Horrorstör is a story about a haunted IKEA-like store. (In the text, the ORSK chain is even referred to as an IKEA knock-off.) It's a clever idea for book packaging because the IKEA aesthetic is so carefully crafted that everyone instantaneously recognizes its design language. And it's a cute premise for a horror novel, because everyone is a little bit creeped out by IKEA: The too-clean displays, the controlling way you're only supposed to walk through their stores on one pre-established path, the too-cheap hot dogs.
And as a reading experience, it's good, albeit disposable, fun. Horrorstör stars Amy, a problem employee at ORSK who is asked to stay in the store overnight to uncover the truth behind a mysterious rash of damaged products. Hendrix does a good job satirizing the bland, overly cheery corporate language that retail employees are subjected to every day. And the mystery behind the haunting is interesting and not too terribly oversold. But the haunting itself, the elements of suspense that Amy encounters, lacks the narrative drive to make the book a true page-turner. Horrorstör works better as a high concept than as a scary read. It'll scratch your horror-novel itch, but you won't lose any sleep over it.
