Heart-Shaped Box

By: Joe Hill

Narrated by: Stephen Lang

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

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 widely known. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, a thing so terrible-strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet.

I will sell my stepfather's ghost to the highest bidder.

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. 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 hand.

A multiple award-winner for his short fiction, author Joe Hill immediately vaults into the top echelon of dark fantasists with a masterwork brimming with relentless thrills and acid terror.

©2007 Joe Hill (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• Audie Award winner, Thriller/Suspense, 2008
• Thriller Award, Best Novel, 2008

"Powerful....[Hill's] subtle and skillful treatment of horrors that could easily have exploded over the top and out of control helps make this a truly memorable debut." (Publishers Weekly)
"Mr. Hill elicits honest empathy for Jude, who turned his stage persona into a nightmare version of his fears and must now figure out what strength he has left for legitimate battles. This dynamic is both frightening and funny, and the book weaves together those two threads in clever ways." (The New York Times)

Listen to With the Lights On!

What did you love best about Heart-Shaped Box?

The story just kept going and going...had to take breaks to slow my heartbeat!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I really liked the dogs. :-)

Which scene was your favorite?

All scenes great.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I shivered, trembled, got anxiety and high blood-pressure, can't stop jumping when I hear a bump in the night...

Any additional comments?

The book is so much fun! I highly recommend!

Solid horror story

This is a solid horror story. For me it didn’t reach the must recommend threshold. It also never offended me with idiocy. A damaged protagonist with worthy secondary characters. The adversaries are well crafted and frightening. The narration on this book is very good. Some very silly person decided to put little music tracks at certain chapter breaks. A synth track worthy of a B car chase movie. Taking it to the next level of WTF, the track covers the first words of those chapters. Who approved that?

Outstanding Performance! Exciting Story

I truly loved this book! The narrator was so talented. There are many characters in the book and Stephen was able to give each character a distinctive voice and tone that makes you think the book is not read by only one person. Even the female characters! This is undoubtedly a captivating book with a very intriguing plot. The spine-tingling story made it difficult to stop every time I had to get off the car. Highly recommend it.

Perfect story for October

I really enjoyed the story, but there was music inserted in weird places throughout which did nothing for the story. The narrator was ok.

This book is not scary but it will haunt you

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I will recommend this book to a friend ONLY if I knew my friend had HIGH tolerance to gore.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to pick a favorite character. That being said the main protagonist had many (pleasantly surprised) layers

What about Stephen Lang’s performance did you like?

Good accents. Great female voices

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Almost every single chapter of this book gave me a extreme reaction. And by reaction I mean gore, discuss and severe head shaking

Any additional comments?

Even though this book is a good work of fiction I cannot say I enjoyed it. Rough book to get thru. I read other reviewers opinions on how gory this book was and boy they weren't kidding. Lots of sexual violence and profanity. Read under your own risk

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree!

This is an amazing book - If I could have given it 10 stars I would have. Stephen King is getting a run for his money from his son Joe. Written in the true vein of previous King novels. The narrator (sort of Sam Elliot-ish) makes this book an even better listen. I'm totally looking forward to the rest of Mr. Hill's books!

Good first effort

Good first effort. Unlike the other reviewers, I was not "blown away" by this book. I did not find the book scary or even disturbing. I actually found it predictable and rather plodding, essentially the same scenario occuring over and over again. That said, I would recommend this book with reservations. It's kind of like Stephen King on Nyquil.

The Kid Can Write

This is the second book I have read of Joe Hills, and I think it is very good. A very unique ghost story. The characters were alive, and I cared about what happened to them. The story and pace were fantastic.

It took me a chapter or two to understand the rhythm of the narrator, but once we were dancing to the same song he was great.

On the downside, the music between chapters needs to be deleted because it is very annoying.

Great Book!!

Listened to this book on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Didn’t want it to be over actually

Good ghost story!

Joe Hill wrote an excellent ghost story! I believe this was his first book. I can't wait to read/listen to more of his work. It seems he was blessed with a portion of his Dad's talent. He is using it well!!!