Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Author: Jenny Kiefer
Publisher: Quirk Books
Released: October 7, 2025
Received: Library
Find it on Storygraph | More Horror

Book Summary:

Ruth and her partner live in a very small and extremely religious town in Kentucky. It’s not exactly the safest place for them, so they try to keep their relationship on the down-low. It wasn’t enough to keep Ruth’s job, but they’re trying.

So, Ruth fights back in the only way she can: by stealing from the major corporation craft store that sacked her. Petty, yes, but it’s also satisfying. Right up until her latest run forced her into a fight for her life.

My Review:

I have a confession: I picked up Crafting for Sinners without even glancing at the description. The title and cover were enough to get me curious. Thankfully, I don’t mind horror and violence, which this book had in spades.

Crafting for Sinners plays with a lot of familiar tropes and concepts, but it also pokes fun at some societal things people try to ignore (like a certain craft store and its religious connections). All of this leads to a horrific escape room of sorts, as Ruth literally fights for every moment of survival. It’s twisted and dark, and pretty perfect for horror fans.

There were parts I really enjoyed about this book, and parts that I either didn’t love or wish had been explored/covered in further detail. For example, there’s a lot of detail about the injuries Ruth suffers, but less focus on the wrap-up (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, so forgive me for talking about the subject). This threw me out a little bit, especially one injury (set), and what it could potentially mean.

Still, Crafting for Sinners was a fun (dark) novel to read around Halloween. Yes, I am extremely behind on sitting down to write this review (it may or may not be sometime right before New Year’s, don’t judge me).

Highlights:

• Craft Store Escape Room
• Small Town Horror
• Religious Cults
• Battle to Survive

Trigger Warnings:

• Grievous Injuries
• Homophobia & Bigotry
• Animal Death

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