Heart-Shaped Box is one of the better debut novel I have had the luck of reading. It’s written by Joe Hill. Hill is, as probably everyone know by now, the son of Stephen King but that is all I’m going to mention his father in this review. Why? Well, for the simple reason that Hill is good enough to deserves to be judged on his own merits rather then on who happens to be his father.

In Heart-Shaped Box we get to meat Judas Coyne, a former rock’n’roll star that now has reach his mid 50’s and even though he isn’t in a band any more he is still living the rock’n’roll lifestyle. He keeps himself with young girlfriends that he has the habit of naming after the state they are from instead of their names. How about that?

He’s also a collector of the macabre and has everything from a snuff movie to cookbook for cannibals. So, when he sees an ad for a ghost on the Internet he can’t resist buying it. And that is a mistake he will live to regret. As it turns out the ghost is very much real and what’s even worse is that the ghost wants Jude dead. As it turns out the ghost is the step father of one of Jude’s “states” and after she committed suicide he is now here to revenge her.

Hill has managed to put together a really good story. It’s one of those books you have a hard time putting down even though you have to if you don’t want to spend the entire night reading. It gets hold of you almost form the first page and doesn’t let go…until you turn the last page.

I had the fortune to both read it and listen to it. Besides being released in hardcover Heart-Shaped Box is also out on audio. The audio is narrated by Stephen Lang and is about 11 hours long. Lang is very talented and even though I haven’t heard anything he has narrated before I really like the way he narrates Heart-Shaped Box. It doesn’t leave much else to ask for. It’s very good in other words, as the book itself!

So, as I said Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box is a very strong debut novel and already I’m curious to what he’ll do next. And if you have only read the book I can highly recommend that you check out the audio. Personally I can’t wait for his next book!