First of all, let me admit that I hadn’t a clue who Joe Hill was, until about a month ago. I then bumped into a review of NOS4A2 on Tanya Patrice’s blog, Girlxoxo – and thought it sounded like a great read for the holiday season. With ample time ahead of me before Christmas and, given the fact that I usually prefer getting to know new authors by reading their debut novels, I looked at Hill’s bibliography to figure out where I should start. Heart- Shaped Box is what came up and it was in the readers’ reactions to that, that the key to Hill’s true identity lay…

Now, I can only imagine how tough it must be to fill dad’s (call me King, Stephen King) shoes, still Hill not only does an excellent job of that but also manages to hold his very own while at it.

Heart- Shaped Box is a well thought out horror story, with characters that feel real, are well developed and arrestingly loveable (albeit a bit dark). Hill “pressure cooks” the tension throughout the book, culminating in a fireworks display of a finale -& keeping the reader engaged every step of the way. To those who know me, I’ll only say I found this so enjoyable, I read it in a couple of days. For those who don’t, let me make clear how rare that is (since I have a bit of an ADD and usually read 3-4 books at a time, just to keep things interesting).

I have since moved on to Hill’s second novel Horns (which I am finding hugely entertaining) and plan to pick up NOS4A2 next, just in time for Christmas.

Have you read any of his books? If so, what did you think?

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1 Reprint edition (December 22, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0061944890
ISBN-13: 978-0061944895

Find it in English here
Find it in Greek here

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