Everyone knows about workplace drama. We all know that miserable guy that hates everyone because they’re too blonde, attractive, good at their job, well-liked, and queer…
But what if that guy was a serial killer?
Things could get messy.
What if the coworker he directed his anger towards that was too blonde, attractive, good at his job, well-liked, and queer…
was also a serial killer?
Things could get even messier. And they do.
Gerald hates everything and everyone at the hospital where he works…especially nurse Chadwick, with his charisma, and likeability. Gerald knows he can’t kill his coworker or he could lose his ability to continue his hobby, doubling as the killer the world knows as the Skin Shaver, so he decides to target Chadwick’s family instead, hoping to get Chadwick out of his life a different way. What he doesn’t know…
is that Chadwick is also a serial killer. They’re two of a kind and they’re about to butt heads in a brutal, gory, cuss-filled, extravaganza full of torture and depravity.
Warning: This is Extreme Horror. This book is not for everyone. Read the trigger warning page and exclude yourself if it applies to you.
Dark bleatings, my extreme tribe! This is one of the very few times I’ve sat down to write an extreme horror book review, because I don’t read much in this genre. I should say before proceeding that as I’m not at all widely read in this subgenre, it’s possible that I don’t know what I’m talking about. So, with that said, listen to my opinion and dutifully hang on to my every word. Or else.
“The Skin Shaver” (Gerald) is a notorious serial killer who, well, skins people. The absolute sicko. He works at a hospital and is a hateful specimen who mostly despises everyone else, especially people who he assumes think they’re better than him. He takes a particular disliking to Chad, who also works at the hospital, and this is extremely unfortunate for Chad when Gerald decides to take out his issues on Chad’s dad and sister.
But Gerald has done fucked up because Chad isn’t just some dude from work, he is also a serial killer. Just a much sneakier, more clever one that has avoided the attention of the local police.
So, initially, I worried that this was going to be an Exquisite Corpse rip-off, as it does bear some obvious similarities. If you start reading this and the same thought crosses your mind, fear not! I jumped to conclusions, most likely because as previously mentioned, I hardly ever read this genre and I forgot that evil serial killers are kind of a staple of it.
The rest of our story is basically Chad trying to track down where the f Gerald has stashed his sister, and when we’re in Gerald’s viewpoint (which is despicable), we’re following his… erm.. journey with Maureen (Chad’s sister).
Stuff I didn’t like: some of the more extreme horror elements (surprise surprise). The reason I don’t like this genre generally is because of its typical inclusion of extreme sexual violence, and also because I don’t tend to enjoy stories about extreme human suffering (I don’t enjoy movies like Hostel, for example). However, I am absolutely not the person to comment on how effective these elements actually are in this story, because I really don’t know. All I know is they made me flinch and feel really grim and like I wanted to wash my eyeballs with freshly squeezed lemons, which is ironic considering I just said I don’t like extreme human suffering.
Things I liked: the story itself is compelling and despite all of my wincing, I was very much invested in Maureen’s fate and I wanted to see Gerald get what was coming to him. I also think that Chisto Healy is a good writer and so, while I can’t say I enjoyed half of what he wrote here, I can say that I enjoyed how he wrote it!
I think extreme horror fans would love this (I did some Internet digging to gauge the reception from people who are the target audience for this and it’s very positive). If you’d like to check out the book or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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