The latest from Joe Hill is a subtle, creepy thriller, the kind you wouldn't want to read in an old house at night. It's also one of the best novels of 2007.
"Heart-Shaped Box" is the story of an aging rock star, in the dark genre of Ozzy Osborne, Trent Reznor, and such. Judas Coyne (born Justin Cowzynski) has recorded more than enough to allow him to live in peace in upstate New York with his two dogs and his girlfriend du jour (all of which he names after their state of origin. This one is Georgia).
Coyne has an odd collection of macabre items--some he acquired and others were sent to him by his off-beat fans. He has a cookbook for cannibals, a used hangman's noose, and a snuff film (which cost him his marriage). When his assistant tells him that there's a ghost up for bid on an Internet auction site, Coyne can't resist bidding--and acquiring--the ghost of an old southern gentleman, recently deceased.
Craddock's Ghost
Craddock's ghost is tied to an old gray suit that arrives at Coyne's doorstep via UPS, packed in a heart-shaped box. No sooner has the suit arrived than the previous owner begins to appear all over the property--behind the bedroom door, staring out from the widescreen TV, and seated in Coyne's prized, vintage Mustang. Though he doesn't speak, his presence is menacing and becomes more so as the days go one.
To Hell and Back
Looking to learn more about his new troubling resident, Coyne calls the woman who sold him the ghost, only to learn that he didn't find the ghost at random. He was chosen--chosen to exact a dying man's revenge. As Jude and Marybeth (aka Georgia) try to escape old man Craddock's ghost, they seem to meet him at every turn. Whether they survive the encounter is left to the very last pages.
"Heart-Shaped Box" is a subtle, and yet disturbing novel, written so as to repeatedly lull you into calm and then scaring the heck out of you. Like such classics as "The Uninvited" and "The Shining," the story is believable enough that readers identify with it and thus life the terror of the protagonists.
That the novel bears an uncanny resemblance to early Stephen King stories is no accident--nor is it plagiarism. It's genetic. Joe Hill is the second son of the author and his wife, Tabitha, who is also a writer.
About Joe Hill
"Heart-Shaped Box" is Hill's first novel. He previously published a collection of ghost stories and his short stories have been published in a number of magazines. Hill is also a past recipient of the Ray Bradbury fellowship for science fiction writers. He lives in New England.
