She didn’t expect life to be fair, but did it have to be so relentless?
Horrorstör, Grady Hendrix
This is only the second book by Grady Hendrix that I have read so this may be a little premature in our relationship of me to say but I feel like he just gets me. His novel My Best Friend’s Exorcism was one of my top 5 reads in 2019, and I loved this one even more.
Amy works for Orsk, a Scandinavian furniture store that is a blatant Ikea ripoff. She’s a floor worker and a directionless college dropout, who is trying to transfer to a store in another town because she believes her boss, Basil, has it out for her. Basil is a model employee, and shows a dedication to the store that Amy just doesn’t understand.
Due to a series of overnight furniture vandalizations, Basil asks Amy and her coworker Ruth Anne to stay the night in the store, patrolling the floor to watch out for any vandals. Basil promises to approve Amy’s transfer and give her overtime pay in cash at the end of the night, and so Amy agrees to help him. The empty store is creepy and things quickly get creepier, as the group discovers the history of the land the store was built on.
I really enjoy horror comedy, and Hendrix really hits the mark in this genre. The dialogue in Horrorstör is witty and frequently had me laughing, while the more action packed scenes were intense. It was not super scary, but Hendrix builds a sufficiently creepy and anxiety inducing atmosphere, making you question what is hiding in the dark parts of the store, and what is the character seeing out of the corner of their eye? Each chapter begins with an ad for furniture sold by the store, and as the book gets darker, the advertisements become increasingly threatening, in both a funny and terrifying way.
“Stop saying A&E,” Matt said. “We’re aiming higher than that. Trinity wants us to be the first ghost hunters on Bravo.”
The cast of characters really rounded out Horrorstör. Amy, our protagonist, is faced with hard choices throughout the book, something she has avoided in her life up to this point. Any attempts she has made to improve her life have failed, and she has learned that it’s better not to try. Ruth Anne is a sweet older woman who is unafraid to call Amy out when she needs it. Trinity is a rich kid with the dream of becoming the first ghost hunter on Bravo (also a dream of mine) and unlike the other characters, she truly believes in ghosts. Her sort-of-boyfriend Matt does not believe, though he pretends to for her sake. And then there’s Basil, my favorite character after Amy. He’s super dedicated to the store but also to his family and his employees. Hendrix writes strong, believable relationships between characters and I really loved the dynamic that develops between Basil and Amy. (It is not canon romance at all but in my head…romance!)
I have thought a lot about this book since I finished reading it, and I really enjoyed it! It’s a great horror comedy that manages to deliver on both counts. I think I might go through the rest of his books now. I’m definitely excited for his next book coming out in April: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
I Haven't Read That Yet 