The Skin Room
Carl Bluesy
Independently Published, 2026
Ebook, 275 ppg.
ISBN-10: 1069380814
ISBN-13: 978-1069380814
You know the expression that if you play with fire you’re going to get burned?
That’s exactly what happens to Kenneth in this story, except that he managed to play with fire for a little too long. He enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle of using up women, stealing wives for sexual pleasure just so someone could get a good deal on the luxury cars he sold, and living comfortably in his condo with his wealth. He got away with hurting women for so long, viewing them only as sex objects to conquer, that he lost touch with his own humanity.
Well, he gets a good slice of humble pie in this story. The Skin Room by Carl Bluesy is a splatterpunk novel of violence, murder, and tons of gore that will make your very skin crawl. Just be glad you still have it!
After Kenneth loses everything and is forced to survive on the streets, he joins the homeless community and, in the process, learns to dispel with his prejudices against the homeless. He keeps thinking “I’m not one of you!” or “I’m not like you!” and carries around this fantasy that if he goes to the police enough times, they will straighten everything out just like that and he’ll be back to sipping cocktails in his condo. It takes some time for Kenneth to adjust to life as a homeless person, and he is fortunate to befriend a couple of people who are kind enough to show him the ropes.
Meanwhile, there is a killer on the loose, a killer known as the “Panhandle Peeler,” a serial killer preying on the homeless and skinning his victims. Kenneth tries to remain vigilant to avoid being the Peeler’s next victim, but that lasts only for so long.
The title of this book has to do with the type of room that Kenneth is imprisoned in after he is kidnapped by the Panhandle Peeler. What does the Panhandle Peeler do with all that skin? Well, in one case, he creates a whole room covered with it. Literally a room made of skin. There’s quite a bit of blood still on the skins, blood which sometimes pools on the floor of the room, and it is mind-blowing that the skin continues to grow, even over the door to the room.
There were many times I stopped reading this book, not because of the graphic scenes of victims being peeled of their skins but because I kept thinking, No way! This is too unreal! The cruelties the Peeler inflicted upon his victims are unthinkable. Only a madman would believe every single thing he does to his victims serves a bigger cause. Make no mistake, a madman is certainly what the Peeler is. And the big reveal near the end of the story is just as shocking and disturbing.
But it was my curiosity about Kenneth’s fate that always drove me to pick up this book again to read. Does Kenneth survive? Does he escape? What about the Peeler; will he finally be brought to justice?
And actually, what does happen to the Peeler at the end is just as twisted as the rest of this story. Even so, it’s a story I recommend to fans of horror and especially fans of splatterpunk novels. This story is written so well and it’s full of surprises. Where else can you find a novel that describes the removal of a person’s skin in gory detail? Or the best way to remove an eyeball? Plus, there is fruit that isn’t really fruit at all – and filled with a different kind of “juice” to drink. (That pineapple!) Readers will be treated to such passages in this book. Perhaps they will exclaim “Wow!” at the end, as I did.
That ending, though. It blew me away.
Check out The Skin Room by Carl Bluesy for the most extreme survival story of them all. What would you do to survive? How far would you go? Within the pages of this book, readers will see just what it takes for one man to survive the streets and survive imprisonment by a delusional monster.
Five stars
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
