Heart-Shaped Box
Hill, Joe.
New York: HarperCollins, c2007.
Review from School Library Journal -- Matthew L. Moffett
Adult/High School—Hill, two-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award for his short fiction, delivers a terrifyingly contemporary twist to the traditional ghost story with his first novel. Aging rock star Judas Coyne is a collector of bizarre and macabre artifacts: a used hangman's noose, a snuff film, and rare books on witchcraft. When he purchases a suit billed in an online auction as the haunted clothes of a recently deceased man, Coyne finds more than he bargained for. Everywhere he looks he sees the twisted spirit of an old and evil man following him and dangling a deadly razor on a chain. He learns that the suit belonged to Craddock McDermott, the stepfather of a former lover who committed suicide shortly after Coyne tossed her out of his life. McDermott, a professional hypnotist prior to his death, swore to destroy Coyne's rock-star life of self-indulgence to avenge her death. The behind-the-scenes look at stardom alongside the frightening pyrotechnics of McDermott's ghost will draw in teens who really enjoy a good scare. But like all good ghost stories, Hill also crafts a deftly plotted mystery as McDermott's true motivations and powers unfold. The depth of character hidden in the dark shadows of both men lifts what could otherwise be a formula supernatural thriller to an impressive debut.
Review from Library Journal -- Karl G. Siewert
Starred Review. According to an October 19 USA TODAY story, Morrow picked up this first novel by a two-time Bram Stoker Award winner on its own literary merits, not knowing that Hill is the pen name of Joe King, son of Stephen. This reviewer wishes he had had the same opportunity. It's impossible to read this wrenching and effective ghost story without seeing Hill's father in it—which is not to say that it's bad. It reads like good, early King mixed with some of the edgier splatterpunk sensibilities of David J. Schow (The Kill Riff). Aging death-metal guitarist Judas Coyne, who's obsessed with the macabre, is living peacefully in upstate New York when he buys a dead man's haunted suit from an online auction site. (It arrives in a heart-shaped box.) Soon he and young Goth girlfriend Georgia are pulled into battle with the ghostly old man and their own shattered pasts. Predictable at times, the book has genuinely touching emotional moments as well as action-packed confrontations with the dead. Morrow has a huge media push behind this book, and film rights have already been sold to Warner Brothers. Recommended for all fiction collections.
Fangland
Marks, John.
New York: Penguin Press, 2007.
Former 60 Minutes producer John Marks updates the Dracula myth. Evangeline Harker, a young producer for the thinly veiled 'The Hour' news show is in Romania to investigate the possibility of a piece on an infamous Eastern European gangster, Ion Torgu. In the guise of a business deal, he kidnaps and holds Evangeline at an abandoned hotel in the Transylvanian Alps. There she learns he's more than he seems. On the other side of the ocean, another drama is being played out as Torgu's plans for world domination start to take shape in the offices of 'The Hour'. The story switches back and forth between 4 main characters which makes for an interesting sense of tension as you keep experiencing mini cliff hangers while you wait for the perspective to change back.
Again, I listened rather than read. Normally I don't like abridged versions but I could have used it this time. It was really interesting having 4 narrators but the story seemed to drag on. There was too much description of what life on a "network broadcast show" was like. I was surprised the book was in Horror because it's more a literary thriller. I did enjoy it but it was the sort of book you want to do in a book club so you can talk about themes and techniques.
For commuters, we have the book on cd.
- Read by:
- Ellen Archer
- Todd Mclaren
- Michael Prichard
- Simon Vance
Sharp Objects
Flynn, Gillian.
New York: Shaye Areheart Books, c2006.
Starred Review. Fans of psychological thrillers will welcome narrator/Chicago Daily Post reporter Camille Preaker with open arms. Newspaper editor Frank Curry hands Camille the stereotypically plum assignment of a serial-killer-in-the-making story, but the offer takes an unexpected turn when Camille learns that the scene of the crimes is her hometown of Wind Gap, MO, a place to which she has not returned in eight years. Although Camille's desire to cover the story quickly prevails over her trepidation, an icy welcome awaits her at her mother's home and—in the beginning, at least—she is unable to learn much about the case from police or from locals reluctant to reveal their secrets to a prodigal daughter seeking a career-boosting byline. However, as first-time novelist Flynn expertly divulges in this tale reminiscent of the works of Shirley Jackson, there is much more to discover about Wind Gap and, most of all, about Camille. Librarians can confidently recommend this title to readers of the genre, who will, no doubt, return asking for more. Highly recommended for all public libraries.
Review from Library Journal -- Nancy McNicol