• Heart-Shaped Box

  • By: Joe Hill
  • Narrated by: Stephen Lang
  • Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (11,289 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Heart-Shaped Box  By  cover art

Heart-Shaped Box

By: Joe Hill
Narrated by: Stephen Lang
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $26.45

Buy for $26.45

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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)

Featured Article: Authors Like Stephen King


Best-selling author Stephen King has published a staggering amount of work, from gripping crime thrillers to epic fantasy series, winning prestigious awards. Yet King’s varied writing is united by common themes, styles, characters, and settings. King fans will recognize a book by him for elements ranging from child characters to atmospheric settings, from eerie psychological horror to New England locations. Undeniably, King’s influence is evident in many of the horror genre’s leading and emerging authors. If you're a fan of Stephen King, these horror authors should be on your radar.

What listeners say about Heart-Shaped Box

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,356
  • 4 Stars
    3,659
  • 3 Stars
    1,569
  • 2 Stars
    482
  • 1 Stars
    223
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,605
  • 4 Stars
    2,533
  • 3 Stars
    915
  • 2 Stars
    212
  • 1 Stars
    99
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,690
  • 4 Stars
    2,767
  • 3 Stars
    1,320
  • 2 Stars
    375
  • 1 Stars
    209

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Oh...my...God...

Joe Hill is every bit (I dare say "if not more") than his father Stephen King and the narrator was absolutely spot on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic from start to finish

Creepy, yet not scary. Has a Dean Koontz feel to it. Stephen Lang has an excellent voice for reading. I enjoyed this very much.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • NK
  • 03-26-16

Really Good Story

I wasn't terrified while listening to this book, but it was scary. It's a good story.
I'm not crazy about 6-8 hour books. I always feel like they are a waste of money/credit. I like a longer book and this was one thing I liked about this book, 11 hours.
Very good plot and main characters. It's a fun listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story! Aside from the Techno in between some chapters

It’s a fantastic book and beautifully read. Only downside is random bursts of techno music in between some chapters. Kinda of pulls you right out of the story and what’s happening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

if you like early Stephen King then read this book

I love early Stephen King and this surpasses all but his very best works.

I loved the characters, the story, the feel of it all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What an excellent ride!

All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not hopelessly fighting for my life against such an entity. I love Hill's characters; imperfect people trying their best to survive.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bad music placement

Suffers from jarring interruptions of electronic music that don't even occur at practical points in the story, like chapter breaks. Just in the middle of a chapter, without so much as a setting change, thus music comes in and throws off the mood. The actual reading is fine, but points lost for the cheesy, pointless music.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good strong story telling

Solid page turner. shocking ghost story with a completely irredeemable and evil spirit. highly descriptive not for the faint hearted.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring and Imaginative

This is the first review I have written and thats only because this is a Great book!! The apple does not fall far from the tree here, at all. This author will do Great things, just like his father. He has a great imagination and keeps you going and wanting More. Outstanding, a Must read if you like Stephen King and beyond!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • B
  • 04-22-18

Enjoyable Listen!

I found this book made for easy listening. I didn't find it particularly frightening or suspenseful, but I did enjoy the story. My only complaint is some of the major plot twists were a little too predictable. The narration was easy to follow and pay attention to. Overall I was happy to listen to it while driving, but not sorry that it ended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful