Jude Coyne gets more than he bargains for when he purchases a ghost on the Internet.
Aging rock star Jude Coyne is attracted to the bizarre and has a collection that includes sketches by serial killer John Wayne Gacy and even a snuff film. So when he discovers a ghost for sale on the Internet for 1,000 dollars, he jumps at the chance to press the “Buy it Now” button. Soon, his ghost arrives, in the form of a dead man’s suit packed in a heart-shaped box.
Of course, Coyne does not really believe he is the owner of a ghost. He considers his new purchase a novelty until he actually sees the old man for himself. Strange things begin to happen that make him investigate the seller. He soon finds that he has been set up by someone from his troubled past harboring a serious grudge.
Coyne also collects groupies in the form of pretty Goth girlfriends. He discovers his last fling, whose real name was Anna, but who he called Florida, has committed suicide and the ghost is that of her spiritualist step-father, bent on revenge.
But was Florida’s suicide really his fault? His new girl, Marybeth, who he has renamed Georgia, along with a pair of faithful ghost-sniffing dogs, opt to stay with him to battle the avenging ghost, who is determined he and all who support him will take a trip down the night road of death. The evil Craddock McDermott had been a powerful hypnotist in life. As a ghost, he is absolutely menacing. He attacks with an old phantom truck, is able to interrupt televisions and radios at will, and brandishes a razor blade on a chain, all of which make him a determined, frightening opponent set to thwart them at every turn.
Gradually, the true characters of Jude Coyne and Georgia come to light as they face tricks of vision and the supernatural to battle this force of pure evil. The two start out as stereotypes, but become very real and human. Beneath the façade of toughness hide two injured souls with tormented pasts who are capable of love and self-sacrifice and deserving to live. The reader grows fond of and even finds themselves rooting for them. But will they make it? Craddock is able to inflict painful physical and emotional wounds that may turn one against the other or drive them to the breaking point of murder or suicide.
The novel contains more edge-of-the-seat suspense than graphic horror, which allows the tight, focused writing to shine through. Some readers may find the final scenes a bit over the top, as if the author saved up a stockpile of gore for the very ending. There is much the author could have done with the recurring theme of the heart-shaped box, especially in connection to Jude’s rocky relationship with his own father. But then, after all, it IS a horror story. Relax and enjoy the ride!
About the Author: Joe Hill is the son of famous horror writer Stephen King and his wife Tabitha. Wishing to succeed on his own merits, he wrote under a pseudonym which is an abbreviated form of his name. This is his first full-length novel, though he also has published a collection of short stories titled 20th Century Ghosts. His short fiction has also been published in numerous magazines and won many awards.
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