Review: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

          At the Orsk furniture store employees and customers alike are encouraged to do things 'the Orsk way', only that's somewhat difficult when the morning shift keeps finding unidentifiable substances smeared on the Brookas and strange graffiti keeps popping up in the women's bathroom. Amy just wants to pay her rent and keep her boss, Basil, from firing her. So when Basil offers her an overnight shift - an effort to catch the culprit of these strange happenings - Amy agrees with few reservations.
          The best thing about this book, hands down, is the presentation. Hendrix's novel mimics an IKEA catalog from start to finish, complete with a store map and home delivery order form. Without its design I feel that this story might have fallen flat, despite Hendrix's clever use of the store's layout and hidden features within it. The premise is well-done and the descriptions were creepy enough to make the hair rise on the back of my neck, but there was still something a little unsatisfying about the overall execution.
          The characters are hilarious, and if you've ever worked retail you'll relate to the struggles of dealing with impatient customers and defunct merchandise. The biggest issues I had was that the eventual explanation for the events is somewhat underwhelming and I feel that Hendrix could have taken this novel much further. Overall, I enjoyed this book and found the illustrations and little details to be what really made it unique and compelling.

~Ashley~