Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill review

When you’re the son of the world’s most celebrated horror writer, and you write a horror story, then it’s important to come up with something fresh and original.

With Heart Shaped Box, Joe Hill has done just that with a story that his dad (Stephen King) would be proud of writing himself.

In the story, the main protagonist is an aging rocker who loves to purchase strange items from internet based auction sites. Therefore, when his PA tells him that there is a ghost for sale on one particular auction site, Jude is compelled to buy it.

The ghost comes attached to a dead man’s suit, which is the item Jude successfully bids for to add to his collection of occult items and paranormal paraphernalia.

The suit duly arrives in a the heart shaped box of the title, and that is when strange things begin to happen to Jude, his girlfriend, as well as other people around them.

The story is eerie rather than outright scary, although the writing style does give the paranormal incidents the atmosphere of menace they deserve. However, the story is gripping enough to tempt you to keep reading, which is a good thing.

On the downside, the story could possibly have been a bit shorter, and after getting two thirds through the book, I couldn’t help but feel that the ending should come sooner rather than later.

That said, this is a good story, with an original plot-line, that does keep the reader interested in how the curse of the haunted suit and the entity that comes with it can be overcome.