Not only have I selected my title...

I read it this weekend. Heart-shaped box by Joe Hill centers around an ex-heavy metal rock star named Judas Coyne (think Alice Cooper) who is a kind of a jerk. For one thing, he calls all of his floozy girlfriends by the state they came from instead of their name. Also, he treats them like crap. So when the enraged (and deceased) stepfather of one of his ex-es begins to haunt him as a revenge for his stepdaughter's apparent suicide, I can't say that I had a long of sympathy for him. But as the story progress, we learn much about Judas, aka Justin Cowzynski, and also the twisted story of the stepfather. For me, Judas's pet dogs are the true heroes in the book; they are the only things able to protect him from the ghosts and sacrifice their lives for him. Ultimately though, Judas redeems himself by uncovering the darker evil of the stepfather's past actions and by learning to have a deeper appreciation for the women in his life, including his current lady friend, Georgia, aka Marybeth.
As a person who is not a big fan of horror, I have to give this book kudos for keeping my attention. The descriptions of the evil stepfather ghost reminded me of the movie The Ring, so if you like that movie, you may want to check this book about. Too, I would say this books is good, but not the kind of good you gush about, if you know what I mean. Still, decent.