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Book Review of Heart-Shaped Box

Heart-Shaped Box
Heart-Shaped Box
Author: Joe Hill
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Horror
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
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Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre and an old rocker - in the same class as Ozzie Osborne. The first chapter is creepy but really sucks you in. Jude bids (and wins) an auction for a ghost. When it arrives in the form of the man's favorite suit, strange things start happening which really freak Jude out. Well hell, what did he think was gonna happen when he invited a ghost to live with him. Duh.

A tale of supernatural revenge. At times the suspense of the psychological warfare is intense but at other times, I found the ghosts (who was more like a poltergeist) behavior laughable and ridiculous. Other than Jude's cavalier treatment of women, I didn't think he deserved what was being done to him by a psychotic relative of a fan (and ex-girlfriend). I continued reading mainly to find out how Jude defeats the ghost since all previous attempts failed but also to find out why the psycho-sister sicked the ghost on Jude. A rather satisfying ending all around with a compact solution and a reasonable explanation of who, why and how.