 406 pages
Join Our Community
Join our community for the latest bookish news, reading recommendations, exclusive opening extracts, author events and competitions. It\'s all free. And enter a monthly draw to win a £50 Gift Card. See past winners here