Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix - 4-star read.

SUMMARY:

Amy is one of three employees who opted for a dusk-to-dawn shift to uncover the mysteries lurking at Orsk Furniture Store during the night. Each morning, they arrive to find broken, shattered, and smashed furniture scattered throughout. To solve this enigma, they must patrol the showroom floor at midnight. However, as the night unfolds, they experience odd sounds and sights, soon confronting horrors that seem to spring from the depths of their imagination. It's a classic haunted house experience with a contemporary twist.

THOUGHTS:

So, as I’m standing in Bookface in the horror section, picking out all the books I want, I notice an IKEA catalogue sitting on the shelves. I’m thinking to myself, why the hell would someone place an IKEA catalogue in the horror section, and why here of all places? I pick it up, and that’s when I realise I need this book. It wasn’t a catalogue at all, it was a very well-designed horror novel by Grady Hendrix. How did I not know about this awesome book?

So what does one do to obtain such a fun item? Beg the husband, of course. And it worked. Now here I am giving this review because I absolutely devoured it, and while this is only my second Grady Hendrix book, he is quickly becoming one of my favourite horror authors. You know how I feel about The Final Girl Support Group.

This book is completely designed like an IKEA catalogue, complete with a showroom map, order form, and coupons at the end. The only difference is that the story isn’t set in IKEA; it’s set within the walls of Orsk, an American knock-off. Same furniture, same flat-pack designs, same showroom layout, just made cheaper. Oh, and yeah, the showroom is haunted.

In an already nightmarish and monotonous world, living from paycheck to paycheck is a horror in itself, and that is where the story begins. It starts with Amy, a less-than-enthusiastic employee who just wants to make it through her shift without getting fired. by her uptight, younger, and highly motivated manager, who seems to be out to get her. His name is Basil, and while you may think he’s annoying, and maybe he is, he’s actually an awesome character to explore. He’s incredibly loyal and genuinely has his employees’ backs. He really grew on me and soon became my favourite character.

Amy, on the other hand, doesn’t like him, just like most people. She has a real “woe is me” attitude and just wants to ghost ( pun intended) through life with no goals in mind. While going through this horrendous ordeal, she soon discovers she has a backbone and that her life is worth more than just trying to run from her mother’s trailer. While you may fail through life, you only truly fail when you give up, and this becomes Amy’s biggest life lesson. By the end, she really becomes a badass main character and proves her value as both an employee and a friend.

Matt and Trinity bring the humour. These two are the characters you love to hate. They are the reason the haunted mess occurs that night, but you feel sorry for them all the same. I really liked this duo and found the comic relief they brought to be perfect, even if they weren’t meant to be funny.

Lastly, Ruth. Can I just say she wasn’t my favourite. She was the least compelling character and frustratingly obnoxious towards Amy. I found her way of thinking rude and fake.

Now that we’ve met the characters of this spooky haunt of a novel, let’s dive into the story without giving too much away. I found this to be a fun take on the haunted house trope, but modernised and set inside a corporate building. The way the ghosts were introduced and how they interacted with the crew was pretty disturbing, but added to the spookiness all the same. Starting with a typical ghost hunt complete with a séance attached, hallucinated veils into the prison, and creepy vibes in the toilets, before all hell breaks loose. It is a perfect setting for something to go terribly wrong.

The start of the book may feel a bit slow, yet it actually highlights the genuine horrors that ordinary people encounter while working in retail. Ultimately, it reveals that the situation isn’t as dire as it seems, since once you’re inside Orsk, there’s no way out. It gave me the creeps quite a few times, especially when reading at night, to the point where I had to put it down. It wasn’t scary as such, more skin-crawling, hairs standing, and goosebumps raised.

Overall, it was a great modern horror novel with a quirky, unforgettable design.