The Bone Cutters

by Renee S. DeCamillis

They wear their scars with pride, while Dory tries desperately to hide her own. No matter what she does to cover her wounds, they can still smell her bleed, and they want in—down to the bones.

Dory wakes up in the padded room of a psychiatric hospital with no recollection of how she wound up there. She soon finds out she’s been Blue-Papered—involuntarily committed. She gets sent to the wrong counseling group and discovers a whole new world of psychiatric patients she’d never known existed. At first, she just thinks they’re cutters, all marked by similar scars, but then she finds out those scars are from carving into their own bodies to satisfy their bone-crazy addiction. When they find out Dory’s never tapped into her bones, she becomes their target.

Frightened for her life, she desperately tries to prove to the psych. hospital staff she’s not delusional about these patients wanting to cut her open and get to her bones. The staff doesn’t believe her. They all think she’s crazy. She ends up on the run and fighting for her life, trying to avoid getting “dusted” by The Bone Cutters.

“Razor sharp...grabs hold from the get go, and drags the reader through a surreal experience that evokes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, if written by Clive Barker. A recommended novella.”—Monster Librarian

"It's actually refreshing to be able to enjoy a book so much that you were miffed when it was over. As the debut novella from Renee S. DeCamillis it's a fantastic beginning to what could prove to be a career to watch." —Ginger Nuts of Horror

“I immediately fell in love with Dory, the writing style, the story. This is a terribly heart-wrenching story with a bit of a haunted house/ghost vibe where you’re also being chased by a bunch of crazy people who want to devour your bones. I didn’t want to put this book down.” —Kendall Reviews

Genres: Horror, Supernatural

95 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2019

About the author

Renee S. DeCamillis is a horror author and editor, and the author of the psychological thriller/supernatural horror/bizarro novella The Bone Cutters. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association, the New England Horror Writers, and the Horror Writers of Maine. Renee is the singer/songwriter and rhythm guitarist for the punk-metal band Scars Aligned. She's also a tree-hugging hippie with a sharp metal edge. And she has a comic book forthcoming.

Her next book, Chisel the Bone, will be published on July 23, 2024, through Encyclopocalypse Publications. It is the sequel to The Bone Cutters.

Renee’s short fiction appears in: Dethfest Confession: The Devil’s Playlist; Horrors of the Deep: Starling Sea Stories; After the Burn, a post-apocalyptic shared-world anthology; the Wicked Women anthology from NEHW Press; Northern Frights, The Journal of Horror Writers of Maine 2.5—Mud Season 2021, lost; Deadman’s Tome: The Conspiracy Issue; Siren’s Call eZine Issue 37 the 6th Annual Women In Horror Month Edition; The Other Stories Podcast. Her poetry appears in The Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase Volume IV.

Renee earned her BA in psychology from the University of Southern Maine, and her MFA in Popular Fiction Writing from the Stonecoast Graduate Program. She attended Berklee College of Music as a music business major with guitar as her principal instrument. Renee is a former model, school rock band teacher, creative writing teacher, private guitar instructor, A&R rep for an indie record label, therapeutic mentor, psychological technician, and preschool teacher. She is also a former gravedigger; she can get rid of a body fast without leaving a trace and is not afraid of getting her hands dirty. Renee lives in the woods of Maine with her husband, their son, and a house full of ghosts.


Visit her online: reneesdecamillis.com , facebook: Renee S. DeCamillis Author , Instagram: @renee_s._decamillis , Twitter: @ReneeDeCamillis

Reviews

[Lady MacDeath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dory wakes up in a padded room, and is mistakenly assigned to a group who “cut” themselves, aka “Junkie Cutters”.
I really enjoyed this novella, which is written well, and had everything I wanted in a book, horrific, fast paced and character driven. I have just received an ARC of the sequel “Chisel the Bone”, so I really wanted to read this one first, so everything makes sense. Now, I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Thanks to the author, and Sean Duregger from Encyclopocalypse.com for sending me this free novella, with which I leave a voluntary review.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[exorcismemily · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Every one of them is scarred."

2.5⭐

As soon as I read the synopsis for The Bone Cutters, I had to snag a copy. This book has a unique premise, and I was very interested in seeing what happened. The synopsis sounds like a speculative fiction version of Unsane, which is awesome.

I'm not sure how to explain my feelings on this book. It starts off well, and then is not focused on the bone cutters as much as I expected. They aren't even in the book as much as other characters, which was odd to me.

The book is not written in a scary tone. There was no building dread for me, and it was not as dark as the synopsis sounded. I thought it was going to be a fairly grim book, but it ended up being on the lighter side. the horror aspect was just sort of tucked in at the end, and it was too late for me by then. There was no suspense, and then it was over. Dusting is explained through exposition instead of actually fitting into the story. I felt that the ending was silly, and didn't really fit with the rest of the book.

[Danger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl finds herself mistakenly assigned to an NA group of people who imbibe bone dust to get high. Thus begins this short adventure tale, seemingly in part inspired by One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. The book had a very cinematic feel to it, the story constructed much like a movie would be, so it was very easy to put yourself into the scenes and the action. Funny in places, weird and harrowing in others, this was an "afternoon" kind of read, meaning it won't take you more than 2 or 3 hours to get through the whole book, a perfect antidote to the overly-long and overly-indulgent mass market paperbacks you'd find on a supermarket rack. I liked this.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was sold on the premise of The Bone Cutters as soon as I first heard of it, and had looked forward to reading it for quite a while, but unfortunately, it was more of a letdown than anything else. The premise sounds so twisted and dark that I expected a much darker and more violent story, but the bulk of this brief novella focuses on mundane exchanges between the main character and a specific side character, and the plot felt lost along the way.

The main character is difficult to get a solid read on because there is a lot of self-contradiction in how she views her mental illness (and how others view it) vs. how it actually plays out, and I'm not certain about how I feel regarding the mental illness representation in general here. There's a lot of internalized misogyny and slut-shaming (including a statement that "no rape victim can possibly have rape fantasies", despite that being a very common and widely acknowledged response to SA trauma), and I also don't remember the last book I read that featured this much body-shaming and fatphobia (with most of it coming from the main character). All of this combined made the main character impossible to root for because she was just so awful that I wanted out of her head as soon as possible.

While the base plotline is cool, it simply wasn't executed well enough to redeem this story from any of my major issues with it.

✨ Representation: a side character is Native American, a side character is biracial Black/Native American

✨ Content warnings for: violence, mutilation, substance abuse, suicide, self-harm, anxiety, mentions of rape, slut-shaming, misogyny, body-shaming/fatphobia

———
twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog

[Brad Tierney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man oh man....

This story grabbed me by my throat and squeezed harder and harder with each chapter until I thought my head was gonna pop right off!! IT WAS AWESOME!! Relentless, aggressive, I felt like I was experiencing a panic attack with each turn of the page. I love this story, everything about it is perfect. Everything. Pure insanity.
5/5 Duster Skulls
💀💀💀💀💀

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wait, that's the end?! How can THAT be the end?! For this book?! REALLY?!

No wonder there's a sequel coming (five years later 🙄) ...... They probably should have squeezed more into this novella by adding some more pages to the 100.

I really liked most of the book. It has its creepy moments and I was with Dory in the ward.

But the last ten pages or so went wayward and the ending is an absolute let down 👎

It'd have gotten four stars if the story was properly closed.

I'm REALLY pissed 😡

[Leo Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild, enticing concept--wasn't as central to the book as I'd have hoped.

Promising debut though :)

[Lindsay Crook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bone Dust!

Mostly the stars are for the cover I absolutely love it. The story though dark was really hard to carry on with after about 55% I really wanted to love this more than I did. I can't quite work out what or why but something was missing. I did like the authors writing style so I'll definitely check out what else is out there.

[Kim Napolitano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and terrifying, Dory has been sent to a mental hospital that harbors horrible things. I think the insight to her horror and treatment in this facility by far makes your insides cry. A bone sniffing cutting cult starts a chain reaction that is sends the hospital into crisis mode. Dory finds some salvation and sanity but not without a dash of supernatural. At 103 pages, to much review is a spoiler. Read the story description, tells it all! How this book ends, well that’s the best or worst part for Dory. Note this book was described by its publisher as Bizarro.. nothing bizarro here but excellent, riveting storytelling. Short read and so worth it! More please!

[Elli Toney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full speed anxiety

What a raw and gripping portrayal of panic and anxiety from the very start. It was chaotic, messy, stressful, suspenseful, and didn't allow a pause to catch your breath. It had this slight nostalgic 80s feel to me in an odd way, but I cannot elaborate on that without spoilers.

[H. Everend · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a short read, this story really got to me in a way I was not expecting. It was dark, chilling and unique with the "bone cutter" pieces --- omg. So messed up and a concept only a dark mind could conjure. Dory was a well-written character whom I didn't know if I could trust or untrust. Overall, a fantastic read!

[Shawna Borman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of my friend and fellow Stonecoast alum Renee S. DeCamillis’s new book. It’s called The Bone Cutters and it’s due out on September 1st from Eraserhead Press. I must thank Renee and the press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Anyway, I stepped slightly outside of my comfort zone with this one since I haven’t read much bizarro horror. I’m more into traditional horror, but I do love me some psychological horror, which this book definitely falls under. Now, onto the review.

The Bone Cutters follows Dory (our unreliable narrator) as she wakes up to find herself confined in a psychiatric hospital. When she’s put in a counseling group for a very specific brand of junkie (one who snorts bone dust to get a “free” high), it has her literally pulling her hair out (something she has issues with anyway). As if that’s not bad enough, the nurse who put her in the group refuses to believe that Dory belongs elsewhere. Luckily, there’s a janitor who seems to believe Dory and even wants to help. From there, things just keep getting weirder.

The story is nicely paced and keeps the tension up fairly well throughout the whole thing. It’s a novella, so you could easily finish it in one go. I broke it up into multiple reading sessions, but I really think it would benefit from reading it beginning to end. I admit that I lost a lot of forward momentum each time I put it down, which was my own fault (stupid life getting in the way). But every time I picked it back up, I enjoyed the ride. In fact, I’ll probably pick a day in the next couple of months to sit down and read it all the way through just to see how the experience differs.

The characters are interesting, but I wanted a little more flesh on some of them. While we’re in Dory’s head, we don’t get to learn much about her. Sure, she isn’t a Duster, and she’s super protective of the people she trusts, but she doesn’t really seem to grow much over the course of the story. Her relationship with Tommy grows, but while she becomes more coherent, she still feels basically the same at the end. Tommy, the janitor, is the most fleshed out. We get to know his past and his motives. The villains, on the other hand, are basically just junkies looking for a fix who are being manipulated by the big bad in the shadows. I had no feelings about them one way or the other. That being said, I like that the big bad in the shadows remains a distant mystery. It really worked for the story.

As far as the writing goes, it is lovely and poetic and musical. The way Renee breaks up her paragraphs pulls the reader forward and aids in creating tension in all the right spots. It’s a story worth reading to study the writing alone.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed The Bone Cutters. I can’t wait to see more from Renee in the future.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy psychological horror with some bizarro thrown in, pick it up. If you like beautiful writing that combines both poetry and prose, pick it up.

[Miranda Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dory finds herself in her closet with a bed, a mental institution, under the care of a redheaded nurse with a nametag reading Nurse Hatchet.
Dory doesn’t understand why she has been committed to this odd place. The staff seems shady. She’s being overly medicated for a condition she doesn’t believe she has, but she’s crazy or she wouldn’t be here, right?
She is thrown into group therapy where she quickly realizes she doesn’t belong. This group is full of addicts. She can see their scars, but she doesn’t completely understand what the scars mean, not yet. It doesn’t take long to find out what those scars mean, what the addiction is that the other patients crave. Dory has never heard of such a thing as getting high from dust of human bones. Cutting deep down into the bone and scraping the dust to get the world’s most intense and dangerous high, and the most coveted bones are those who’ve never been cut, those who have never been dusted. And Dory has never been dusted. The other patients can smell that of Dory, and they yearn to cut into her body to feed their addictions. She believes all the other patients are the crazy ones, and along with a new friend, tries to save herself from the dusters and the seemingly shady nurse.

The first thing I realized about The Bone Cutters was that it was written in first person, and we have a lot of broken thoughts from Dory in the beginning. She is, after all, medicated and committed to a mental institution, and I feared we could end up in the world of psycho-babble. That was not the case. I immediately fell in love with Dory, the writing style, the story, and I was glad she made a wonderful friend in the most unlikely place. This is a terribly heart-wrenching story with a bit of a haunted house/ghost vibe where you’re also being chased by a bunch of crazy people who want to devour your bones. I didn’t want to put this book down. For me, it was one of those stories you constantly think about while you’re doing chores and all the things that keep you from being able to get back to reading. I read about half one evening in small snippets between jobs I was working on and finished the next morning. It’s a quick, fast-paced read and could easily be read in one sitting.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fresh idea for the world of horror. I'm beyond impressed with how engrossed this little novella made me. Brilliant read.

[Lizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting premise, but executed poorly

[Brennan LaFaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A twisted concept executed fast and angry without sacrificing character. DeCamillis writes in blood and the reader will be hard-pressed not to get some on their hands.

[Katherine Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

The immersion and pacing in this pull you in so hard and so fast, you'll be looking over your shoulders with every page you read. I love DeCamillis's ability to create a tight narrative with locomotive-charging action. It's a quick read and it'll make you want to get into the sequel immediately with that ending...

[Joe X Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Renee S. DeCamillis gives us a story pared to the bone.

Coming in at a shade under 24,500 words this is a quick read, made significantly quicker by the simplicity of language and rapid pace.

The somewhat unfortunate revelatory back cover blurb gives away far too much of what makes the story interesting— and it IS genuinely interesting. Although there is a strong hint in the title it doesn’t give the reason why the bone cutters are indeed bone cutters or whether it applies to people, creatures or even medical instruments. Much is left to the imagination there, and the same can be said for the general contents, but as I said, the back cover blurb says too much. That doesn’t prevent it from being a totally engrossing read.

The book itself is written in a first-person point of view, which in many books can often prove problematic but not here as both the concept and narrative are fresh and it pays attention to the tenses which are sometimes the downfall of stories written in the first person. The characterization is quirky with even the most stereotypical of them being handled with just enough description to make them believable but not enough as to bog one down in unnecessary details. There’s nothing overplayed here and I would have liked more about many of the characters, which would have taken a book double the length— a small sacrifice.

The main character’s name is kept from us for the most part, but there is no actual revelation forthcoming as to why that is, it’s just the way things are. It’s not actually meant to be a secret as it’s given in the back cover blurb, but it does add to the expectation that something more will happen from it. As the story of a young woman ‘finding herself’ in a situation she should never have been in it all kinda-sorta makes sense.

No matter what books we read there are always going to be problems, and The Bone Cutters is no exception as there are a couple of things which go against it somewhat. First of all, is that the ending doesn’t do justice to the overall concept. Don’t get me wrong, the ending does work, it does resolve things, but I would have loved to have seen more of the final events in question. It’s not easy to explain things without spoilers, suffice to say that when you read it you’ll no doubt see what I mean. There’s such clarity of writing here that it’s something more than the sum of its parts and I feel a lot more could have been done with those individual parts. The second thing really trails on from the first in that The Bone Cutters is too damned short. There are many books out there which do a lot with a novella-length word count and some of those really won’t have needed 20,000+ words to do it in, yet The Bone Cutters is different as it gives the overall feeling of just scraping the bones of the story. I wanted to know more, read more and be involved more as I feel there was so much unsaid throughout. I’m not sure whether there would have been a full novel-length work here without overdoing it, yet I feel it could certainly have doubled in size without losing any of the quality. It’s actually refreshing to be able to enjoy a book so much that you were miffed when it was over. Generally, I read a lot of things which I could readily edit a third of the content from without losing any of the plots, The Bone Cutters isn’t one of those, if anything it’s leaving so many interesting things untold.

As the debut novella from Renee S. DeCamillis it’s a fantastic beginning to what could prove to be a career to watch.

I’m giving this a solid 4 out of 5. Yeah, I’m punishing it for the reasons I’ve already given, but considering that I’ve never read anything which rated a 5 I think The Bone Cutters is doing just fine. So go check it out.

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was pretty scary. It opens with someone filled with anxiety and that feeling never stops throughout the book. I could feel the fear coming off ‘Dabbler’ as she tried to keep away from the ‘dusters’. The ‘dusters’ were some off the wall people. During some of the scenes, I had some claustrophobic issues myself. As a person with similar issues as Dory (the Dabbler) this book made me look at this issue in a new light. Mental illness is a real thing and not enough is done to really help people. I read this as the day shifted to evening and I felt the urge to turn the lights on…..everywhere.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange, unsettling novella that flies through a tight story of mystery, horror, and survival. DeCamillis draws you right into the main character's mind and does a good job of holding you there until the very last page--with all the frantic uncertainty and memorable storytelling that that entails.

[James Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book, blazing with exciting and often experimental prose. The protagonist is unusual, relatable, and well-drawn; as are most of the supporting cast. DeCamillis takes us on a dreamlike journey, which is thoroughly enjoyable and does read like it has been written through the filter of a mental health problem. I would have preferred more of a sense of resolution and a character progression, but the lack of them is perhaps fitting for the overall style and themes of the book.

Definitely one to pick up, especially if you're looking to break the monotony of safe bet fiction that is flooding the market.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

While searching for a new book to read in the horror section, I discovered this treasure. I thought it would be a cool slasher story, but it was far worse. It made me feel sick to my stomach with thoughts of paranoia and loneliness to boot. This fast pace book takes you on a ride filled with “what the fucks?” And “wows”. With a cast of characters of unbelievable to relatable. This story left me with wanting more.

[Laurel Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really fresh idea, not so much creepy as fun. If you like when people turn on one another and act like zombies, who are completely alive, this is good. It was a little too short to fully flesh out what I wanted, but that's just me.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The main character of The Bone Cutters, Dory, finds herself in a hospital because of a series of self-inflicted injuries, and this is where she meets a group collectively known as the Dusters, and a handyman who is her only link to normality. As the story unfolds and Dory's relationship with her handyman ally grows she learns of who and what the Dusters are. She discovers a plan they have for her and a game of cat-and-mouse ensues.

The Bone Cutters is an odd little tale. It clocks in at less than a hundred pages, and as such it's a quick - though eventful - read that goes places that many readers might find more than a little unsettling. It's littered with dark humour and the kind of eccentric characters you would imagine populating such an establishment, as well as more than a few unpleasant ones. The writing is straightforward and soundly constructed, and it creates characters who are likeable and memorable. A great deal of the book works well because of this, what lets it down is that it doesn't have much of a story behind the characters.

The Bone Cutters reads as though it has been extended from a shorter work without a clear understanding of where the tale is going and what its purpose was. This leaves the reader feeling a little underwhelmed at its end despite the enjoyable lead-up to it. It's a little like going a scenic ocean route to a weekend retreat to find the cabin you're staying in to be double booked, so you end up going back home. You may be disappointed at the result of the day, but you find yourself reminiscing on the ocean view you were treated to en route.

The Bone Cutters is certainly worth the read, and I found the journey presented an entertaining one with an unwelcome ending. It's one of those tales I wish I could have read a draft of before it had been published as I know there's a more satisfying story in there. It builds well on good foundations only to let itself down with a lack-lustre end.

Renee S. DeCamillis' strength as an author sits squarely on her ability to create and maintain well-rounded characters. Even incidental characters appear real and fitting to the environment she has created. The hospital feels equally descriptively stable, and even though the story unfolds in a slightly surreal manner it never 'jumps the shark' in its portrayal of such a place.

I've read a few stories set in hospitals of this kind, and I have spent some time in such places myself. I found Renee S. DeCamillis' portrayal to be one of the best I have read. It doesn't bog itself down in trying to build the world but rather lets the characters do that job. Everything works wonderfully until the time comes to wrap up the tale, and it's there that we find things go awry.

If The Bone Cutters intrigued you enough to read this review of it then I would advise picking up a copy. I enjoyed it enough, despite how I thought about its ending, that if an audio version is produced I'll probably listen to it. With the right narrator (Kristina Rothe comes to mind) I think this story may work much better in such a format.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for anything else from Renee S. DeCamillis as The Bone Cutters almost feels like a toe in the water for her before a long swim.

[Lee Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nightmarish tale of persecution and psychosis.

Waking from a blackout fugue to find herself incarcerated in an asylum, Dory struggles to orientate her memories and perception of reality.

Assigned to a therapy group of addicts and cutters, she finds herself targeted by her fellow patients - a fresh feast for their sadistic addiction.

Surrounded by people believing her delusional, Dory fights for both her life and her sanity.

'The Bone Cutters' is the debut novella by Renee S. DeCamillis, a psychological horror thriller following a young woman's experience having been committed to a mental health hospital and the horrors she encounters, exploring a unique approach to addiction, self-harm and vampirism through the group of fellow patients whom Dory comes to term Dusters. There's something akin to the works of Clive Barker at play, the mutilation, sadism and masochism suggestive of 'Hellraiser' vibes.

Dark and atmospheric, DeCamillis skillfully crafts a narrative through Dory's fragmented perception – unsettling, disorientating, chaotic, her intrusive thoughts providing clues as to what brought her here, while we remain unsure if this is reality or hallucination; spiralling anxiety punctuated by periods of dissociative fugue and forced medicating in a raw, yet engrossing, exposure of a traumatised psyche. The novella delves into attitudes towards mental ill health, even within the healthcare system, and the vulnerability of sufferers when everything they say is regarded as delusional – how disempowering, isolating and frightening this can be, and ultimately how their autonomy and freedom can be denied, not necessarily for the good of their health.

Through the relationship that develops between her and the janitor, Tommy, Dory discovers the restorative power of being seen and acknowledged as she begins to believe her paranoia may be justified and her experiences real. The threat of her therapy group is a constant shadow of simmering malevolence, as she and Tommy embark on a quest to thwart the group’s desire for her bones and prevent her becoming their prey, and attempt to tackle the corruption at the heart of the asylum. With bursts of violence and body horror, a touch of the supernatural, and an underlying thrum of anxiety and suspense throughout, 'The Bone Cutters' is a quick and captivating introduction to Dory and the practices of the sinister Dusters.

Dory's story will continue in DeCamillis' debut novel, 'Chisel the Bone'.

[Shubham Lakhina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review
Title – The Bone Cutters
Author – Renee S. DeCamillis
My Ratings – 4.7/5

Before I start the review, I'd like to ask you all a question: what has been the darkest experience you've ever had? Or have you ever considered self-mutilation? I recently stumbled across a book called The Bone Cutters, and I believe the title alone gives away how horrific the novel would be. It's a dark and strange account of one woman's encounter with a psychosis that isn't necessarily her own.

Dory finds herself in her closet with a bed in a mental institution, under the supervision of a redheaded nurse with the moniker Nurse Hatchet on her nametag. She is placed in a group treatment session where she rapidly discovers she does not fit in. There are a lot of addicts in this group. She can see their scars, but she doesn't really comprehend what they mean at this time. It doesn't take long to figure out what those scars indicate, and what the other patients' addictions are.
Dory has never heard of getting high off of the dust of human bones. Dory's scent attracts the other patients, who want to cut into her body to feed their addictions. She feels that all of the other patients are insane, and she joins forces with a new friend to try to save herself from the dusters and the shady nurse.

The plot was excellent, and it kept me engrossed the entire time. Though it was just about 60 pages long, the amount of suspense it contained was sufficient to keep the audience enthralled. The language was simple to understand, and Dory's character was well-written. The title is self-explanatory, and the Book Cover alone is enough to scare someone; one can sense the protagonist's state just by looking at it.
Overall, I like the book a lot and give it a thumbs up. Despite the fact that it was frightening at times, the innovative plot caught my interest. Throughout, the suspense was maintained. I would strongly advise you to read the book.

[Sally the Salamander · Rating 1 out of 5]

Riddled with grammar mistakes and awkward sentence structure. White room syndrome, a mental institution that leaves patients in their street clothes and apparently has no cameras anywhere or more than one security guard. Decrepit, decaying lower levels in the building. A somewhat amnesiac narrator who is incarcerated for having a blackout and beating her roommate's boyfriend senseless when she overhears them enacting a rape fantasy. Inmates who get high from snorting "bone dust," or the scrapings from human bone and are covered in random scars from their self-harm in pursuit of this high. Why they have scars on random parts of the body and not bony areas (like the skull, shins, elbows, etc) is beyond me. How they get "dust" from living bone is also beyond me (living bone is not brittle and dry). Why no one else in the institution has no knowledge of these people is beyond me.

Juvenile prose and a slapped together story where almost nothing is explained. Unfortunate.

[Valerie Comeaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just got an ARC copy for the follow-up to this novella, so I thought it only right that I read The Bone Cutters first in order to fairly review Chisel the Bone.

The Bone Cutters is a quick read—just a couple hours—and is a really fun example of bizarro fiction. The novella offers us horror, absurdism, and pop surrealism—a brief fever dream, if you will.

I’ve read other reviews that critiqued this piece for being nonsensical, and I’d say that’s because they don’t understand the genre.

The one piece of criticism I do agree with: there is a small part in the story where a character basically says that if someone was raped, that they would not want a CNC fantasy. This just stuck out to me since trauma experts absolutely validate survivors using CNC play to help heal.

If you enjoy horror, absurdism, and Whitesnake, this is a fun intro to bizarro fiction.

[The Reviewera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Stars

One of the best books I have read this month!
Highly recommend it! I only leave positive feedback and reviews when I love the book.
Feel free to ask anything regarding this book.
A must read for sure.
I'd recommend this book to everyone who would like to read an amazing book.
The book is written in a very interesting way .
A must read for sure

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly woven like an interesting spell. I didn't think this book was going to be this good. It was , as you might expect , engaging , a total different piece of art from every aspect.
It sets a very high bar for whatever she does that comes next.
Must Read