Heart-Shaped Box

Starred review from April 30, 2007
This first novel by Hill, the second son of Stephen King, provides the perfect raw material for Lang to create an auditory world so convincing that the listener will feel as if they have seen a film by the time they are through. The complex plot can be simply stated: as a lark, retired heavy metal star Judas Coyne buys a haunted suit online. The ghost turns out to be the very angry stepfather of an ex-groupie/lover of Coyne’s who killed herself after he sent her away. The relentless ghost is there to kill Judas and anyone who tries to help him. Lang’s superb narration is nearly hypnotic in its calm delivery, perfect as backdrop for the action and horror that surrounds it. His Coyne is reminiscent of John Goodman, deep and understated, with a foundation of confidence with a barely perceptible trace of a Southern accent. Each disk starts with a bit of Nine Inch Nails–ish heavy haunting electronica, an ideal tone setter for the journey. Simultaneous release with the Morrow hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 11).

Starred review from December 11, 2006
Stoker-winner Hill features a particularly merciless ghost in his
\t\t powerful first novel. Middle-aged rock star Judas Coyne collects morbid curios
\t\t for fun, so doesn't think twice about buying a suit advertised at an online
\t\t auction site as haunted by its dead owner's ghost. Only after it arrives does
\t\t Judas discover that the suit belonged to Craddock McDermott, the stepfather of
\t\t one of Coyne's discarded groupies, and that the old man's ghost is a malignant
\t\t spirit determined to kill Judas in revenge for his stepdaughter's suicide.
\t\t Judas isn't quite the cad or Craddock the avenging angel this scenario makes
\t\t them at first, but their true motivations reveal themselves only gradually in a
\t\t fast-paced plot that crackles with expertly planted surprises and revelations.
\t\t Hill (20th Century Ghosts) gives his
\t\t characters believably complex emotional lives that help to anchor the
\t\t supernatural in psychological reality and prove that (as one character
\t\t observes) "horror was rooted in sympathy." His subtle and skillful treatment of
\t\t horrors that could easily have exploded over the top and out of control helps
\t\t make this a truly memorable debut.