This Skin Was Once Mine

Title: This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances

Author: Eric LaRocca

Genre: horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Eric LaRocca isn’t for everyone, but he’s definitely for me. I’ve read and loved Everything the Darkness Eats and Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, but goodness, he is dark. Consider yourself warned!

In this novella set of four stories, each one packs a heavy punch. One story, Prickle, might stick with me for a long time. Two elderly men meet at a park to play a game they used to, called “Prickle”, where they do something to irritate and ruin a stranger’s day. But one of them takes it way too far. “Seedling” deals with death and the relationship between a father and son. The titular “This Skin Was Once Mine” also deals with death and fathers, but with Jillian, who uncovers a massive secret.

Finally, the Stoker-nominated “All The Parts of You that Won’t Easily Burn” was easily the most disturbing and fascinating story of the four. Enoch wants to buy a knife for his husband, but the knife-seller offers it for free, under one condition. Enoch must allow him to cut his arm and insert a tiny piece of glass. Enoch can take the glass out when he gets home, so it seems like an easy decision. However, Enoch finds he loves having the glass in his body and wants to have more, know more, becoming obsessed.

This was my favorite of LaRocca’s books so far. I’ve been very impressed with his ability to balance dark with comedy, tragedy with hope. I’ll defintely be reading more of his work.