Heart-Shaped Box

The first full novel by Hill—who I secretly recognized as Stephen King’s son—takes his father’s traditions to a whole new level. I fell immediately in love with Hill’s twisted yet insightful storytelling.

An aging rockstar protagonist who sets out to confront his unsettling past and weird addiction to odd memorabilia? Yes, please. I’m in awe of Hill’s ability to pack more into a single sentence than most authors do in an entire chapter. He balances the pace of a face-melting guitar solo with the gentle tenderness of vulnerability as his characters struggle to understand their place in the world.

This… show more.

Debut novel by Stephen King’s kid.

A poppy, pulpy page-turner in the grand tradition of his father. In which an ageing rockstar obsessed with the morbid—think Ozzy or Alice Cooper—stumbles onto a newfangled website called “eBay” where one can seemingly buy anything one desires… and what does he buy? A human soul. And guess what? That ain’t good juju, so all heck breaks loose. 

I’m not sure there’s a more perfect ghost story than this book!

It’s designed for readers who want goosebumps but not to be terrified and it inspired me to create a ghost story in The Book of Silver Linings that reaches through time though without the terror that Joe Hill delivers ;-).

An aging rock star named Judas buys a suit off the Internet that is supposedly haunted by its dead owner’s ghost and the haunting commences!

The history of the suit, the ghost’s malignant spirit, and determination to kill Judas is a page-turner that reveals complex characters, none completely… show more.

It’s not a location that’s being haunted in this one but a person. Aging rock star Judas Coyne collects macabre objects—think Rob Zombie, not Rod Stewart. His latest acquisition is a dead man’s suit that arrives in a heart-shaped box. He’s been warned that a ghost comes with the suit, and for once, the seller didn’t exaggerate. Judas didn’t realize just how real or how deadly this ghost would be—or that it would have a very personal bone to pick with him. One of the scariest books I’ve ever read, and the way Hill creates the hauntings is genius. I’m… show more.

Heart Shaped Box is a fantastic horror novel. I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was totally wrong. The main characters are heavily flawed, but you cheer them on anyhow, hoping they can escape. This story kept my heart pumping til the last page. I loved that I didn’t guess what the ending would be.

Though Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King, he has never relied on that fact, and it is solely his talent as a writer that has got him success in his career. Heart-Shaped Box, his first published novel, shows that talent on every page. This story of an aging rocker haunted by a vindictive ghost, and the lengths the rock star and his much younger girlfriend will go to in order to rid themselves of the malevolent spirit, quickly draws the reader in and holds you there all the way through. 

Creatively blocked and disenchanted with life, heavy metal legend Judas Coyne amuses himself by buying morbid trinkets online. When he purchases a funeral suit haunted by the ghost of a creepy old man who turns out to have a very personal grudge against him, life becomes more interesting (and more dangerous). Hill’s first novel, Heart-Shaped Box established his reputation as an important modern horror writer, and he has since published a raft of great spooky tales.