Thrift Store Puzzles - by John Boden (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A fading horror writer confronts a monster born from his own mind in a chilling small-town mystery.

Ken Allenwood, a once-famed horror writer now battling dementia in an elder care facility, finds his past creeping into the present when a series of vicious killings plague the small town of Cordry. As his memories fade, Ken teams up with Elijah, a lonely boy with a fascination for the spooky, to unravel the truth behind the murders. But what they discover is more terrifying than fiction: a monster from the darkest recesses of Ken's mind, seeking inheritance and acknowledgment.

Can Ken and Elijah stop the creature before it claims more victims, or will the unraveling threads of Ken's mind doom them all? This suspenseful tale blends horror, mystery, and psychological elements, perfect for readers who enjoy:

• Small-town gothic thrillers
• Supernatural suspense with a touch of mystery
• Stories that explore the fragility of memory and the darkness within

Review Quotes

"Your next favorite horror author, John Boden, not only understands, he sensitively breaches the subject while yet carving on your most paranoid nerve endings with a gonzo Dark Half/Basket Case shriekfest in Thrift Store Puzzles." --Ray Van Horn, Jr., author of Behind the Shadows, Coming of Rage and Revolution Calling

"...so poignantly heartbreaking that it made me ache." --Candace Nola, author of Demons In My Bloodstream

"Caught somewhere between the framework of unlikely friendships, a darkness lingers, brandishing through the mouthpiece of poetic prose. Boden builds momentum through character work, allowing each relationship to flourish in seeds of metaphor. Elijah and Ken, like an extension of a single throat, spoke to aspects of Boden's ideology, palpable and raw in their expressiveness." --Royal Poff, author of Sleeping Among Wolves

"Thrift Store Puzzles includes some of the best of Boden's writing, both the brutal and beautiful, as monster meets metaphor in a tale that will haunt you." --Kelli Owen, author of The Headless Boy, Teeth and White Picket Prisons

"Thrift Store Puzzles will make your heart ache and your stomach turn in equal measure." --Michael Wehunt, author of The October Film Haunt and Greener Pastures

"Boden's stories are ballads full of dream and anguish; horrific folk tales that celebrate the lost and the defeated." --Christopher Slatsky, author of The Immeasurable Corpse Of Nature and Palladium At Night

"Thrift Store Puzzles finds John Boden at his brilliant bloody best." --Josh Rountree, author of The Unkillable Frank Lightning

About the Author

John Boden was mostly raised in the mountains of Pennsylvania, in the small town of Orbisonia. He is a bakery manager by trade and finds a regular sleep schedule overrated. He currently resides with his beautiful wife and two sons, in a house sweetly haunted by the ghost of a beautician named, Darlene. He likes collecting lots of things and won't usually shut up about it. He believes Elvis is the King, Bigfoot is real and Midian is where the monsters live. His writing is fairly well received and has been called unique of style.