Heart-Shaped Box Book Review

Summary

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill is a ghost story where it isn’t the house that’s haunted. Jude Coyne is a retired rockstar living with his girlfriend, Georgia. Jude has an obsession with the creepy and occult, so when he sees the chance to buy a ghost, he can’t resist.

A woman online says her stepfather’s ghost is tied to his old suit, and she has put it up for bid. Jude buys it, but after it arrives, things start going bad.

It turns out the woman in question is the sister of one of Jude’s old girlfriends, Florida, and she blames Jude for her sister’s suicide.

The ghost, Craddock McDermott, was a spiritualist and hypnotist in life, and he’s dedicated his afterlife to destroying Jude and everyone he cares about.

No matter what Jude tries, like burning the suit or fleeing the state, Craddock keeps coming. Will Jude and Georgia be able to escape?

My Thoughts

I’m a big fan of some of Joe Hill’s other work, such as NOS4A2 and Locke & Key, so I was going into Heart-Shape Box expecting it to be just as good. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

I think the biggest issue was that Jude wasn’t a likeable character. He’s selfish, a jerk (he calls his girlfriends by the states they’re from rather than their names), and I almost felt like he deserved what he was getting. Of course, as the story goes on, it’s revealed that all is not as it seems and he improves some, but I was still pretty indifferent to his fate.

Heart-Shaped Box isn’t a bad book, it’s just not as good as some of Joe Hill’s other work.

My Rating: 3/5