Average customer rating:
- Not Bad But I Expected More Somehow
- shocker in more ways than one
- Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
- Couldn't put this book down!!
- Don't Start or You Won't Be Able to Stop
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Heart-Shaped Box: A Novel
Joe Hill
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 United States
| Horror
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General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
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Ghosts
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
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Contemporary
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General
| Thrillers
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ASIN: 0061147931
Release Date: 2007-02-13 |
Amazon.com
Do you sleep with the light on? Are you in the habit of checking your doors and windows before you go to bed? Maybe even checking under your bed? If you are about to crack open Joe Hill's chilling thriller Heart-Shaped Box, you might want to rethink your nighttime habits--Hill's story about an aging rock star (with a penchant for macabre artifacts) who buys a haunted suit online will scare you silly. But don't take our word for it. We asked bestselling authors (and masters of dark terror tales themselves) Scott Smith, and Harlan Coben to read Heart-Shaped Box and give us their take. Check out their reviews below, and you might want to pick up a nightlight while you're at it. --Daphne Durham
Guest Reviewer: Scott Smith
In 1993, Scott Smith wowed readers with his stunning debut thriller, A Simple Plan. Thirteen years later, he spooked us again with The Ruins, a horror-thriller about four Americans traveling in Mexico who stumble across a nightmare in the jungle.
The set-up for Joe Hill's novel, Heart-Shaped Box, is appealingly simple. Jude Coyne, an aging rock star, buys himself a dead man's suit. He acquires it online, lured by the promise that the dead man's ghost will be included in his purchase. Jude thinks this is a joke, of course. He also assumes the seller is a stranger. We soon discover that he's wrong on both counts, however, and from this point on the story moves with an exhilarating urgency. Jude wants the ghost gone; the ghost wants Jude dead. We watch, chapter-by-chapter, as they battle for survival. "Watch" is the appropriate word, too, because this is an extremely visual book. Hill's prose is lean and precise, and he renders Jude's world with impressive confidence. It feels solid, every detail both correct and fresh. And this physicality provides a firm platform for the book's otherworldly happenings, which seem all the more frightening for being so securely grounded.
Hill has a flawless sense of pacing. His narrative never flags, nor does it ever move so quickly as to outrun itself. And one can sense his literary ambition pushing at the margins of the genre. There are times when his writing, for all its spare efficiency, seems to jump away from him, stopping one small step short of poetry. An e-mail to Jude from the ghost (trust me, it's not as absurd as it sounds) could even pass for something ee cummings might've written, in an especially morbid mood. And toward the end of the book, when Hill describes a trip down death's "night road" in a '65 Mustang, the passage has a startlingly lyrical beauty.
The story's horror ultimately has as much to do with Jude Coyne's past--his mistakes, abandonments and betrayals--as with anything supernatural. Jude has caused a lot of pain over the years, moving through life with a carelessness that verges on the callous. His battle with the ghost brings this behavior into sharp relief, forcing him to reflect upon his own capacity for cruelty. This dawning self-awareness leavens the book's bleakness and gore (and it is delightfully gory in places) with an unexpected sweetness. Despite our initial impression, Jude is gradually revealed--both to himself and the reader--as an essentially decent, even kind man. It's this kindness, this fledgling ability to love and be loved, that will ultimately be of crucial consequence in his death struggle with the ghost. And it's what makes Hill's debut not only well-written and terrifying, but also--as it draws to its close--surprisingly moving. So go ahead, take a chance, and open his Heart-Shaped Box. I think you'll be happy you did. --Scott Smith
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Guest Reviewer: Harlan Coben
Harlan Coben is the author of the beloved Myron Bolitar series about a wisecracking sports agent, as well as stunning stand-alone novels like The Innocent and his breakout thriller Tell No One. His new novel The Woods releases on April 17, 2007.
You, dear reader, are obviously somewhat versed in making online purchases, so today, immediately after you click on the yellow "Add to Shopping Cart" on the top right hand corner of this page, why not do an online search and buy something totally unique?
Like, say, a vengeful ghost.
That is what rock-star Judas Coyne does, thinking it will be a laugh, fun for his "sick-o" collection of such things. It seems a random buy, but Judas soon learns that it is anything but. This particular ghost is one Craddock McDermott, step-father to recent suicide victim and boy, is he cranky. He demands revenge for his step-daughter's death, which he blames on Judas's shabby treatment of her.
Or is he after something else?
There are Amazon readers who will give you a better plot summary. Don't read them too closely because Joe Hill provides plenty of fun surprises. Heart-Shaped Box is a true spine-tingler. I don't use that hyphenated word much anymore. We have seen and read it all, haven't we? But right away, in the first chapter, there was a subtle line that made the hairs on the back of my neck go up in a way I haven't experienced since I first discovered great horror as a teenager.
Hill writes with a sure hand. The prose is compelling. Like most memorable tales of horror, this book is more about redemption than scary moments--though Heart-Shaped Box has plenty of scares. They are visceral, shocking and very well done. The characters are flawed and real. The father-son relationship adds texture and surprising poignancy.
So here's the thing. My guess is, you won't find a ghost to buy online, but if you read the Heart-Shaped Box, you will be getting something that will haunt you and startle you and stay with you and yes, visit you in your dreams.
Sleep well, dear reader. --Harlan Coben
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Book Description
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. . . .
A multiple-award winner for his short fiction, author Joe Hill immediately vaults into the top echelon of dark fantasists with a blood-chilling roller-coaster ride of a novel, a masterwork brimming with relentless thrills and acid terror.
Customer Reviews:
Not Bad But I Expected More Somehow.......2007-10-09
Many people have already spoken about Heart-Shaped Box, so I won't go into enormous detail in my review. I can say that in general I did enjoy the book, yet I felt somehow disappointed. I know Joe Hill was King's son before I read the book and for me that did not necessarily add any appeal, but it built some expectation in me that the book would be perhaps in the tightly-crafted vein of Stephen King's youthful work. It was and it wasn't.
In the first section of the book, in the initial discovery of the ghost and subsequent run from it, I felt the suspense and characterization was fairly well done. Jude was an aging rock jerk with too much time and money, his girlfriend was attractive, young, and apparently with little self-esteem, his manager was a tool. As the book progressed, however, the reader was clearly meant to see that Jude was undergoing character development and realizing he did indeed love Georgia (and Florida too). But it felt forced to me. Especially **SPOILER**the end, in which Jude and Georgia become a cozy married couple and he is a kindly elder gent. Meh, it did not ring true. Why does Georgia give 2 figs for this guy? Why are they still together? Why does anyone care about him?**SPOILER OVER**
In addition, I can't get over the idea that Jude looks like Lemmy from Motorhead and behaves like Ozzie Osborne (prior to unintelligibility). And frankly, being an unrepentant NIN fan, I just can't imagine, even in fiction, Trent Reznor working with this guy. What would the two possible have in common? And Coldplay references, for heaven's sake?! The cringe-worthy band name dropping Hill does is so like his dad though.
Anyway, a decent read in general. The spirit was there, and I like a little goth in my horror, but the execuion was a little off.
shocker in more ways than one.......2007-09-26
i found this book by reading recommendations months ago. Picked it up out of my "to read" pile of books for plane trip. finished in 2 days.
i thought WHAT A GREAT STORY! i am always intrigued about the author pic.
i kept thinking...gee...who does he look like???
i hand it to my husband and say, "read the first chapter and you will be hooked". he was and finished...last night...i said...wasn't that such a "visual" book...so gooood. he agrees...goes online and looks at me and says....
"you know who the author is don't you?"...i said...no who? he says..
welllllll.....its stephen king's son. my mouth fell open, i got teary eyed for a minute, and said...WOW! genetics!
so read this book and if you get a little ferklempt that stephen king's son is gonna be successful too then all is right in the world.
the bookreader
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill.......2007-09-19
One thing I admire greatly about Joe Hill King, son of famous bestselling author Stephen King, is that he didn't get a leg up from his father like our President did. While I'm sure he's had plenty of help and advice, Joe Hill has earned his own success through his own writing. Having won a Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection with his first book 20th Century Ghosts, he now returns with his first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, which was naturally making a tremendous amount of buzz before the book even came out. And the congratulatory quote on the back of the book from Neil Gaiman just made it that more popular.
Our main character, Judas Coyne, is a famous guitarist of a band that was once up there with Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, but after the sudden deaths of two band members, the guitarist is now a successful solo artist whose eccentricities range into the banal, naturally. His favorite is to collect items and trinkets of the most unusual - the weirder the better! So when Jude sees a ghost for sale on an auction site, he immediately jumps on it, chooses the buy it now option and soon has the package on its way. The single mother is very happy to get rid of the ghost of her grandfather who has been haunting her and her son for so long, and Jude now has his very own ghost.
The package arrives in a large black heart-shaped box and inside he finds an ancient but impeccable suit. Judas is impressed by it, closes the box and soon forgets about it. Then the haunting begins: strange noises and soon they see the ghost, walking around. Then things take a turn for the worse, as the ghost comes after Judas and his friends.
Sadly, when it is revealed where this ghost has come from the story kind of goes downhill. It turns out the ghost is the deceased grandfather of the sister of a former girlfriend of Jude's who killed herself after he dumped her. While the supernatural element of the ghost remains, and it is on their tail trying to catch them, the reasoning behind it is weak and destroys the foundation of the plot. Nevertheless there is a darkness and depth within this novel that reveals a talented writer with a bold future ahead of him. Like Carrie, this is not the best first novel, but with the talent in Hill's genes, we know there will be many more stories for him to tell that will be great and terrifying.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
Couldn't put this book down!!.......2007-09-18
I havn't picked up a book in years. This one jumped into my hands at the bookstore. I love a good ghost story, so I said why not. This was the best book I have ever read!! I could not put it down. Two of my friends borrowed the book when I was done, they felt the same way (finished it in 2 days each). The only bad thing is going to be trying to find another great book like it!! Can't wait for the new Joe Hill book to be released!!
I havn't found another book that could captivate me like this one did.
THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!!
Still not convinced? Check out the web site at www.joehillfiction.com
Don't Start or You Won't Be Able to Stop.......2007-09-17
I just finished this book - I read it in 1 1/2 days, because it was such a fast, exciting read. I thought the idea of buying a ghost on the Internet was novel, although the rest of the book was pretty predictable. Still, it had me hooked. The characters weren't all that likable, but Jude gets more so. I think my favorite characters were Jude's dogs. Anyway...it's also got a lot of profanity and some crude stuff. Basically, it's Stephen King without all the finesse.
Book Description
The village of Nambonkaha in the Ivory Coast is a place where electricity hasn't yet arrived, where sorcerers still conjure magic, where the tok-tok sound of women pounding corn fills the morning air like a drumbeat. As Sarah Erdman enters the social fold of the village as a Peace Corps volunteer, she finds that Nambonkaha is also a place where AIDS threatens and poverty is constant, where women suffer the indignities of patriarchal customs, and where children work like adults while still managing to dream. Lyrical and topical, Erdman's beautiful debut captures the astonishing spirit of an unforgettable community.
Customer Reviews:
A Culture of Service.......2007-02-14
"Nine Hills of Nambonkaha" is a wonderful first-person account of a young Peace Corps worker's experiences in Ivory Coast in 2000 and 2001. She served as a health care worker, primarily trying to teach the village women about prenatal health and infant care. AIDS became an issue while she was there. Erdman shows maturity beyond her years in her efforts to relate with people of all ages and stations in a little village as remote from her private school upbringing as could be imagined. With patience and respect she teaches invaluable lessons about prenatal and infant care, family planning and disease prevention.
Both her efforts to work with the local people within their culture and her writing skills are inspiring, hopefully enough so to cause other young people to serve the world and themselves in similar fashion.
Interesting but a little slow.......2007-02-04
I spent two years in Africa with the Peace Corps and really looked forward to reading this book. I thought it was a good read, but was a little slow. I suspect that readers who have not lived in Africa may find it more entertaining that I did as much of the joy of reading this book is in the discovery of village culture.
6 stars for this engaging trip to a challenging place for us armchair travelers.......2006-11-22
Honest, earnest, compelling, extremely well-written narrative of two years serving the Peace Corps in a remote village of Ivory Coast-- I emerged from this reading with a knowledge and respect for the people of the village, as well as for the sincerity and objectivity of the author. Sarah Erdman's account of how she works out her unique role as an outsider with a mission to improve family health in a tradition-bound, closely-knit rural village is one of the best of its kind.
Also recommended: Peter Hessler's RIVER TOWN and Mike Tidwell's THE PONDS OF KALAMBAYI.
Romantic Portrait of African Village.......2006-03-22
Erdman's work in Nine Hills to Nambonkaha presents a romantic view of village life in Africa. Her experience from the Peace Corp allows Erdman to paint a rich and lively culture of life in an economically and medicinally depressed area. Coping with challenges of communicating prevention and awareness of AIDS, infant care and personal hygiene, Erdman fully imparts to the reader her dedication in submersing herself into the social rituals and cultural norms in Nambonkaha. Her story telling has a romantic undertone in the spirit of human compassion and tolerance. I highly recommend this narrative.
Excellent for anyone interesting in joining the Peace Corps.......2005-10-20
As someone who is undergoing the long and sometimes tedious application process for the Peace Corps, this book helped me put into perspective what life in the PC is going to be like. It was a pleasure to read, and I couldn't help but reading on to find out more about her experience. It left me feeling very satisfied as to what life in the PC will be like, and I highly recommend this book for anyone interesting in joining the PC!
Amazon.com
Some 20 years ago, Dan O'Brien, intoxicated by the Black Hills region of South Dakota, purchased the Broken Heart Ranch and began running cattle on more than a thousand acres. Though the decision ultimately cost him his marriage and, at times, his peace of mind, he feels a connection to the land and the lifestyle that continues to justify the decision. When necessary, he has even worked as an endangered-species biologist or English teacher in order to support his ranching habit. His engaging book, Buffalo for the Broken Heart, details both the rebirth of his ranch as well as himself.
"Desperate to rediscover purpose" in his life and disillusioned with working like a serf for the bank while supporting cows--those lumbering, small-brained icons of the plains that O'Brien describes as "a sort of reverse beast of burden. I was carrying them!"--he made a snap decision one day in January 1998 to take in 13 orphaned buffalo calves from a fellow rancher. Later, after much soul searching and contemplation of both practical and emotional matters, he decided to jump headlong into buffalo ranching. He expected differences between the two animals, of course, but was pleasantly surprised by the buffalo's self-sufficiency. Since buffalo are native to the plains, they are much gentler on the land and are able to find most of their own food and water. Plus, their meat is healthier than beef (and delicious to boot), and buffalo do not need the heavy doses of antibiotics, steroids, and hormones that cattle require--a process O'Brien likens to "locking children in a room with ice cream and potato chips and treating the health problems that result with expensive medicine."
O'Brien is a splendid storyteller, and his narrative is a skillful weave of the history of the buffalo on the Great Plains, colorful portraits of fellow ranchers, descriptions of the plains' rugged beauty, and a clear-eyed account of the harsh realities of ranching in this unforgiving landscape. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
For twenty years Dan O’Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O’Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, “short-necked, golden balls of wool,” O’Brien embarked on a journey that returned buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half.
Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes’ first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he’s describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon home in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O’Brien combines a novelist’s eye for detail with a naturalist’s understanding to create an enriching, entertaining narrative.
Customer Reviews:
Worth Reading.......2007-09-10
I picked this up a few days ago during a stop in South Dakota on my way from Wyoming back to Chicago. It's been a pleasure having it around to share my trip with. The only downside is that I'm almost finished, and I'm dying to know what's happened to the people, the land, and (naturally) to the buffalo herd since the book was published in 2001.
It's clear how much he loves his subject and there were times reading his descriptions of the Great Plains that it was all I could do to get back in the car and keep heading East. It's hard to explain why landscape that can be so harsh and unforgiving can be so easy to love, but Mr. O'Brien does it a fair turn. If you're thinking of heading out to South Dakota and you have any interest in what life is like for the people who struggle to survive there, then this book is a good place to start.
First hand knowledge of the Great Plains struggle.......2006-08-22
As I've been involved in agriculture my whole life, I tense up when I start reading generalizations about the industry. But this author has lived it himself and presents alternatives and kindly criticism in a very non judgmental way. It was interesting, provocative, and exciting to see someone so passionate about their calling in life. A great read for entertainment or to make you think.
A Dose of Optimism.......2006-03-27
These are tough days for those of us who care about wild places. Our society is embarked on a blind crusade to fragment, pave and develop landscapes at all possible speed. Our environmental movement is stuck in the mud, beset with clashing personalities, fighting the wrong battles, and spending more time squabbling with its natural allies than fighting real foes. Into this scene comes a book with a plan. Dan O'Briens' proposal to return the native fauna to his ranch in the west isn't new, but his novel advances the idea with force, grace, and even a certain magic. He makes a strong case for an alternative set of values, one that reminds me of Aldo Leopolds' Ecological Land Ethic. O'Brien makes a case that by being responsible stewards of the land we will save not just ecological communities, but also our own souls. It is a much needed message of hope. A friend lent me the book saying only "I think you will like it". Like it I did. Dan O'Brien gets it like few people do, and his writing complements the power of his ideas. This guy is flying under the radar, but I'm glad to have stumbled across this book.
Making it right.......2005-09-07
This book is full of thrilling ideas - that the grass and the prairie birds and insects remember and revert to the way they lived together when bison shaped the land; that individual humans can really help heal the land. This story was riveting and that is unusual for me to say about non-fiction. The science was good and the personal drama seemed genuine. This is my favorite book of the year so far.
Really Good.......2004-09-11
I loved this book. A few years ago I drove across the U.S. and was awestruck by South Dakota; something I really didn't expect. I was captivated by the beautiful, often stark, surroundings and always wondered how the people ranching there lived their lives. This story of one man's journey into ranching was really interesting, personal and just a very nice, casual read. He tells honestly of his hardships, loneliness and all about the bison he cared for, which was quite fascinating. I actually sent him a note telling him how much I enjoyed the book; the first time I was ever compelled to do this, which he kindly responded to. I don't think you'll be disappointed in this book if you're at all interested in animals, wilderness or "finding yourself."
Book Description
Everyone at Tree Hill High knows that Brooke Davis is popular, pretty, and can have any boy she wants. What they don't know is that sometimes she is insecure and lonely, and the only boy she really wants is the one who broke her heart: Lucas Scott.
Learn what this year is like for Brooke when the parties end. Follow her as she struggles with the breakdown of her parents’ marriage, petty jealousies that threaten to tear her and best friend Peyton apart, heartache as she gets closer to Lucas and stops denying her real feelings, and triumph when she surprises everyone, including herself, with a bid for the class presidency.
See the whole OTH gang — Haley, Nathan, Peyton, Mouth, Tim, and the new kids on the block, Felix and Anna — but see them through Brooke’s eyes: sometimes funny and sometimes sad, but above all, always true.
Customer Reviews:
A Book So True.......2007-03-08
I am not the typical person who watches ONE TREE HILL and definately not the type of guy who would pick up a book based on the series. After all, I'm straight. And a guy.
But last year I was on a trip and found this book in my hotel room. Having run out of everything else I gave it a try--and was quite surprised.
Anna Lotto has taken teenage "types" and turned them into people. People with real problems, with real dreams and real love to give. As we read about the new kid who comes to school and steals her heart by playfully teasing her, I couldn't help but think back to my own days in High School and how much things have changed, and at the same time how little.
Ms. Lotto knows how to keep the melodrama to the minimum and keeps offering the reader little presents with each turn of the page.
A real treat.
Not What I Expected........2007-01-11
When I got this book I was excited to read it because I thought I was going to get a good book with Brooke's POV on the events of Season 2 and extra things about her. After reading it I was very disappointed because they just changed not only the events but the characters weren't even the same as they are on the show. It's like the author re-wrote the whole season and characters. First off the book was very anti-Haley. All you read about her was her secretly meeting and flirting with Chris, going behind Nathan's back and she never made it to formal because she was with Chris, and Brooke basically insulted her through the whole book and thought she was annoying. When in the show they were somewhat friends. Not only that but when she left to go on the tour she left a letter to Nathan that made it sound like she left to run off with Chris. Then the whole Felix thing. They painted him to be a saint. It was like I was being introduced to a whole other character, instead of the one we met on the show. Then there were certain events that were just completely changed. The only fun part to read was the end when Brooke and Lucas got together, it was the author's own way of getting them together unlike waiting like the show did. It was just disappointing to me. If you're going to write using events that happened on the show stay true to how they happened. Because if your going to completely change the history of a season you should have just come up with your own fictional events or make it better, not destroy it. Because all through the book all I thought was "That's not how it happened.", "Brooke and Haley were good friends on the show and now Brooke hated her all along?", "Haley never did that.", "That's not the way Felix was.", it was just annoying. I spent more time complaing than enjoying the book. It's a good item to have if you are a hardcore One Tree Hill fan and collect all things OTH like I do, but if you aren't I wouldn't bother.
Amazing.......2006-07-04
I am a huge fan of One Tree Hill and watch it every week. This book is by far the best One Tree Hill book. It shows all of Brooke's feeling and emotions and they writing is really great. I am a huge fan of the Brooke/Lucas relationship and of Brooke. Now if you like the Lucas/Peyton relationship or just don't like Brooke then this probably isn't the book for you. The book is mostly based around Brooke recovering from the heartache that the whole Brooke/Lucas/Peyton love triangle caused her. It most shows Brooke's relationship with Lucas,Peyton, and her parents...which is a good thing that we get to read something about her parents cause they aren't involved in the show that much. Overall this is a great book and once you pick it up you won't be able to put it down.
i LOVE this book!.......2006-05-13
This book was great! I loved how they show Brookes thoughts and feelings.It has great detail. I could read this book agian and agian!
LOVE IT!.......2006-05-13
This book was great! I loved how they show Brookes thoughts and feelings.It has great detail. I could read this book agian and agian!
Customer Reviews:
Great guidance for parents.......2004-06-03
This book has been recommended to me by many people for several years. Now that I have finally read it, I will be recommending it to any parent who wants to raise their children in a Biblical, God-centered way. Tripp is straight forward, honest, and convicting in his assessment of common mistakes we all make with our children, and offers alternatives based on scripture. It encourages one to really think about what we are training our children by how we are training them. It would be a really good book study for a small group, but it also very helpful for an individual to read.
Book Description
The second novel featuring Detective Inspector Simon Serrailler set in the English Cathedral town of Lafferton.
A little boy is kidnapped as he stands with his satchel at the gate of his home, waiting for a lift to school. An ex-con finds it impossible to stay straight. A severely handicapped young woman dies in the night — has someone who loves her helped her out of this world?
Once again, Susan Hill brilliantly creates a community, with detail so sharp and convincing that readers feel that these people are their neighbours. And that terror and evil are always in their midst. . . .
Customer Reviews:
THAT STUPID CAT.......2007-06-22
I have just read this book. The cat (Mephisto) drove me mad - it represented the whole book: lazy, middle class, self-satisfied and a bit on the dull side.
The Simon bloke: a man so efused with his feminine side he needed a handbag to round it all off.
It was just too middle class to be of any interest. OK - nothing wrong with the middle classes (I am one myself) but the contrast between the "new rabble" on the council estate and these dry English professionals was just too stark. The working classes are described as smokers, dark eyed, yelling and cursing - whereas the professional middle class are calm, healthy, wine drinking sophisticats.
There were quite a few mini story lines which were, on the face of it, interesting, but which appeared to fizzle out like a wet squib: the killing of Martha, the potential new job for the chav right out of prison, the Diana saga, and even the kidnap of the little boy - such inconclusive and unsatisfying conclusions - well in fact there were no conclusions - and that is my gripe.
We are all left dangling in mid air.
initially I was anticipating great things as each mini story line began and slowly developed but ultimately I was paralysed with boredom - but I finished it.
MEDAL PLEASE
Deserves more than 5 stars!.......2007-05-23
If you're in doubt-read it. The book is enjoyable on several levels.
The storyline-an abducted child-grips your heart and mind. Each character
is a jewel...this is a book I wish many other mystery writers would read. It's worth the time spent reading-not just something to pass time in the airport. Behind the surface dialogue and action lies complex history and motivations. The family dynamics change and shift and become as important
to the reader as the plot.
On a social level we experience the gapping sinkhole opening in a family once a child has gone missing. We experience the crumbling hope behind the action.
Even minor characters have been carefully crafted.Don't begin this book when you have early appointments the next day! Check out how sought after Susan Hill's other titles are on Amazon...a great read!
A study of uncommunicative relationships and life chances, more than a crime novel.......2006-09-20
I started off enjoying this book and thought I was going to like DCI Simon Serrailler as he seemed a caring, likeable chap with a deep love for his severely handicapped sister and a fondness of art. However I didn't feel we really got to know him any better, other than to find out he obviously has problems with relationships, possibly a mixture of his strange uncommunicative family and his job, and was actually a pretty disappointing character.
I found Susan Hill's descriptive writing conjured up scenes and images in my mind very easily, not flowery descriptions, just everyday believable ones. However the story line all felt a bit flat and I kept thinking things would tie together somehow or there would be a satisfying end but it was just the opposite. I can cope without having everyone living happily ever after but this left me feeling cheated of purposeful story line.
Book Description
Cardiovascular disease remains the major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the developed world and it is also rapidly increasing in the developing world. Cardiovascular medicine and the specialty of cardiology continues to expand, and the remit of the cardiologist is forever broader with the development of new sub-specialties. The Oxford Handbook of Cardiology is written by cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. It provides practical advice and background information on common cardiac conditions, including coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, valvular and congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathies and heart failure. Specialist sections offer useful background information on diagnostic tests, management of cardiac problems in pregnancy and cardiology in the developing world. There are also chapters on eponymous syndromes, major cardiac trials and emergencies in cardiology. This handbook is directed at all cardiovascular professionals who require rapid access, not only to the basics of cardiology, but also to up-to-date information into the more specialist areas with which they are less familiar. Covering a wealth of practical advice regarding patient diagnosis and management, the Oxford Handbook of Cardiology provides hands on information and advice to care of the cardiology patient. It is the essential quick reference guide for all trainees in cardiology and its related specialties.
Book Description
Dr. Letitia Morgan comes to Hartville, Colorado, in the late 1800s to follow her God-given calling to heal. Soon she becomes Hartville's ministering angel, reaching out to the children of the town drunk, and skillfully touching all who need her. But not everyone warms to the lovely new physician and Letty ruffles plenty of feathers when she takes on Hartville's thriving brothels. As she rescues first one then another young girl forced into the sordid trade, Letty becomes the target of some of the town's most powerful people. Eric Wagner, Hartville's newspaper editor, finds he got much more than he bargained for when he brought this female doctor to town. As Letty stirs more controversy with each passing day, he wonders if he can save the noble-minded doctor from herself. This is heart-warming and engaging fiction at its best, straight from the pen of a skilled storyteller.
Customer Reviews:
Disapointing in Inoriginality.......2006-12-30
I picked up this book because of these two reasons:
a) The summary on the back made no mention of 'dark pasts/hidden pasts' or an man who has stolen her heart yada, yada, yada. It was simply about an female doctor. That interested me, and I was further prodded by my second reason,
b) There wasn't a studly guy smirking in the background. You know, everyone has seen those cheesy romances with the girl's dramatic visage in the foreground and the man standing in the background. It breathes predictable. This cover was simply an woman standing in the streets. It held promise.
But boy, was I misled.
Don't get me wrong, about ninety percent of the christian fiction readers out there are women who go wild over this type of writing, but for those of you who enjoy intricate, unpredictable, well-written reads...? Be forewarned, this is not one of those books. It's sad really, because being a christian I would love to pick up an christian fiction novel and be able to read a well-written book; but all too often they are unproffessional romances and I end up disgusted. I have nothing against romances, just romances with seemingly no plotline whatsoever.
The predictability is almost painful. At the beginning of the book Letty is riding on an train to meet her sponser, Mr. Eric Wagner, and of course she has to be thinking the most obvious "oh! I can't wait to meet his wife!" I made an wild guess at the following plotline of the story within the first chapters, and got it right! Shouldn't that tell you something?
I guessed this: Ok, obviously he's not going to be married, and he'll be harboring some deep sorrowful trauma concerning that fact, aka, she died because of him. Enter woman doctor, instant chemistry, some sappy scenes of resistance where they futilely attempt to stay apart. And then the scene of realization where they admit they cannot be without each other. The bits and pieces of Mary-Sue plot that were squeezed in between the obvious were not even worth repeating.
As you might tell, I'm not a happy camper about wasting my money on this waste of time. Don't read this book unless you enjoy the average, ill-written christian fiction romance that leaves nothing to the imagination.
Blazing the Trail for Woman Doctors in Colorado.......2006-01-23
Dr. Letitia Morgan, a young doctor, travels to Colorado to set up her practice. Her job was compliments of a newspaperman who is nursing a long and unsolved very private guilt that he feels maybe a lady doctor can erase. However, Letitia soon finds herself entangled with the health and welfare of some very young "soiled doves" and a family of orphans, much to the dismay of her sponsor and the town. Treating male patients is also denied her since there is already one male doctor in town who is very suspicious, rich and selfish in this mining town.
Dr. Morgan has difficulty making many friends since most see her as a threat. However, she refuses to let their opinions sway her away from her God-called occupation so she ends up in a precarious position, without patients or funds and looking for a new job.
This is the first book of a trilogy and I have already purchased the next two. I am not certain if they contain all the same characters but I do believe they take place in the same town.
Can't wait for the next book in this series!.......2004-05-30
This book is the first in the Silver Hills Trilogy and I have to admit, I really enjoyed this book. It's about Letitia Morgan, a young female doctor trying to find her way in the booming silver mining town of Hartville, Colorado in 1892. All her life, Letty has never fit in anywhere but she knows that God has called her to be a doctor and to help anyone she can. Unfortunately for Letty female doctors, especially those that are spinsters, are not well liked in this town and she must fight an uphill battle. Especially when she starts ministering to the town's undesirables. But she knows God's call on her life is strong and she's willing to risk everything on what she knows is right.
But will she risk Erik Wagner, the tall handsome newspaper man who has stolen her heart? Can she heal him of a hurt that he is not willing to let go?
If you are looking for a really good romance novel that will make you laugh, get mad and will melt your heart than I fully recommend this one. I also appreciated the the strong Christian morality in this book. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
--- reviewed by Laurie Jones for Christian Bookshelf
Will leave the reader eager for more.......2004-04-13
Book one of the Silver Hills Trilogy, Light Of My Heart by Ginny Aiken is a soulful novel set in 1892, in the booming town of Hartville, Colorado that has sprung up next to a silver mine. Letitia Morgan is a beautiful young woman determined to practice medicine in the wild frontier land, only to find herself caught amidst potentially deadly quarrels and subject to personal attack. It will take far more than courage to prove herself and establish her career, and when the young Dr. Morgan becomes embroiled in the fate of three orphans, her life will never be the same. The first title in the "Silver Hills" trilogy, Ginny Aiken's Light Of My Heart offers a thoroughly compelling narrative that will leave the reader eager for more.
Sweet story.......2004-02-06
Before women's liberation took hold, Letitia Morgan earned the right to be a doctor, but it was a fight all the way to get folks to trust her with their lives. Yet, she found a place where she was needed, a small town in Colorado that desperately needed someone who could take care of their women and children. Not only will she have to prove her talent, but also earn the respect of her potential patients. That means keeping her reputation unspotted and maybe even compromising her hypocratic oath, if some have their way and she only treats respectable folks.
However, Letty won't do that, no matter the cost. No one is too downtrodden for her to help, not a drunk's family, not a bunch of ladies of the night. Eric Wagner admires her determination, but thinks she should be more cautious, for more reasons than one. Eric may be Letty's biggest case yet; he needs heart surgery of the deepest kind. Eric's refused to love anyone since he let his wife down and in his opinion, let her die. He can't chance doing that again, but it may kill his soul not to.
*** The problems of today are the problems of yesterday, Ms Aiken's story says. How to hate sin but not the sinner is a question that dogs both the residents of her Little Housesque world and the world today. This sweet story is saved from being too much so by a slightly gritty edge. ***
Reviewed by Amanda Killgore
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- High Fidelity
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets
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