Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "renee-s-decamillis"

The Bone Cutters by Renee S. DeCamillis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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'.



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