At the turn of the millennium in New York City, fresh from teenage homelessness and childhood abuse, Charmay—a street‑smart, velvet‑voiced singer‑songwriter—develops a glittering alter ego, Cindy, to survive the PTSD she calls “skinless”—a raw, exposed vulnerability she tries to numb with alcohol and soothe with music.
Over two turbulent years, chasing quick fixes and the American Dream, she’s pulled into a maze of small‑time hustles and crime that devolves into a dangerous game of secrets, lies, and power. Longing for her estranged father and the girl she once was, she clings to three men—and “Cindy”—for protection and hope, until hustles collide and masks ricochet into beats, bullets, and bedsheets, and it’s never clear who is really in control or who is using whom.
By the final chorus, Skinless becomes a strange evocation of turn‑of‑the‑century America—the times we live in and the forces we live by—as Charmay must choose between the mask that kept her alive and the honest voice that could make her whole.
Skinless is a psychological crime novel for readers of Milkman, Cherry, In the Cut, The Basketball Diaries, Harley Rosee’s Twinsgate, Lucy Treloar’s Days of Innocence and Wonder, and dark, character‑driven literary noir.
Content Note: childhood abuse, domestic violence, addiction, PTSD, self‑destructive behavior, sexual content, and street‑level crime.
