The Flayed Man

A complex mother-daughter relationship is taken to a new level in this fresh and propulsive novel of family curses, blood-thirsty ghouls, and budding romance set against the Mojave Desert and Las Vegas Ellis Karsten spends nights working triage in the ER and days having the same conversation with her mom. The early onset dementia is exhausting, but the real challenge is their curse-Ellis's family must feed daily on blood, or risk becoming mindless, skinless killing machines. When Ellis's uncle, who supplies their blood, vanishes, she takes it upon herself to find a new source, aided by a prickly paramedic who's equal parts unpredictable and intoxicating. But as Ellis fights to balance her bloodthirsty nature with a new relationship, her mom's impossible demands transform into panicked warnings that a fabled monster, "The Flayed Man," is stalking them. As she traverses the desert in search of blood, Ellis risks her safety and her family's secret, until it becomes clear that her mom is right: something ancient and hungry is hunting them, and it has come for her mom. Blood hunger begins to overtake Ellis, transforming her body into something ghoulish and frightening-exactly what The Flayed Man wants. In the end, she must decide who to trust, what she's willing to sacrifice, and whether she is worthy of a life, and love, beyond her curse-or if she's going to succumb to instinct and ravage the world.

CHLOE LAUTER is an entertainment publicist in Los Angeles.