The Flesh I Want

A captivating and terrifying literary body horror set on the south coast of England about desire, the male gaze, and the gory lengths we will go to satisfy our hunger. Perfect for readers of Lucy Rose and Monika Kim.

Sussex, 1994. 16-year-old Tim helps run his family winery in the remote Oldscoombe valley. Since his mother left two years ago, Tim has nobody but his short-tempered father and delinquent older brother. He staves off loneliness by holding funerals for roadkill and lusting after his neighbour’s beautiful, unattainable wife … until the summer he stumbles across a secret.

There’s a woman hiding at the bottom of the well near Tim’s house. She’s beautiful. She’s soaked in blood. She says she’s killed a man. Tim must only feed her, clothe her, and keep her safe. Infatuated, Tim steals gifts for her while his older brother takes the blame; straining relations with the only family he has left.

Over time, her requests escalate from wine to live animals, which alter her appearance in horrifying ways. When she eats a chicken, feathers sprout from her neck. When she eats a centipede, her spine splits; she grows more legs. Tim realises that, with the right diet, he could sculpt her to the image of his wildest fantasies…

As the power balance shifts, the line between pet and prisoner starts to blur. The woman demands a human sacrifice whose identity she can consume. And Tim must choose: the unsuspecting woman he covets, or the mother who abandoned him and broke his heart.