Tuesday Teaser/Opening ~ Heart-Shaped Box

There's little I like better than a good ghost story, and with Halloween on the horizon, it's the perfect time for me to re-read. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill.


Blurb:
Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals . . . a used hangman's noose . . . a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet.
I will "sell" my stepfather's ghost to the highest bidder. . . .
For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man's suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn't afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts—of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What's one more?

But what UPS delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost, no benign conversation piece. It's the real thing.

And suddenly the suit's previous owner is everywhere: behind the bedroom door . . . seated in Jude's restored vintage Mustang . . . standing outside his window . . . staring out from his widescreen TV. Waiting—with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand. . . .


Opening:
Jude had a private collection.
He had framed sketches of the Seven Dwarfs on the walls of his studio, in between his platinum records. John Wayne Gacy had drawn them while he was in jail and sent them to him. Gacy liked golden-age Disney almost as much as he liked molesting little kids; almost as much as he liked Jude's albums.

Teaser:
He understood that the ghost existed first and foremost within his own head. That maybe ghosts always haunted minds, not places. 



How about it? Are you ready for a good Halloween read?






Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea

9 comments:

  1. I don't know... Sounds a bit too scary for me! I hope you can stop by:

    http://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2016/10/teaser-tuesday-twice-promised-and.html

    Colletta

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  2. This sounds spooky - perfect for Halloween!

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  3. I've seen this book a couple of times and have been intrigued by the premise - quite dark. I'd continue reading. Enjoy!

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  4. I can barely read the teaser I'm such a wimp!

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  5. I don't think I could handle that book. It's so much, maybe a little too much for me!

    https://girlof1000wonders.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday-intros-countryside/

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  6. I've been curious about this book, and the author, since he first "burst upon the scene." It may be too creepy for me...I don't enjoy everything his father writes, either.

    But....maybe. Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “THE AMERICAN GIRL”

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  7. I enjoyed this one and am glad you do too! It's perfect for this time of year. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I don't think so — too creepy for me. I hope you enjoy it though. Here's my link: http://wp.me/p4DMf0-1l1

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