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Secrets and rage can get under the skin in an unsettling short story by Ivy Pochoda, award-winning author of Sing Her Down and These Women.

Swan is a tattoo artist new to a community in the California desert when a mourning desert dweller named Kurt requests a tribute tattoo to his dead wife. Swan agrees, but the locals warn don’t indulge Kurt in his tragic memories. No wonder. As Kurt returns for more tattoos, the truth about his wife’s death begins to emerge in the ink. And it isn’t pretty.

Ivy Pochoda’s Jackrabbit Skin is part of Never Tell, a heart-pounding collection of stories about secrets, lies, and mind games. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Just keep the endings to yourself.

45 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2024

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561 people want to read

About the author

Ivy Pochoda

11 books789 followers
Ivy Pochoda is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Visitation Street published by Ecco / Dennis Lehane Books. Visitation Street was chosen as an Amazon Best Book of the Month, Amazon Best Book of 2013, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Huffington Post, Self, and House & Garden. Her first novel The Art of Disappearing, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2009. She has a BA from Harvard College in Classical Greek and an MFA from Bennington College in fiction. Ivy grew up in Brooklyn, NY and currently lives in downtown Los Angeles with her husband Justin Nowell.

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5 stars
609 (16%)
4 stars
1,005 (27%)
3 stars
1,323 (35%)
2 stars
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1 star
198 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 295 reviews
Profile Image for Josh.
327 reviews45 followers
October 30, 2025
1.5/5 ★

This had so much potential! 🐍

In Jackrabbit Skin, a tattoo artist named Swan becomes entangled with a grieving widower in a desolate California desert town. As she creates tribute tattoos for him, dark secrets about his wife’s death slowly surface through the ink.

I thought the California desert town filled with a close-knit community that isn’t kind to newcomers was a promising setup. Swan’s job as a tattoo artist felt refreshing and stood out from the protagonists I usually read about.

Unfortunately, the story never really went anywhere for me. It tried to build suspense, but the “twists” were so predictable that I’m not even sure they were meant to shock you, though they were treated like big reveals. I also didn’t really connect with any of the characters, which made them hard to care about and keep track of at times.

I’m rounding this to two stars instead of one because I do appreciate the author trying something new (at least to me). It had moments that were interesting, even if I didn’t get much from the overall story.

This is book 5 of 6 from the Amazon Stories: Never Tell: Can You Keep a Secret? Collection. I will be reading the remaining two soon as well.
Profile Image for Dee.
649 reviews173 followers
March 13, 2025
4 stars - Enjoyed this CA desert set story about a down-on-her-luck tattoo artist and the community she ends up in, a bit OTT but I liked it here. And that cover - wow!!
Profile Image for PattyMacDotComma.
1,776 reviews1,058 followers
May 1, 2024
4★
“The ink makes her feel more permanent. More indelible. But also as if she’s looking at someone who isn’t her.”


Swan is a tattooist, separated from her husband who is keeping their house. Fair enough, it was his first anyway. Friends have offered her their container ‘house’ in the desert so she can be alone. So far, that’s not going well.

“Now she’s alone. Not broke, but close. She should have fixed the car when she still had a husband to shoulder the cost.”

When she finds the isolated community, Swan tries to settle in and keep to herself while enjoying a drink at the local bar and watching the locals. She always carries her sketchpad to draw new tattoo designs when something inspires her. Unfortunately, some of the locals don’t like being watched.

Then there’s her next-door (so-to-speak) neighbour, Kurt, who crunches his way through the ashes and remnants of his former home that burned down. He seems okay much of the time but seems to have a frighteningly fiery temper. She hears occasional gunshots.

Swan admires the real desert and is critical of the tourist ‘art’ and the Instagram, Airbnb culture that is making inroads.

“ And at the end of the day, the desert was the new hip frontier:
#wanderlust
#desertvibes
#backtonature
#soundbath
#moonbath
#stargazing
The landscape rolls on, just desolate enough.
Swan takes out her phone.
Click.
#desertescape.”


But she knows that’s only the insta-worthy appeal. Looking out of her container at night, it’s completely black in three directions. Wandering in the dark is dangerous, especially when some locals have threatened her about minding her own business.

“The shadows out in the desert are different. Starker. As if they have an existence independent of the objects that cast them. They move. They watch with an intensity that unsettles Swan. They spider between the chapparal and creosote.”

This is a story that seems to hold more than the 40+ pages Pochoda has used to tell it. I enjoy reading vignettes, slices of life like this. I don’t need to know more about what Swan was doing before, and I don’t feel I need to follow her after the final, terrifying climax. But I can imagine, and that’s half the fun of a good short story.

The author’s latest novel, Sing Her Down, just won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (2023) over some strong competition. I think it sounds a bit too violent for me, but this story was a good one, and I enjoyed the tattooing.

In her acknowledgement, she writes:

“Thanks to Jeremy Swan for the ink and wisdom”

I think she has used his name (and art) well. Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for a copy of the #NeverTell (Can You Keep a Secret) Collection, of which this is Story #5.
Profile Image for Jonetta.
2,593 reviews1,325 followers
July 9, 2024
the setup…
Swan is a tattoo artist who is leaving her life and ex-husband Paul in Los Angeles for a remote and desolate town in the desert called Miracle Wash. A friend leaving that place has loaned her a container, her new living space. Despite its name, the town doesn’t welcome newcomers and to say they’re hostile is an understatement. Her next door neighbor Kurt is an angry, scary widower.

the heart of the story…
Swan is a true artist, not just someone who knows how to do tattoos. Her ink is unique and extraordinary but this town doesn’t appreciate it, in fact seems to fear it. There’s a strong sense of place in this story. The isolation, despair and danger leap out at you. I just wanted her to run.

the narration…
It’s a solid performance, told from Swan’s point of view, and the storytelling evoked the imagery of the writing.

the bottom line…
I wish I’d known more about Swan and what led her to believe she deserved a town like this because it was hard for me to connect with this character. The story was powerful in making me feel the rage and discontent of that town. And, Swan’s ink artistry was defined in ways I’d never seen before. However, I just wanted it to end.

(Thanks to Brilliance Audio for my complimentary copy of the collection. All opinions are my own.)
Profile Image for Kathleen.
167 reviews47 followers
May 13, 2024
3.5 stars
Something sinister lurks in this desert, and this is worth the read to find out what it is!
Loved the freaky ending.
Profile Image for Violet.
477 reviews304 followers
March 26, 2024
Jackrabbit Skin is #5 in the new Never Tell series. Of all the short stories so far I must say this one sticks out to me the most. Quirky, abstract, and thought provoking. The story itself, as well as the writing style, are much different than the tales that came before it. Less fast paced thriller and more slow burn mystery for sure. Set in the middle of the desert and told in third person, the story is less about digging up secrets but more about the fact that some secrets just can't help but unearth themselves. I was intrigued from start to finish & will definitely check out more of this author's work. 3.5
Profile Image for Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder.
2,705 reviews251 followers
April 30, 2024
Tattoo Trade
Review of the Amazon Original Stories eBook (March 19, 2024), released simultaneously with the Audible Original audiobook.

Swan had done the tarot card and hummingbird herself - the first ink she'd applied to her own skin since her early days of tattooing. Strange to feel the fine bones of her wrist under the needle. Out of body almost. Victim and prey. Sometimes the pieces reveal the truth we hide from ourselves.
She never tires of looking at ink on her skin.
That experience is also out of body. The ink makes her feel more permanent. More indelible. But also as if she's looking at someone who isn't her.


Tattoo artist Swan escapes a bad marriage and heads off to a desert community thanks to a trailer loan from friends. The locals aren't very welcoming and relations with the next-door widower start off rocky until some bonding occurs when the man seeks to memorialize his deceased wife on his skin. The other locals become even more incensed over that and the twist reveal explains all.

I was more taken with the descriptions of the tattoo designs and the overall obsessions with skin art. The neighbour danger in this one wasn't as twisty as it was in The Other Side of the Road (#3 in the Never Tell series).

Jackrabbit Skin is the fifth of six Amazon Original Stories eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released on March 19, 2024 as part of the Never Tell Collection of short stories which are promoted with the collective description:
"How well do you know people? How well do they know you? Six award-winning, bestselling authors of suspense explore the lingering threat of secrets and the inescapable fear that they can’t stay buried forever. No matter how dark the hiding place, the consequences of revealing the truth can bring out the worst in lovers, friends, family, and strangers."


Trivia and Links
Ivy Pochoda is the author of several novels, the most popular of which is Visitation Street (2013). Her most recent novel is These Women (2020). I've actually read both of those and gave them 4-star ratings in reviews here and here.

You can watch for current and past Amazon Original Stories which are usually paired with their Audible Original narrations at an Amazon page here (link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region).
Profile Image for Marianne.
4,404 reviews341 followers
April 7, 2024
Jackrabbit Skin is a short story in the Never Tell Collection by Ivy Pochoda. When skin artist Swan splits from her husband Paul, she quits LA, homeless and almost broke, and heads for the desert, where her friends have offered the use of a container in the tightly-bound community of Miracle Wash. The locals might be friendly, eventually. The house opposite was burnt down, but that probably was a one off? The neighbour who hangs out there is snarky, but maybe there’s a reason? Her sketches attract a customer wanting a tattoo, but that garners the disapproval of the community. Why? A well-plotted tale with an excellent, if chilling, twist. 5/5
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
Profile Image for Karla.
1,451 reviews366 followers
August 8, 2024
Story 3 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Ariel Blake
Profile Image for Tiffany.
770 reviews83 followers
December 29, 2024
Meh. These just aren’t really holding my attention anymore. I always enjoy the start of “series” and then lose interest. Not sure if I’ll keep going but if I do, I hope they get more suspenseful.
Profile Image for Obsidian.
3,230 reviews1,146 followers
May 11, 2024
Definitely intriguing. The story starts off slow and you may want to give up on it, but the development of the desert town and the people who inhabit it, is worth the slow burn. The only reason why I gave it four stars is that it reads as unfinished in parts. I don’t buy the reason by the [redacted] we eventually get revealed to us. It just felt a bit empty.
Profile Image for Julie (JuJu).
1,165 reviews221 followers
March 24, 2024
A creepy place with bizarre people!

3.5 Stars
"Jackrabbit Skin" is the fifth book in the "Never Tell" collection available on Amazon. It is an audiobook that features an incredible narrator.

The story is about a tattoo artist who decides to settle in a remote and underdeveloped community in California. Despite her attempts to keep to herself, she is met with unfriendly neighbors who continue to warn her about the dangers of the area.

#JackrabbitSkin #IvyPochodal #AudibleAudio #BrillianceAudio #KindleUnlimited #AmazonOriginal #ShortStory #justfinished #honestreview #thriller #bookreviewer #thrillerbookloverspromotions #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerobsessedbookishclub #ReadersOfTheLateArc #TalkWordyToMeTeam #lovetoread #bookworm #lovebooks #booknerd #readaholic #bookstagrammer #booktok #booktoker
Profile Image for Maria.
2,987 reviews96 followers
March 25, 2024
I had not previously read anything by this author so I had no idea what to expect going in. I would rather not judge their works based on a short story but this was just OK. It got confusing and I had to reread several portions just to see what was going on. I couldn’t connect to the characters and I found this difficult to get through.

I received a copy from #NetGalley for an honest review.
Profile Image for Deb.
462 reviews125 followers
June 24, 2024
Fast paced and thrilling

This is the best book in this series so far. I felt immersed in the flames of the tattoo when it was completed. Recommend to people who like an imaginative short story.
Profile Image for Matt.
4,814 reviews13.1k followers
November 18, 2025
Eager to add some short story reading to tide me over, I looked to the Never Tell collection. This piece by Ivy Pochoda was a different read from the others in the collection, though I still finished in a single sitting. Swan has made a name for herself as a tattoo artist, though her move to a desert community in California means that she will have tp create new connections. She can handle the heat, but her mind is grappling with the semi-isolation. When a local named Kurt comes in and asks for Swan to create a memorial tattoo for his deceased wife, the artist is up for the challenge. However, she is warned not to let Kurt take her down the rabbit hole that is his grief. One tattoo leads to others and Swan is soon able to learn the truth behind the death of Kurt’s wife, which is anything but heartwarming. Pochoda delivers it all in this short story..

Ivy Pochoda speaks volumes in this short piece, mirroring the effectiveness of other authors in this collection. The story develops swiftly in its opening pages, requiring the reader to be prepared for a great deal in short order. The piece’s momentum emerges and soon the reader is rushing to get answers. While the flow seemed to be present, I could not connect as well with this piece as I could with the others in the collection, leaving me feeling outside the experience and lacking true connection.

Characters present decent contrasts, but my lack of connection in the piece left me feeling an additional dissociation with those who graced the pages of the story. Swan surely plays her protagonist role, but I could not latch onto her as a presence, making it difficult for me to feel any desire to learn more, even if I crafted the ideas in my head, post-read. Others had their moments, but I was also unable to feel that symbiosis that I find essential with a short story, when there is little time to hope for ‘later connectivity’.

As with the other pieces in this collection, Pochoda’s story thrives on twists and surprises, none more present that in the Swan-Kurt interactions. There are moments where the reader can likely see where things are headed, though other parts leave the reader wondering where the next fork in the road will occur. It was not a horrible piece, but not one I will rave over. That said, I am sure others have their own opinions to balance out this less than exuberant one.

Kudos, Madam Pochoda, for a different read!
Profile Image for Gwen.
602 reviews
May 9, 2024
It was okay. I didn't care for the writing style. I was surprised by the twist. Definitely sinister goings-on in that town.
Profile Image for Brittney.
597 reviews4 followers
December 22, 2024
Ending was twisty and creepy but still fell flat for me.
Profile Image for Kara.
579 reviews141 followers
June 5, 2025
Interesting

Very different interesting story about a tattoo artist who moves to the desert. There were parts that lost my attention for a bit, but it was easy to get back on track. The ending was a little bit surprising.
Profile Image for Kristy Riley.
275 reviews38 followers
March 14, 2024
Between this short story and the Scorpions story, I’m going to need to find a full length creepy desert book. Something about that setting just leaves such an eerie feeling.

Jackrabbit Skin follows an unwanted newcomer to a close desert town. Unraveling the secrets the town is trying to keep from outsiders was so fun to read.

Jackrabbit Skin is from the Never Tell Collection from Amazon Original Stories. Thank you to NetGalley!
Profile Image for Gwendolyn.
1,339 reviews147 followers
April 30, 2024
Swan is a tattoo artist new to a community in the California desert when a mourning desert dweller named Kurt requests a tribute tattoo to his dead wife. Swan agrees, but the locals warn don’t indulge Kurt in his tragic memories. As Kurt returns for more tattoos, the truth about his wife’s death begins to emerge in the ink. And it isn’t pretty.

I’ve been listening to these short stories in the Never Tell Collection over the past few days and I haven’t been reading a synopsis because they are short stories and about 30 mins each. Knowing what I know now I probably would have skipped it but I like completing these Amazon Original collections and finding hidden gems from time to time. Unfortunately, much like Scorpions by Rachel Howzell Hall, the previous short story in the collection this one didn't offer any thrills and it was just kind of a bizarre story honestly. I am not familiar with the author’s work, but it sort of felt like a fever dream. Not my vibe.
996 reviews5 followers
April 17, 2024
The narration I believe was a big part of why I was unable to stay engaged with this story. The cadence in which it was read wasn't even robotic. It's something I can't describe other than imagine a person attempting to rap that has no sense of timing, rhythm, or rhyme. There pausing or lack thereof, no voice inflection, and seemingly no use of punctuation all made it difficult to pay attention to the story.

The story - oh good God! It droned on and wandered everywhere, leaving me with no idea what a desert, girl, danger, and tattoos had to do with anything. Another 1/3 of the book in, and I could have easily started at the beginning. I still was scrambling to make sense and stay awake. By the end, I was so bored that when it finally had an ending, I didn't care. I was just glad it was over.

Not recommended 👎
📚

There's WAY too many other excellent books to pick from that are free. Don't waste your time on this.
Profile Image for Brianna Bello.
692 reviews5 followers
March 20, 2024
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

This one was different. It didn’t grasp my attention like the others. I’m not sure if it was the style of writing or the story itself, but I felt this one fell king of flat. It reminded me of a cult in a way. These people out in the desert. Possibly losing their minds from the heat and isolation. It was just a very strange short read. Not a favorite of mine.
Profile Image for itsallaboutbooksandmacarons.
2,274 reviews49 followers
March 31, 2024
This book offers a fascinating journey into the world of curiosity, captivating readers with its engaging prose and thought-provoking insights. Through a series of compelling anecdotes and reflections, the author delves into the complexities of human curiosity, inviting readers to explore its significance in their lives.

While the book's unconventional structure and abstract themes may challenge some readers, its ability to spark curiosity and inspire introspection ultimately makes it a rewarding read.

In summary, this book is a well-crafted exploration of curiosity and human nature that is sure to leave readers intrigued and inspired.
Profile Image for Maria Vargas.
633 reviews55 followers
June 12, 2024
The ink makes her feel more permanent. More indelible. But also as if she’s looking at someone who isn’t her.

I know I read this and there's three things I remember:

🐍 Swan is obsessed with tattooing people with elaborate designs that have deep meanings.
🐍 There's nothing good that can come out of living in a damn desert.
🐍 The residents will do everything to keep strangers away from their precious desert.

The writing style felt flat, making the book feel like it's a 200 pages and not 44.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 295 reviews

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