Heart-Shaped Box in Pick-a-Shelf

Jun 16, 2008 Jenn marked it as unfinished · review of another edition

I never did finish this one. I love thrillers (duh) but something about this one just rubbed me the wrong way. A lack of believability maybe? Either way, the book no longer lives at this address so I never will finish it.

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Mar 15, 2008 Joanie rated it really liked it

Rereading for book club

I read this one after reading it on a few people's reading lists. It's by Stephen King's son, Joe (loved that he didn't use King so it wouldn't be instantly obvious that he's his son.)

An aging metal star buys a ghost off the internet and all sorts of bad things happen. It's totally creepy and really well written. This is the first "horror" novel I've read in some time and I forgot what's it like to be so freaked out by a book. I was reading it on a plane and the flight at ...more

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Jan 07, 2008 Joanna rated it liked it

Shelves: 2008-read

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to, but find it surprising that the book made the New York Times best books list. I admit that I was interested in the book in part because Joe Hill is Stephen King's son and it seemed likely that growing up with King might give Hill a leg up on horror stories. Fair warning: I've only read a couple King books and don't read much from the horror/ghost story/thriller genre. Thus, I'm not actually much of an expert on whether this book is better or worse tha ...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Cora rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, fantasy, thriller, mystery, suspense, paranormal, horror, ghosts, supernatural, paranormal-mystery

I chose this book because I wanted a spooky Halloween read, and it did not disappoint me. Judas Coyne is an aging heavy metal rock star who enjoys collecting the macabre. One day he has the opportunity to buy a ghost off of an internet auction site and he jumps at the chance, but Judas gets more than he bargained for. Horror is not a genre I usually pick up, but when I do I prefer spooky and psychological over gore. Heart-Shaped Box had a nice balance between spooky and kick butt action. The cha ...more

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Apr 23, 2008 Julianne rated it really liked it

Well, I ended up liking this book way more than I thought I would about midway through. I was not at all attached to the characters, and it's really hard to buy into a story and be vested in the main characters' plight when you just don't care about them--it's actually much better when you hate them. I went pretty much full circle by the end. I loved how Hill used Bond and Angus--he obviously has experience with dogs.

LOVED the ending--the real story came out of left field for me, but I knew the ...more

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Jun 30, 2008 Katie rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, borrowed-from-the-library, nh, fl, group-read, recommended-by-others, author-recommended-by-others, for-a-challenge, to-read-october-2009, read-along-with-others

Ok, so I am a picky, picky girl and really would have given this 3 1/2 stars...I liked it...in a weird, slightly disturbingly addictive way...but I still didn't LOVE it. I expected to get the pants scared off of me...and while I certainly had moments of being creeped out, I wasn't doing any "Holy S#@!" commentary as I read. Perhaps I need to process a bit more since I am currently in the land of "so happy I was finally able to stitch together enough time to finish off this sucker." ...more

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Feb 12, 2009 emily rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011-to-2015, thrillers-and-suspense, favorites, horror, cw-body-horror, family-drama, ghosts-and-haunted-houses, cw-abuse, cw-animal-death, ex-catholic-vibes

this book scared the shit out of me in the best way possible. it was the perfect kind of scary, not horrifying or nauseating (though it had its share of bloody scenes) just creepy in increasing intensity, ending with a powerfully terrifying and satisfying conclusion. this book was brilliant and anyone who likes a good ghost story should read it.

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Oct 07, 2008 Rachel N. rated it liked it

I thought the general premise of the book, buying a ghost and what happens when it arrives, was interesting. I just didn't find the book super scary. ...more

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