Horrorstör

The hook for this book is its spot-on mimicry of IKEA catalogs and its setting in an satirically IKEA-like store. But the story is actually well-written and engaging. I think it would be particularly affecting for readers who have had to rely on retail work for survival.

This was a lot of fun, though it does get pretty dark and verges on a kind of “Saw” vibe at times later in the story. I don't usually go in for that type of torture/sadism horror, but it wasn't overwhelming and was set into a larger scary story in a way that worked fine for me.

It's worth noting that there is an audiobook of this, and while it can't quite achieve the charm of the physical book, with its blueprint-style product illustrations and occasional store document images, it does employ Bronson Pinchot as a special narrator who comes in, accompanied by sparkling harp riffs, to read the silly product names and gushing catalog descriptions that open each chapter.