Joe Hill, Heart-Shaped Box

Heart-Shaped Box

Joe Hill

Morrow, Feb 2007, $24.95

ISBN 0061147931

Rock star Judas Coyne loves collecting gruesome macabre junk. He always checks eBay and other on-line sites to see if any collectibles are for sale. He recently purchased a suit at an online auction in which the seller claims the attire is haunted by the ghost of the dead owner.

Judas thinks of five degrees of separation when he learns who the ghostly owner of the suit is; apparently his new possession belonged to the late Craddock McDermott, the stepfather of a superfluous groupie he tossed aside before she committed suicide over being coldly discarded by the famous rocker. Craddock vowed revenge when he was alive but had to wait for death to complete his quest as his spirit plans to kill Judas.

The dueling lead characters make this a fascinating psychological ghost story as nothing is quite like it seems. Readers will start off thinking Judas is a cold hedonist and Craddock is a kindhearted stepfather who cannot rest until he obtains an eye for an eye. However, agendas and deeper motives surface during the exciting storyline that will have the audience stunned. Horror fans will believe in ghosts -- at least in Joe Hill novels.

Harriet Klausner