At first glance, this
novel looks like an Ikea catalog that someone snuck onto the library
shelf. This is entirely
intentional. Grady Hendrix tells the
tale of Amy, Basil, Ruth Anne, Matt and Trinity and their jobs at Orsk, an Ikea
superstore knockoff. Amy is at the end
of her rope. She’s perpetually behind on
rent and her roommates are threatening to kick her out. And she thinks someone will be lowering the
boom on her soul-crushing job at Orsk any day now. Amy’s convinced that because she dropped out
of college the only other job she could get would be something that pays
minimum wage- which would land her back at home in her Mom’s trailer. She’s hoping to get transferred back to a
different Orsk location and hopes that if she can just avoid her manager,
Basil, long enough she can return to the other store before getting fired. But how to give Basil the slip when he seems
to notice her every move?
The day the novel opens
seems like any other: Amy is trying to avoid Basil while clocking into
work. But something is seriously
wrong. The escalators at the store are running backwards. Seeing that Basil is distracted by trying to
find a way to fix the employee entrance, Amy enters the store the long way
hoping to beat him to her station. Then
strange thing number two happens: Amy notices a man in the store who is not an Orsk employee. But the store hasn’t opened yet. Before Amy can do anything about it, the guy
disappears and Amy is cut off by Basil who needs her to shepherd a group of new
Orsk trainees. Later that day, Amy and
another coworker, Ruth Anne, are called into a meeting with Basil. Things are sliding downhill fast. If he’s firing Ruth Anne, there is NO WAY Amy
isn’t getting fired too. An more than
that, Ruth Anne is possibly the nicest, most dedicated Orsk employee Amy has
ever met.
After Amy starts the
meeting by shouting at Basil that it would be an outrage to fire Ruth Anne,
Basil assures the two ladies that he isn’t firing anyone. In fact, Basil knows that Amy has applied for
a store transfer and will make sure it goes through without a hitch- if they
both help him with something and keep it a secret. For weeks, damaged merchandise has been
appearing after closing. Things have
gotten so bad that corporate is sending a team early the next morning to
investigate. Basil thinks someone is hiding
in the store after closing and wreaking havoc.
All Amy and Ruth Anne have to do is stay for a secret night shift and
help Basil sweep the store and find whoever is responsible. And they’ll
get paid double over time.
But things quickly spiral
out of control. A few minutes into their
first sweep, Amy and Ruth Anne run into Matt and Trinity- two other Orsk
employees who have snuck in after hours to try and document ghosts that they
think inhabit the store. This Orsk
location was built on the same location where a very creepy prison once
stood. Matt and Trinity are convinced
that if they can capture the souls of the restless prisoners on tape, they’ll
be sure to get a TV deal with Bravo. Things
turn from creepy to deadly in the blink of an eye and now Amy wonders if she’ll
even make it out of the store alive.
Check out Horrorstör @ the library!
