Title: Heart-Shaped Box

Author: Joe Hill

Publisher: William Morrow 2000

Genre: Horror

Pages: 402

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Keyword - Heart; Horror

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.

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. . . .

After reading later Joe Hill, I had to go back into his back catalog. This one was thoroughly creepy. I could only read it during the day time. Night time reading gave me too many weird nightmares. Back to the story, Jude is a great character. His whole aging rock star persona is a great anti-hero. Originally I didn’t like Georgia, but she definitely grew on me. And the side characters were all great additions, especially Bon and Angus. The last 100 pages were a whirlwind.

Next up on the TBR pile: