Under the Skin

“Nobody writes about blood and guts better than James Carlos Blake. He knows in his bones that violence is at the heart of our American history.” — Washington Post Book World From the highly praised author of In the Rogue Blood comes a hot-blooded tale of love and crime set in Depression-era coastal Texas In acclaimed author James Carlos Blake’s latest tough-skinned novel, 1935 Galveston is run by gangsters Sam and Rose Maceo, owners of all the city’s illegal bars and casinos—as well as the local politicians and police force. Told from the perspective of Jimmy Youngblood, the Maceo brothers’ number one bodyguard and son of the famed revolutionary Rodolfo Fierro, Under the Skin brilliantly navigates the heady world of crime, telling the story of a young man whose life of murder and transgression catches up with him when he falls for the wife of a sadistic and vengeful Mexican general. Triumphantly surpassing the promise of his earlier works, this engrossing, gutsy, and superbly written tale is a sweeping saga of violence, ill-fated love, and a tragic family legacy, told with Blake’s signature mix of brutality and beauty.