Joe Hill, Heart-Shaped Box (Morrow, 2007)

There are times when you want a book that will challenge you, something immensely difficult but rewarding, something that will make you see the world in a slightly new way when you're finished with it. And then there are times when you just want something that's a damned good read. Heart-Shaped Box certainly qualifies as the latter. It's not deathless literature by any means, but once it gets its hooks into you, it won't let go until the very end.

Joe Hill is very much a chip off the old block (in case you're one of the three or four people left on the planet who don't know which block that is, I won't say, but it's obvious when you read the book), and much like his pappy, he writes books that are long on both character and plot and very, very fast on pacing. The characters in this case are Judas Coyne, semi-retired rock star, and his current girlfriend Marybeth, whom he calls Georgia (after the state where she grew up). Coyne, a collector of weird occult artifacts, is alerted to an online auction by his manager: a woman is selling a suit that supposedly harbors a ghost. It's right up Coyne's alley, and he buys it. The only problem is, the ghost is not a fan of rock and roll, and not a fan of Judas Coyne in particular.

While Hill certainly has the character thing down, there were some pieces of set decoration that looked as if they were going to play a much larger part in the story, but ended up being mostly, well, set decoration; I would have liked to see some props that were (or gave the impression of being) more than just props. There were also a few subplots that cried out for further development, but when you've got this book in your face, demanding you finish just one more chapter before going to sleep, these seem like minor quibbles. Joe Hill's got chops. If you don't mind your mystery with a twist of horror, this is definitely one to pick up. ****