Horns by Joe Hill

About the book: Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples.
At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.
Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look - a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It's time for a little revenge. . . . It's time the devil had his due. . . .

First Line: "Ignatius Martin Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things."

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed reading Heart-Shaped Box by this author so I was looking forward to reading this. I wanted to love it.....but I didn't :(. The story revolves around a murder mystery, and Hill uses flashbacks from the characters to to bring the pieces of the story together. It is a love story, a horror story, and a crime story all rolled up in one. I was hooked on reading it early on but I found it to be an emotionally draining and painful read all the way around. Ig's predicament tore me up.The main mystery,who killed Ig's girlfriend,is revealed fairly early on so the rest of the book is spent watching Ig come into his own and seek his revenge. I really wanted to know why and how Ig got his horns but that was never told. If you like horror stories, you'll probably like this one. It is well written with some funny spots. The overwhelming hopelessness sadness, though, was a little too much for me.

Rating:

Quote: "The best way to get even with anyone is to put them in the rear view mirror on your way to something better."

Links:
NY Times on Hornes
Joe Hill
Wikipedia Info