I’m not generally a horror genre fan, but the concept and design of this book was just too appealing to pass up. Horrostör by Grady Hendrix may remind you of a certain furniture and homewares store that specialises in flat pack furniture and an iconic Scandinavian aesthetic, but Orsk is definitely NOT IKEA. It is, according to Amy, a low-rent IKEA knock-off. And working here is not how she envisaged her life would pan out. But now, in an effort to keep her boss happy so he’ll approve her transfer, she finds herself on a clandestine overnight watch shift with 2 other employees, tasked with making regular inspections of the store and making sure that nothing weird happens. What they’re expecting is to hopefully find whoever has been trashing the store overnight. What they find is far more chilling.

This is a quick, engaging read. It takes place largely over the course of one night, and is a pretty simple read, without a lot of complexity in its backstory or world building. For those who are true horror aficionados, this may be horror-lite for you. For me, who deliberately read this in daylight hours, and will be rethinking any future IKEA trips, it was just creepy enough, thank you very much. The real highlight of this book is the design, from the iconic cover art, to the incorporation of furniture story advertisements to mark the beginning of chapters. The narrative itself also critiques the consumerist philosophy of major corporations as they attempt to force customers to follow the path of least resistance. If you need a good read for Halloween, but don’t want to be too scared out of your wits, this could be the book for you!