4.5/5 A disturbing, visceral short story horror collection that brings you deep into obsession, then abandons you at the height of terror.

This short story collection revolves around the theme of obsession and how far someone will go to attain their infatuation or hide their dependency. The stories are all really accessible, no matter if you are a hardened horror fan or just want to dip your toe into the horror genre, you might find your new obsession here.

When I think about a typical story format I think of a mountain shape, where the drama or horror peaks, and the author slowly lets us down with a conclusion. What makes Eric LaRocca's stories resonate far beyond when we close the book is that he doesn't bring us down the mountain. He dutifully guides us to the top, and then leaves us at the height of the horror. Our characters get no redemption, and we, as readers, are left with nowhere safe to turn. It's a really compelling format, and kept me reading consistently until I finished the whole book.

The first story, 'This Skin was Once Mine', is the one that rooted deep in my mind and didn't leave. Our main character and her parents have a complicated, opaque relationship that kept me guessing about who our 'good' character was. However, as I quickly learned, no one is as boring as 'good' or 'evil' in Eric LaRocca's books. which is what makes them even more terrifying. These characters seem like decent people I would see sitting on a park bench, or working behind the counter in a local shop, and I'd never suspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for this advanced reader copy.

This book is best read with all the lights on, in the middle of the day. If your partner enters your house covered in blood with a new 'pet', best to not ask too many questions.

This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances is a collection of four short stories. This Skin Was Once Mine follows Jillian Finch after her father dies as she reckons with the past and present after being sent away by her mother twenty years ago. I’m rating this story 2.5 stars. Seedling follows a young man after his mother has passed away. He goes to see his father and finds his mother’s body is still in the house. I’m rating this story 2.5/3 stars. Prickle follows two old men as they take part in a cruel, twisted game. I’m rating this story 2.5 stars. All The Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn follows Enoch as he meets a strange shopkeeper when he goes to buy a knife for his husband which leads to mutilation. I’m rating this 2.5 stars. Overall I’m giving this collection 3 stars. It has an audience but I’m just not part of it. These stories just didn’t resonate with me and I’m not really enjoying the direction this author is going down. I would heed the authors note at the beginning with the content warnings. This isn’t a bad collection but many of the stories just feel a bit empty or dark for no reason.