The main character is very well developed. I loved the ending. This was such a creepy book and kept me on the edge of my seat.

This is the perfect book for spooky season. I was gripped by the book right away and I never wanted to put it down, even when it was scaring the living daylights out of me. It’s a really unique book, I don’t think I have read anything like it. I loved that Teddy’s creepy drawings were included in the book, it really ramped up the tension and I really felt like I was there, peering over Mallory’s shoulder, trying to make sense of what was going on. I would definitely recommend this book for a spooky read around Halloween and I will definitely be reading another book from this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the supernatural elements of this story in the beginning and the linking of local legends to the strange happenings around the main protagonist, but the final reveal was so disappointing, and really rather "meh." The addition of the pictures throughout, were a nice touch. However, the E-arc I had did not show the pictures on one page and we spread out over several pages, making it difficult to understand what was being shown. The first two thirds were a hit, last third was a definite miss.

4.5 stars. This book was amazing, brilliant, thrilling, exciting but it let me down in 2 ways. The opening chapter was the hook. But it then didn't get brought back round to have a plot in the story. And the other let down was the HP/JK mentioning. Why? Why would you do that? It left me questioning the author's allegiances or anti toxicity rather than the fact the book was fantastic. I feel like I need to know before picking up another book by this author. The drawings in the book add to the spookiness of the story and I loved them. Jason Rekulak has written an excellent paranormal thriller mystery but as I said, I feel like I need to know why they put Jk in the book before picking up anymore of their work. If you don't care either way about this point you are going to love this book. If you do, this will grate very, very much. O and I'm still not over the "medical research" plot hole.

Mallory can't believe her luck when she lands a job taking care of 5 year old Teddy. She is particularly lucky as Teddy's parents know all about her past addictions and still want to give her a chance. Over the summer days Mallory and Teddy spend their days, playing, walking and shopping then at quiet time Teddy likes to draw. What starts as innocent children's drawings become altogether more sinister surely they can't come from a five year old's mind?

Thank you so much @littlebrownuk for sending me this hardback of a book I have heard so many good things about. I was particularly pleased to have the physical book as I knew within the pages part of the eerieness was the child's drawings that turn sinister and these certainly did not disappoint. I think this book is classed as a thriller but for me it was pure horror. A cute child who can see an ominous lady that no-one else can who sings to him when he is in bed?!?! Even writing that sentence gives me the shivers. Mallory's summer surroundings may seem sunny and idyllic but there are sinister undertones everywhere. This delivered creepiness in spades which I loved and it is one of the most unique books I have read. For the most part the story had my full attention although it lost me sometimes due to meandering but it all came together in an impressive way in the end. There were pathways within the story that could have been explored further but instead led to disappointing dead ends. Mallory was a great protagonist in that she stuck to her guns throughout even staying in a scary cottage at night alone when I would have run for the hills straight away. Hidden Pictures is a decent horror but I think it could have been ramped up even more.

Currently one of my favourites of the year. Loved the creepiness, the atmosphere, the speculative nature. The pictures had me freaking out, I got goosebumps! Absolutely loved it and would totally recommend!!!!

Spoilers ahead!
The story stared with a promise but became more implausible with every chapter. I am not a fan of paranormal fiction and wouldn’t have chosen to read this book if I knew how much of the plot involved a ghost. The characters and their actions didn’t ring true and a big reveal by a confession of a main character whilst they are about to kill another main character is always a cop out. The pictures didn’t work well with a kindle version and I found this frustrating. There were also some issues which made me uncomfortable and weren’t necessary to the plot
(i.e. racism). I finished the book but can’t say I enjoyed it.

Stop whatever you are reading and buy this book NOW. HIDDEN PICTURES is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in recent years. It’s outstanding.. but don’t take my word for it.. look what Stephen King said “I loved it. The surprises really surprise and it has that hard-to-achieve propulsiveness that won’t let you put it down. And the pictures are terrific!”

This book ticks every single box for me and then some! We have creepy kids, unreliable narrators, killer twists and characters you can’t get enough of and I can’t stop thinking about this book weeks after I’d finished it. This is DEFINITELY going into my TOP 10 BOOKS of 2022.

Mallory Quinn is a recovering drug addict living in a “half-way house” when she is offered the opportunity to look after a 5 year old boy called Teddy who has recently moved to the USA from Barcelona with his family. At first glance everything appears wonderful, Mallory and Teddy form a sweet relationship, his parents Caroline and Ted are supportive of Mallory’s past and provide a loving and supportive environment and she begins to feel safe and secure.

However being a thriller you can’t expect everyone to live happily every after and for nothing sinister to happen can you? Little Teddy loves to draw pictures (which are brilliantly scattered throughout the book) and he also has an imaginary friend called Anya but when his cute drawings start becoming dark and depict a dead woman Mallory starts to get concerned and begins to dig into the background of the town convinced this could be related to a murder several decades earlier.

That is ALL I am going to say about the plotline as you need to read this for yourself without me blathering on and giving away spoilers.

If you are looking for an UNPUTDOWNABLE, PAGE-TURNING, BUM-CLENCHING, DARK, CREEPY and completely BRILLIANT thriller then I would recommend Hidden Pictures 200%.

Oh my god, I fucking loved this book. It was so well written, with a brilliant pace. It was creepy as hell, and I loved the twists in it. So, so, so good!

I've seen this book all over Bookstgram and Horror Bookstagram, and have been itching to get reading. It's an absolute blast, and genuinely creepy. The illustrations are gorgeous, and so well-used. Their placement at key points throughout the book gives the whole thing an almost interactive element. They bring the horror to life. I found myself not wanting to turn certain pages afraid to see where the ghostly Anya would show up next. (I was checking behind doors all night -- who knew stick figures could be so terrifying?) The book moves like a rocket with a nicely developed central character. The author is clearly a horror fan, and he seems to be having a great time here. I'm love with the creativity in this one,

Hidden Pictures wasn't as scary as I was expecting going in but it does have thrills, chills and a creep factor.

The mix of thriller and the supernatural isn't a new thing by any means but the author managed to bring something interesting and fresh to the table here. I had no idea how it was going to pan out up until it did.

I really enjoyed Mallory as a main character. While she is a recovering addict, there are never any moments when you start to question her reliability even though the events going on are completely surreal. If anything she's possibly the MOST reliable character which I thought was incredibly refreshing.

The images didn't format too well in the eARC which made them hard to decipher at times. Because of this I would strongly recommend reading a physical copy over an eBook so you don't run into any potential formatting issues.

All in all, this was a highly entertaining read that ticked all my boxes.

I was shocked at how much I liked this book! I usually struggle with horror, as I'm a bit of a jumpy nervous person, but this book reminded me of why horror is such a fantastic genre.

I thought the whole premise of this story was really clever. I think the best part was the illustrations - getting to see this really brought the whole story to life. I wanted to read this in one sitting, but life got in the way - even still I managed to get through this book in 24 hours. It was un-put-downable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jason Rekulak and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this ARC.

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak is likely to be one of the most talked about books of the year, and deservedly so. Word of mouth has already brought the book to the attention of many readers , and from the online discussions I have seen , the buzz is thoroughly deserved.
Recovering addict Mallory is delighted when she is offered a job looking after four year old Teddy, second chances for people like her can be hard to come by and this one is better than she could ever have dreamed of - her own cabin on the family's property, a cute and fun little kid to spend the days with and a handsome young man who works for the landscaping company and seems keen to get to know her better. Everything seems perfect at first but when Teddy's imaginary friend Anya becomes more of a presence in his life and his drawings become more and more sinister Mallory begins to question what she believes and even starts to doubt her own sanity. Teddy's parents are unwilling to listen to her fears, but they do take away the sketch pad and crayons, so when the drawings continue to appear, but this time are more skilled and more detailed , Mallory's investigations send her on a quest to uncover the truth behind the story of Anna, an artist who lived in her cabin decades before but disappeared without trace, and soon she is convinced that Teddy's friend Anya is actually Anna's spirit and she is possessing him and using him to make the drawings as clues about what really happened to her. Can she convince her employers before it is too late?
This is a genuinely creepy and disturbing book, made all the more so by the inclusion of the drawings referred to in the story, superbly rendered by Will Staehle and Doogie Horner. Seeing the child like stick figure representations of a woman being dragged into the forest and buried was one of the reasons why the book grabbed my attention so quickly and held it so tight that I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. The book straddles the line between horror and psychological thriller and does it impeccably. There are plenty of twists and turns before the dramatic conclusion, which if I am honest felt a little over the top, but in a very fun way.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This is a fantastic mystery story about a woman who is recovering from addiction. Mallory is 18 months clean and desperately needs the nanny job she is about to interview for. After a little reluctance Caroline and Ted agree to let Mallory move in to the cottage on their property to take care of their 5 year old son, Teddy. The job comes with a list of strict rules but Mallory feels that she is up to the task and is thrilled to be given a chance, despite her past problems. Playing with the gorgeous little boy all day and splashing in the family pool in the summer sunshine sounds like a dream, but things soon take a sinister turn when Mallory discovers the property's dark history and Teddy begins producing some unsettling art work.

i almost always guess plot twists or punchlines, it's my superpower (or curse, maybe). In the case of this book although I did guess who the villain was quite early on I absolutely did not see the huge twist in this book coming at all. A very clever story, well written with brilliant characters (particularly Mallory), that I raced through in no time. A highly recommended read.

Surely one of the most talked about new books on social media, I had to read this and see what all the excitement is about.

Mallory Quinn, eighteen months sober from drug addiction, takes a job as a live in childminder for Teddy. Teddy is a five year old boy, shy, reclusive, and he only opens up around his imaginary friend Anya. He likes to draw, sometimes creepy pictures with Anya represented with a ghost face.

I'd class it as supernatural mystery. It flows nicely, the characters and events are well written, and there are twists.

I didn't find it especially creepy or scary. It probably doesn't help that I read another creepy book about children with imaginary friends quite recently, Black Mamba by William Friend which was all about the creepy atmosphere.

Hidden Pictures works, it's different and entertaining, I'm not sure I get the mass reader hype, but it's worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK

This was a very well written novel. I went in almost blind to the story and I feel this is the best way to experience it. It’s super compelling and I could never of guessed the ending.

This was one of those books for me where I read it and was like, wow, why didn’t I think of this idea? Horror has always been my favourite genre, but I’ve been neglecting it lately and trying to read a variety of different genres instead. This book has reminded me why I love horror and brought my need to read it back, although I think this may be on the border between horror and psychological thriller.

One major point that drew me was the illustrations. It was a different experience getting to see all the images Teddy was drawing and seeing the improvements. This book had so many twists and reveals that I struggled to put it down and not read it in one sitting. The characters were all so cleverly crafted and believable. I appreciated the wrap-up at the end, as I’m not a massive fan of books ending on cliffhangers.

My favourite book of the year so far! If I were to recommend one must-read horror book this year, this would be it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jason Rekulak and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this DRC in exchange for an honest review.

https://lynns-books.com/2022/06/21/hidden-pictures-by-jason-rekulak/
4 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Didn’t foresee that twisted ending

Well, I picked up Hidden Pictures without virtually any knowledge aforethought and I had a slight feeling of ‘is this going to be a bit gimmicky’ given the angle with the pictures, etc – I soon found out that wasn’t going to be the case and the pictures in fact added a sinister note as the images they depicted became steadily more shocking. Within barely a few pages I found myself hooked and a few chapters down the line I couldn’t put this one down. It’s brilliantly twisted in a way that I didn’t expect and I feel like Rekulak just literally led me down the garden path with his cunning and devious plot.

As the story begins we meet Mallory Quinn. Mallory had a bright future ahead of her until personal tragedy struck and she instead went down the line of strong painkillers eventually becoming addicted to stronger drugs until finally seeking help at rehab. A year and a half later Mallory is coming out of rehab and needs a job and a place to live so when her sponsor lines her up a live-in nanny position for a pre school boy, in the very well-to-do area of Spring Brook, New Jersey – she is more than happy. Her new employers are the perfect couple, high earners, beautiful, amazing house with pool, clean living and very supportive of Mallory. Their little boy Teddy immediately clicks with Mallory and so she moves into the small pool side cottage and starts work.

At first, everything seemed ideal. The days pass in a dreamlike state of playing, exploring the woodlands and swimming in the pool. One small issue is that Teddy has an imaginary friend who seems to be encouraging him to draw pictures. Over the weeks the pictures become increasingly detailed and depict what can only be assumed is a murder scene. Teddy starts to become more introverted, he doesn’t like to mix with other children and he also begins to keep his drawings secret – but, mysteriously, they always seem to find their way into Mallory’s hands.

On the face of it this feels very much like a typical ghost story. The haunted forest, the little boy helping the ghost to find closure, the history behind the pool house itself which seems to have something of a reputation and that strange sixth sense of something always watching. However, this takes a very unusual turn that I really didn’t see coming, even though, with hindsight, the author was clearly leaving little clues and building the tension.

What really helped for me is that I liked Mallory. She’s a young woman with a grim past who is trying hard to get back on her feet. I liked the way she cared for Teddy and stood up for what she thought was right and she worked hard to stay on the straight and narrow, even starting the beginning of a relationship with a local gardener. Now, given her past she does spin a few tall tales, she wants to fit in, her history is complicated and she’s just enjoying the lifestyle and having the attention of a good looking young man who doesn’t know about her past. Obviously, this does give you little issues, like, is she really a reliable narrator? And, in fact this is something that the author does really well because he begins to drop little incidents that make you begin to distrust everyone. Pretty soon cracks are beginning to appear in this perfect, picture postcard family and before you know it everyone feels like they have something to hide.

In terms of criticisms. Well, the ending does go a little bit crazy but I confess I didn’t mind one little bit because I was seriously enjoying this one and was desperate to see how things would pan out. The pictures, well, they didn’t work quite as well for me as I would have liked but I think that’s a technical issue related to the settings of my e-reader more than anything else so rather than having the shock value that was the aim I found myself having to piece things together a little bit. Again, I didn’t find this an issue, it may have lessened the ‘wow’ factor a little but in some ways having to root around and piece things together played into the mystery for me. I have to say, I think it’s a great concept and I think it would work really well if this story is adapted to the big screen.

Overall this was a fast and entertaining read. Thrilling, creepy and a little disturbing it really was a tricky plot with subtle supernatural elements and an ending that I simply didn’t foresee.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I havnt seen this book mentioned much at all in the UK, but I saw it mentioned over bd over again in a predominantly US book group I am in, and all the comments were great so I was over the moon when I got accepted on netgalley to read it.
I will say that all the reviews commented on how scary this was, but to be honest I didn't find it scary in the slightest but that doesn't take away the fact that it's an amazing book.
Right from the start I enjoyed it, and found it incredibly easy to read and enjoyed getting to know all the characters.
Was a very solid 4 stars all the way through for me, but the last 30% totally upped it to a 5 star for. Its not often I don't see an ending coming before I get there, but never in a million years would I have got anywhere close to seeing the ending, so for that alone it deserves the 5 stars.
I'm not sure if it's because this book was an arc read through my kindle, or if it was just the format of it being a kindle read, but I would highly recommend reading this as a physical book so you get to see all the pictures throughout the book properly - as for me, they couldn't be viewed properly, and the pictures are an important part of the book.
Highly recommended ❤️

Well... whoda thunk we'd end up there!? Certainly not me! But I get ahead of myself.
We start with Mallory who has just completed another rehab followed by several months of successful sobriety. This time, she is going to make it all the way, and this time she has help. Help that lands her a plumb job. That of babysitter for an affluent couple Ted and Caroline. Her young charge being 5 year old Teddy, who she bonds with immediately. In fact, there is nothing about the job she hates, especially the pool house where she lives. Teddy is cute and shy and love stories and drawing. Everything is going swimmingly, until Teddy starts to draw strange things. These strange drawings concern Mallory but do not really concern his parents, so she goes with the flow... Until things start to escalate and the drawings get darker... and darker still... and Mallory is forced to team up with a couple of neighbours to get to the bottom of things...
Oh My Days this book was all kinds of wonderful. And so beautifully illustrated too. The tension ramps up as the narrative progresses, as Mallory starts to hear/see strange things, at the same time as Teddy starts to draw dark things. It built up well, setting the scene, dropping the hints (which I mostly missed) until, finally the whole shocking and totally unexpected truth is laid bare. All the way through I was wondering where in the heck we were going to go. Formulating and dismissing several, in my opinion, quite plausible theories, and not even getting close. Well done to the author for that.
Honestly, best go in as blind as you can. In fact, just stop reading reviews now and get the darned book and start reading. Hopefully you will love it as much as I did...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.