“There are enough people running around in here. It’s starting to feel like an episode of Scooby-Doo.”
Something weird is happening at furniture superstore Orsk, every morning when the staff starts their shift they notice things have been broken and smashed, with a horrid smell coming from some interesting looking stains. To get answers for the higher-ups and put an end to it, three employees work an overnight shift. They will patrol the showroom floor every hour until they find the person responsible, and discover how they are getting into the store after hours.
With such a fun concept I was very much ready for a comedy horror with a touch of charm. What Horrorstör provided however was something so much more, a story that genuinely gave me chills with a surprisingly heartfelt undercurrent. The aesthetic of this book is reason enough to pick up, designed as an Ikea catalogue, Horrorstör will feel like a big hug if you are a fan of Ikea …. one full of suspense and horror.
Grady Hendrix writes some fantastic characters that I had no problem rooting for, ones which I wasn’t ready to leave when I finished the book. Becoming known for his tongue in cheek horror (his other well-known work being My best friend’s exorcism), Grady Hendrix has definitely found his stride with Horrorstör and approaches his vision with great confidence that reflects throughout his writing. In fact, I would say the slight sarcasm found in his stories almost add to the horror, making it feel more lifelike while grounding his stories in the mundane of everyday life.
We follow Amy, someone who had great ambitions to forge a career and life for herself, however, life had very different plans. Finding herself working at Orsk, behind on her rent, and no way to make her life better, Amy is a horrendously relatable character, driven to assume the worst of every situation and struggling to care about other people’s worries. Whilst the story has its truly horrific moments, the real horror lies in the commentary on our everyday life and the everyday issues for retail workers in large cooperations.
Just please pick this up if you are interested and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
5 Stars
To pick up your own copy: Buy here*
*This is an affliate link. If you buy through this link, you pay the same,
but I may receive a small percentage of the sale
talislibrary.com 
Leave a Reply