Second Skin by Christian White is another short story I found through Audible that I gave a shot because it was free.

The story follows Stan, a man still dealing with grief from a family tragedy years ago, Marcy, a young mother trying to hold it together, and Erin, a girl who says she has the memories of a dead woman — Stan’s wife.

This story is effectively a character drama with these three protagonists trying to navigate an inexplicable circumstance that shifts between paranormal fiction and mystery as the narrative proceeds. Laced throughout this is insightful and poignant character development as Stan, through his interactions with Erin, finally begins to process his grief, while Marcy learns to accept herself and her daughter as they both are.

I enjoyed this story overall. The paranormal aspect kept me engaged as the plot morphed into a mystery. This felt like a “softer” mystery than the more suspenseful thrillers I tend to like, but it was well written all the same. I’m not itching to seek out more stories by this author, but this was worth the short listening time of around 4.5 hours.

Steve D