3.5 stars. An incredibly solid horror story that I found myself reaching for again quickly after each time I had to set it aside. The writing was good, and the characters were great. I loved the horror scenes and their descriptions. Overall, the story reminded me a bit of King’s story “Low Men in Yellow Coats” (which I love) while still managing to feel like it was entirely its own thing.

My only point of criticism is that I think this truly would have been a 4.5 or 5 star tale for me if it had been longer and more fleshed out— I wanted more details and more scenes. It could have been bigger. Now, it didn’t need to be—I still enjoyed it—but I would have loved if it had been.

Final note: the scene where the monster is attacked with a hockey stick felt very reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix in Signs, a film which I love with my whole heart and will not watch alone. Read this story if you’re a horror fan and want a good, quick weekend read.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Sky Publishing for the eARC of this puzzling story!!**

Jigsaw puzzles are my favorite and I was immediately drawn in by the cover of this one. This story was a super fun romp that kept me guessing the entire time.

Thrift Store Puzzles is a perfect plane or road trip book as it is easily binged in one (long) sitting!

Wow! What an action packed, horrific story stuffed into a shorter novel!
‘Thrift Store Puzzles’ was enjoyable and entertaining from the very first page. I enjoyed the friendship of Elijah, Tierney, and Ken. Very sold story!

I love the cover of this book! I thought it was so cool. I really enjoyed the writing in this book. It made the book easy to read. I was guessing the whole time, I wasn’t even sure how it was going to end. The ending was a little underwhelming but I still enjoyed the book.

Thank you so much NetGalley, John and Dead Sky Publishing for the eARC!

Publication Date: May 13 2025
Rating: 🧩🧩🧩

#ThriftStorePuzzlesjohnbodendeadskypublishing
#NetGalley

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

Thank you to the author for approving my request, and netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ken allenwood is an author by profession. What's interesting and something which draws people to him is, the fact that he's super old. Ancient even. He's had dementia, and a rather weird past. And Elijah, a 13 yr who has way too much spare time on his hands, often comes to meet Ken. Spending his time listening to the threads Ken weaves for him, sometimes believing them and sometimes not. Tierney, who's a relative of Elijahs’ ,is a caretaker at the elderly home, where Ken resides. Eventually, Ken's dementia progressing. With gruesome murders taking place, Elijah and Tierney grow curious as well as worried, about to the fact that Ken might have an underlying connection to them. Almost, as if it's a puzzle, they begin to connect the pieces of Ken's rambles to the horrible events that creep closer, adding in their own interpretations.


What I liked:
1. The writing!! The prose was beautiful. I also loved how bible- esque the prose was in the beginning. Authentic.
2. Plot: kept me wondering and deducing all the while I was reading.
3. The length: With the perfect amount of pages, this was binge-able, and a great read to pick up after a bad slump.
4. The horror and the gore were vivid. Loved it.

What I disliked:
1. The last plot twist: My deductions were wrong, and highly off mark, yet, I felt a bit underwhelmed with the ending. But it made sense.

Genuinely good read!

3.5 stars. The writing of this book was phenomenal. I wanted to highlight every other sentence simply because the prose read so well. The characters were also incredibly fleshed out. The biggest reason for the mid rating was that the ending wasn't what I wanted. There were signs that the story would end one way and it ended a bit more predictably than I'd hoped, but it still read well for a hundred-something-page horror story. *SPOILER INCOMING* I was convinced that The Mouth was an allegory for dementia and was really disappointed when it wasn't, but the fantastical elements played out nicely. I enjoyed reading it, and I would read it again, but I wanted a bit more of a *gasp* plot twist than what I received. Overall, a wonderful story told.

I really enjoyed reading Thriftstore puzzles by John boden
Interesting characters and backstories. Unlikely friendship trio come together to solve murders.
I liked the writing.
It was a quick read but i was very infested in the characters and the story.
Some terrifying imagery as well!