Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:

Sooner or later, the dead catch up . . .

Judas Coyne was a collector. The bizarre, the uncanny, the grotesque. A cookbook for cannibals. A used hangman’s noose. A snuff film. Many of these objects were gifts from the black-clad fans who made his metal band a legend and made him rich.

But not all. When his personal assistant told him there was a ghost for sale on the Internet, Jude knew he had to have it for his private collection, didn’t think twice. He should have. Jude has spent a lifetime evading ghosts -- of an abusive father, of the bandmates he betrayed, of Anna, the suicidal girl he loved and abandoned. But this spirit is different. This one means to chase him to the edge of sanity.

His new acquisition -- delivered to his doorstep in a black heart-shaped box -- is the restless soul of Anna’s vengeful stepdaddy. Craddock McDermott swore he would settle with Jude for ruining his daughter’s life. Soon, everywhere Jude turns, Craddock is there: behind the bedroom door; in Jude’s restored vintage Mustang; outside his window; on his widescreen TV. Waiting -- with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand.

My thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this ghost story. It's about a heavy metal rocker, Jude, at the end of his career. He spends his days toodling around his upstate New York mansion fixing up his old Mustang, spending time with his two dogs and bickering with his very young and very goth girlfriend Georgia. These lazy days are soon going to end for Jude when he bids on an old, supposedly haunted, suit on the internet. He wants the Johnny Cash style black suit to add to his collection of macabre artifacts that include a cookbook for cannibals, a hangman's noose and an old trepanned skull. What Jude doesn't count on is that this suit isn't just a benign object to add to his collection. It comes with a vengeful ghost who has a bone to pick with Jude.

The premise of this novel may sound a little absurd or silly, buying ghosts online, but it's actually put together well and is undeniably scary. The story is very in-depth about the backgrounds of Jude, his girlfriend Georgia and Craddock the ghost and how all these characters are linked together. I really loved how the dogs played a major role in this story. Also, being a music fan, I appreciated all the music references and musician name dropping. With a title like Heart-Shaped Box (Nirvana) I guess I should have seen it coming. Much of the story takes place in the south through Georgia, Florida and Louisiana and Joe Hill does a great job in bringing the swampy, hot, humid landscape to life. The scenery, the musty swamp smell, the buzzing insects and the spoken southern drawl all work together to paint a vivid picture and set a mood for the book. This is one ghost story with a lot of style and atmosphere....not to be missed!