Under the Skin
Disguised as a human with agonizing body modifications, Isserley cruises Scotland’s remote A9 highway, tasked with luring robust male hitchhikers to their deaths—her alien species values human flesh as a gourmet delicacy. For years, she’s executed her mission with cold precision, but as she interacts with her prey, a flicker of empathy begins to erode her resolve. When a privileged alien heir arrives to challenge the cruelty of the trade, Isserley is forced to confront the horrors of her work, the cost of her survival, and her own fractured identity. Michel Faber’s haunting, visceral novel blends tense road-trip suspense with profound introspection, exploring themes of alienation, morality, and the thin line between predator and prey. It’s a raw, unflinching portrait of a being caught between two worlds, fighting to hold onto her humanity while clinging to the only life she knows.