Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Liz

Apr 29

26th book of 2022

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking. To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they'll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

CW: Torture, body horror, blood, torture, death

Rating

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Review

I read this because I love going to Ikea and the format of the book looks like one of their catalogues, but also because one of my goals this year is to read more books out of my comfort zone.

As I'm not used to reading books like that, I didn't know what I would think of it, but the truth is that I don't really know. Like it was okay, but that's all.

First, the story takes place in one night, making me struggle to connect with the characters, even if we have a little of their backstories. Sometimes, I even found the main character, Amy, a little annoying. Like not in her actions but more in her thoughts.

Second, the atmosphere is immersive. I didn't have any problem with that; I sometimes struggled to breathe as the book's pace is quick and a lot is happening to the characters. The story occurs in an Ikea-like store which helps a lot to dive into the book. It's the most-known store, and as I spent a ton of time there, I know it's so easy to be lost even if you have the floor plan.

However, I sometimes found that it was messy. I had some problems with some of the scenes like a lot is happening and you have too much information at the same time. I was rereading some sentences to be sure of what I was reading. The feeling for those scenes was like having a bad dream; you know it but don't remember anything, so you have a doubt.

Overall, it's a good book for people who, like me, don't read this genre but yet not a memorable one.

Liz.

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