Book Reviews

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

I really enjoyed Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It’s a novel about an aging rock star, Judas Coyne, who is supposedly contemporary to Ossie Osborn and who has two large dogs called Angus and Bon (hahaha).

As goes with the territory, Coyne is a collector of the magical, the strange and the macabre – and so when a ghost is offered for purchase on the internet, he buys it, along with the dead man’s suit. After the suit arrives, it become plain that there is indeed a ghost and he has a particular vendetta against Coyne. The ghost aims to drive Coyne to suicide or murder – or both.

Coyne also has a never-ending stream of replacable girlfriends/groupies whom he nicknames after their state of origin, for example, Georgia or Florida. The current incumbent, Florida, and Coyne flee with the dogs in tow, aiming firstly to get away, then finally to find out why the ghost is out to get them both before it kills them or makes them kill each other.

Hill started writing in 1997, and didn’t confirm his true identity until 2007. He is, in fact, Joseph Hillstrom King, the son of Stephen King, so the fact he wanted to succeed without using his father’s influence speaks in his favour.

This is a dark book, and if you’ll forgive the pun, haunting as well. At the same time, it’s quite humorous, with musical jokes and references thrown in along the way, like the names of the dogs and the title Heart-Shaped Box itself. This was one of those books that you truly just can’t put down. Highly recommended.

Melanie Ryan
Program and Communications
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Membership

When you join SMSA as member, you get a wide range of benefits.

Access to the SMSA Library

We are home to a unique collection of books, a highlight being our Mystery and Crime section.

Able to borrow from the Tom Keneally Centre

We are honoured to be the home of Tom Keneally’s personal collection of books, many of which have been used as research for his own works.

Access to member only events

Join a members group, share your passions, learn new skills, make new friends and get involved.

Access to member only activities such as members groups

We provide a variety of member only events, these are relaxed social occasions to have fun and make new friends.

Join as a Member

Subscribe to stay up-to-date

    `