Book Review: The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree

The new horror novel Heart-Shaped Box is written by Joe Hill a.ka. Joe Hillstrom King a.k.a. Stephen King's first born son. The ghost story has a contemporary haunting feel to it, probably because the ghost is won on an eBay auction.

Judas Coyne, an aging heavy metal rock star, bids on a haunted suit and discovers too late that the suit's deceased former owner is included in the deal. When Coyne discovers that the ghost was the stepfather to one of his discarded groupies and he is out for revenge, Coyne and his latest groupie throw the dogs into the Mustang and head south, looking for a refund and redemption.

Heart-Shaped Box reminded me of Stephen King's earlier and better works, and I can't wait to see what dark road Hill's imagination takes him--and us-- down next.

Although Heart-Shaped Box is Hill's first novel, it is not his first book. 20th Century Ghosts (2005) is a collection of fourteen short stories that won an International Horror Guild Award for Best Fiction. This book is available through Interlibrary Loan.

To learn more about this exciting new writer, check out the links below:

Novelist (library card is required)
Joe Hill's Blog
Joe Hill's Official Homepage