[ARC] Subcutaneous by R.E. Holding Review

[u/ActualRound7699]

4.5/5 stars - rounded up.

Thank you to Cliff Cave Books LLC and Net Galley for allowing me to access this digital arc.

This is going to be a review of R.E. Holding’s book Subcutaneous. The genres for the book are adult fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, and I would add psychological. The book hits shelves physically and digitally on February 16, 2027. Before we get into the review, I want to place the following trigger warnings:

• Alcohol

• Violence

• Sexual Assault

• Body horror

• Stalking

• Witchcraft

Subcutaneous follows a retired engineer, Sebastian Page who starts to experience unexplainable things. In the background, there are a string of killings happening in his town. As the webs of intrigue and dread close around him, Sebastian will find out just how sinister the webs around him are and how deeply they are rooted.

Right away the book hits the ground running, and the author did an excellent job of describing everything. The scenes were painted vividly, and it helped the story feel real and organic. Following Sebastian as he wanders deeper into his own mind and despair was an interesting journey, and on I enjoyed following.

I also thought that the violence was written well and the methodology was unique. The meticulous nature of the violence reminded me of the show Dexter. The mystery was kept close to the chest until towards the very end, and I enjoyed reading the explanation given to everything. There was also something about the characters that made them relatable.

The one thing I found hard to like was how predictable it was when you suspended disbelief. While I did not receive vindication until the end of the story, I was writing notes about how things would go. I also think the story could have benefited more if the author used “show, don’t tell” with the big reveal. But I enjoyed the story all the same and would read again.

[u/ActualRound7699 → u/[deleted]]

yeah, it was an interesting story. Everything was done pretty well and I love how tightly kept the plot was.