When Garrett Walkinshaw pays a visit to his sister, he finds her murdered— throat sliced and nipples missing, his albino niece left emotionally scarred on her bed. Determined on getting revenge, the two set out after the killer, following a bloody trail of skin-lacking bodies. After Garrett's best friend— a recently freed slave— joins the road-trip hunt, they're forced to teach Garret' s niece the dark world of survival and assassination in the gritty, wild west, where they're met with myriad of roadblocks in the form of evil lawmen, bizarro brothers, a swamp witch, and more. Hap & Leonard meets The Professional, chasing down Ed Gein.
Chad has written for Famous Monsters of Filmland, Rue Morgue, Cemetery Dance, and Scream magazine. He's had dozens of short stories published, and some of his books include: OF FOSTER HOMES & FLIES, STIRRING THE SHEETS, SKULLFACE BOY, THE SAME DEEP WATER AS YOU, THE PALE WHITE, THE NEON OWL and OUT BEHIND THE BARN co-written with John Boden. Lutzke's work has been praised by authors Jack Ketchum, Richard Chizmar, Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen Graham Jones, Tim Waggoner and his own mother.
An exceptional read from one of my favorite authors.
This book hits like Lansdale's The Thicket with a pinch of Django Unchained all with Lutzke's characteristic laid-back style. Horror is a way of life here and no one is safe.
One of the worst images in a horror novel I've ever read include pale trails up a dead man's legs. I will never lose that mental picture.
If you love splatter westerns, revenge quests, and a bit of humor with your horror, then you need to read this!
I am falling in love with this author. It is interesting that my first read was Skullface Boy a light-horror, coming of age story and this book is a Splatterpunk Western with some seriously nasty, gory scenes. The thing is, his writing is exquisite and I now want to devour everything this man has written. He absolutely deserves more attention, highly recommended.
Another winner from Chad Lutzke, this is a splatterpunk western that has what so many others don't - a beating, broken heart. Two unlikely friends and a young girl are on the trail of a deranged killer. This is one gut punch of a book that will have you squirming and leave your heart aching.
4.5 ⭐️ I must start by saying I’m not a fan of western anything, this being written by one of my top authors, I had to at least try . I am glad I did . Garrett shows up to check on his sister and his niece to discover the massacre of his sister. Garrett wants revenge and in turn picks up a close friend by the name of Franklin a recently freed slave . Garrett, Franklin, and his niece Nadine take off and thus the manhunt begins. As always I highly recommend this and anything with the name Lutzke.
Garrett visits his sister, Diane and niece, Nadine but unfortunately Garrett walks into a bloodbath. While on the trail for his sister’s killer, he enlists Franklin, a recently freed slave and his revenge seeking, albino niece. Will the trio find the killer or will they be added to the victim count?
Lutzke knocks this out of the gotdamn park. Writing characters with depth, relatable flaws, and a vengeance unlike many others I read, this is top in the Splatterwestern series. There wasn’t a lull in the story and the reader is intent on finding out the resolution as much as the characters are. I have read a few by Chad and this is, by far, his best.
I do have to point out my favorite character, Franklin. I mean, the man obtains his freedom from being a slave only to become a slave to an insane fate. Always having a witty or positive comment, Franklin is this story even though he’s meant to be a supporting character.
Definitely a must read and a HIGHLY RECOMMEND from this Splatterwestern loving fangirl. 10/5
I am not a fan of westerns, but this book blew me away! Garrett goes to visit his sister, and upon his arrival, he finds that she has been murdered and his niece was left alone, broken and bruised. Immediately he knows he must avenge his sisters death. Along with his niece, and his best friend, a former slave, they travel by horseback on the heels of the killer. The trio is set on vengeance, and to stop any further killings from happening.. Chad Lutzke write stories with such emotion that will remain in my mind forever. Thank you Chad for showing me that westerns can be done well and done right .
Having read nearly all the books Lutzke has published, this one is my absolute favorite. Everything I love about Lutzke's work is on full display in this story. It's brilliant, brutal, and of course beautifully written--so much so that I often found myself reading whole passages aloud. Check out this excerpt: I ducked behind the tree and sat down, wiped sweat and worry from my brow. “I’ll be honest with you, Nadine . . . as I always have and always will. I don’t know the first thing about raising a kid, let alone a girl. But what I do know is those men over there don’t deserve the air they breathe, and if we walk away now then we don’t deserve that air neither.” See what I mean? Pure gold. I should also mention that HOW THE SKIN SHEDS is now my favorite of the splatter westerns. Five stars, easily. And this is one I'm sure I'll read again. Highly recommended!
Holy crap what a great book. No wonder the book is dedicated to Lansdale, this one could be the HAP and Leonard of the west. Loved every word. Characters were written in such a way you just want to sit and hang out with them. Garrett, Nadine and Franklin, what a great group in the hunt for some revenge. Along with the some other great characters along the way this makes for a very good story. Just wish there was more. Chad Lutzke is quickly securing his place on my must read list
Brutal well written Splatter Western with likeable characters and a tense atmosphere. Really didn't know where this one was going, but wanted everyone to be safe. Gripping and Savage.
This is a splatter western that takes place just after the civil war. Garrett Walkinshaw arrives at his sisters home to find her murdered and her young daughter raped. He leaves with his niece to meet up with a friend and to seek revenge on the man that did it. It was a great story with surprisingly good character development for such a shortish story. It was difficult to put down and I finished it in one sitting. I would recommend this book and others by this author. This book deals with topics of racism, sexual abuse and revenge. It is definitely for mature readers only. I received an ARC of this book and am choosing to review it.
“Hap & Leonard meets Leon: The Professional chasing down Ed Gein.”
Well, that was pretty much all I needed to see to know I was getting Chad Lutzke’s new book, HOW THE SKIN SHEDS.
This was an interesting purchase for me; I usually don’t go for westerns, not in the least, but I’ve read Lutzke and I know he’s got the goods, so I didn’t even hesitate. As soon as I saw it was out, I bought it.
The plot is simple enough, which I THINK is a good thing(?). Again, not a fan of westerns. But what little I do know about the genre is their plots are pretty straightforward, and that’s what Lutzke offers with this one.
Garrett comes into his sister’s house to find her murdered, and his niece Nadine violated. He swears vengeance and the rest of the book is Garrett’s hunt for the man with the harelip.
Along the way, he grabs a friend, former slave Franklin, “the best man[he] ever knew,” for a traveling companion and, with Nadine in tow, they set out on the trail of a murderer.
But this is Chad Lutzke and he’s not known for safe, PG-rated horror. This killer doesn’t just shoot his victims, he guts them, leaving their entrails strewn about. He cuts off their nipples, for what we learn later. This killer, whoever he is, is one mean piece of work in a world where electricity is still a novelty. It may be, technically, a western, but HOW THE SKIN SHEDS is a horror story, make no mistake.
Along the way, Garrett and company have a few run-ins of their own, trials they have to overcome on their way to justice, and in Lutzke’s hands, what could have easily come across as paint by numbers from anyone else, instead feels like a natural flow of events, one into the next. The way the plot unfolds just feels organic, and that’s how it should be. So many other writers, you can practically see the checkmarks as they work through their strict plot outline. Not the case here, and I appreciate the work that went into this book.
I don’t want to give away too many details—it’s only 100 pages, I want to keep some surprises in store for new readers—but I’ll just end with this: I don’t normally read westerns, but if Chad Lutzke has a few more of these up his sleeves, I’ll be first in line.
I've never even heard of Splatter Western before this book, and now I want to read everything I can find. This book was short, gory as hell, touching at times and just plain brilliant!
Awesome revenge story of a monster who brutally rapes and cuts of body parts of woman as souvenirs. This was an awesome story even the little side quest by the kkk kidnapping. I loved it.
I enjoy but I also think there was a hint of political stuff here which made me cringe every couple of chapters.
First of all , this is a fast pace revenge story about a man trying to avenge his sister's death. We've got three characters, first the man who is visiting is sister saw her killed and butchered, he also finds his young teen niece (of eleven) which was abused by the man (why he didn't kill her as well?). Then we have a new-freed slave which is the best friend of our main protagonist, and how we know it? Because the main character (Garrett) says so to other people.. Why someone would introduce a black person to other people, like - "...me and my real good friend.." - "... is he the most loyal and trusting man yo'll ever meet..." - "...My name is Garrett Walkinshaw. This here's my best friend in all the world, Franklin." Wtf? Who talks like this? It's like he is compensating, no?
This and the part that ALL White Male Characters are racist All , except our main character. Everyone else is racist part of klan or something like that. Every black person, well the two are virtuous and good. Did the writer wrote this in the midst of BLM manifestation? You know who belongs to the Klan? The Lawmen! (Police) Oh the shock... What a heck. IT's like Garrett is Chad and he is ashame of his fellow white people and see himself as a white saviour. Oh well... thank the lords it was only 100 pages long...
Overall, it was a nice revenge story, Django inspired. Enjoying seeing Nadine and the tribulations she had to endured. I also liked Franklin. He endured slavery and became free (so this story is set after 1865 I guess) and , although the main character is cringe as fuck and at times overshadow Franklin speaking at times for him, it was interesting to see his struggle and always keeping a smile and positive action until the end.
As I've said, it was a interesting revenge story, cool characters but unfortunately could have tackled racism in a way that enlightened the period USA lived but he tried so hard it was cringeworthy.
Now about the series splatter western. This is very small book with only 100 pages and it costs 15€. While previous were a bit cheaper. Another thing is the number on the spine. Where is it? This should be book 14 after Last Ravager but it seems it doesn't deserve one.
Btw, there is on page 48 a reference to another weird west book that deals with Wendigos. Can't remember which but is.
That was a straight reading for me with this excellent Novella. I really think that Lutzke gets better and better at writting. How The Skin sheds is short, but really good.
I find it so tedious when authors use rape poorly. A small child gets raped and suffers no psychological ill effects but the author uses it to CONSTANTLY refer to her genitals. One of the male characters gets raped, is completely fine and untraumatized except when going to the toilet.
What an introduction!!! This was my first splatter western, and I really enjoyed it. It had murder, bizarro brothers, a swamp witch, and crooked lawmen. I really liked the setup, and that's when this story just goes.
This book grabs you from the very beginning and doesn't let up. Absolutely love it. Every time I read one of Chad Lutzke's books, it makes me wish I could write like him.
Full disclosure: I am a close friend of Chad's and we have worked together before and probably will again.
That said, I have had the pleasure of reading everything (practically) the man writes, often well before anyone else. And in that luxury, have had the pleasure of watching him grow and flex and grow some more. I will say that HOW THE SKIN SHEDS is Lutzke at full blast. It wears its still bleeding heart on its sleeve, the depth of honesty in the emotions of the characters and the effortless way they are drawn, fleshed and given life is truly wonderful.
A story of a man, in many ways chipped and broken himself, trying to salvage some semblance of family when all he had of his is burned to the ground, save for a niece. The violent attack on the girl and her late mother leaving her mute and haunted. This sets our Garrett on a quest for revenge and hopefully in some way salvation. This quest is peopled with bright souls and diabolical shades. Here the villains are vicious and hungry.
This slim novella has Lansdalian muscles, for sure, but it is 100% Lutzke brilliance. Bask in it, I urge you.
I’m a big fan of Chad Lutzke. This book is a solid western adventure with a great cast of characters. My only gripe with it is that you can see the strings this time. Let me explain. Lutzke is known for his very emotional stories and this one is no exception but sometimes you can tell that it is a bit forced. Granted that what the characters are facing is truly horrible but when everyone is crying every 2 chapters it’s a bit too obvious (hence the strings). Whereas when the author go for a more nuanced way the emotion is conveyed with much more efficiency. Like with the very moving dialogues between Nadine and her uncle about what happened and the subtle way Lutzke make us feel grief (grief for the deceased mother but also grief for Nadine’s stolen youth). This is classic Lutzke and is far more effective than telling us that this characters has tears in his eyes, that this one is crying and so on…You make us feel instead of telling us how they feel. But don’t get me wrong, this is still a very good book. It’s just that I’m so used for Lutzke to hit perfection than I am disappointed when he doesn’t but it’s still a highly enjoyable book!
What a crazy story! I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was excellent!
Garrett is on a mission to seek revenge for the murder of his sister and help heal his niece’s broken body. They travel together with Garrett’s best friend, hunting down the evil man that did this.
As they travel the country following clues and a path of destruction, all three members of this revenge group learn a few lessons along the way.
I am a bit disappointed in the ending, though. It was so fast and quick and it left me with some questions. The story’s pacing was great, and it builds up to what could be an epic ending, only to reach this crescendo and then the lights go out.
I would still recommend this story. Lutzke did well with character development. I grew to like all three main characters and was hopeful they would get the revenge they sought.
Lutzke is a very talented writer with many more books to read. I'm absolutely adding some more.
Let me start by saying Chad is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read nearly everything he has published and I’ve enjoyed every single one. When I saw he was releasing a splatter western I preordered it right away.
loved the 3 MC’s so much. The standout character for me was Frankin, a recently freed slave, whose humor and big heart lit up the darkest parts of this story.
Lutzke’s prose, as usual, was beautiful. Here’s an example: It’s how the skin sheds, Garrett. None of us stay young. Mind or body. The world has a way of bringin’ on the molt, sometimes tearing it off before you’re ready.”
There’s also plenty of gory bloodshed and grisly deaths to satisfy horror lovers.
Will Garrett, Franklin and Nadine catch the serial killer and get their revenge? You’ll have to read the book to find out but please read it. It’s now one of my favorite Lutzke’s.
In the first few paragraphs, How the Skin Sheds lulls you into a sense of familiarity. A lone rider approaches a solitary farmhouse, dusty from the trail. A bounty hunter, no less. The house belongs to a single woman and her child. Ah, we’ve seen this movie before.
But have we? Really? Well, the author is Chad Lutzke.
So, NO. We haven’t seen this one before, and nobody else has, either.
A splatter western from Chad Lutzke. What is there not to like? From the very first page, I became totally invested in this story and it's characters. Garrett and his albino niece Nadine go in search of the murderer who ripped apart his sister and raped young Nadine. Franklin, a freed slave, and Garrett's friend, goes along and helps them in their quest to find the repulsive killer. Their journey leads them on a bloody chase that can only end one way. You'll know, if you're at all familiar with Chad's work, that his stories, in whatever genre he chooses to write in, possess 'heart'. I found the ending to be quite poignent, and I closed the book with a warm heart.
A Visceral Revenge Western. First Person POV. Novella. Brisk pacing with short chapters. Interesting take on the Western genre, hunting down a serial killer. This book has few deficits and plenty of dividends. The only detriments I found were the lack of in-depth characterization of the storyteller Garrett and the closeness to his sister (in a novel this could have been explored far more) and the sudden wrapped up ending. I expected the climax to be a little more drawn out, but it did reach an inevitable conclusion. Otherwise still an excellent story from a master storyteller.