Umm this is a horror novel, right?! Just checking because I CRIED 😂

At the heart of this creepy mystery is a moving and emotional tale that tugged at my heartstrings. What a unique, original and compelling page-turner! I loved the drawings, which added a layer of spookiness to the story. At one point, I was reading the book while walking home at midnight and the sketches seriously gave me chills.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of is the climax because why, Mallory, why? Showing all your cards like that 🤦 The epilogue was fantastic though and I loved how everything wrapped up!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The reading experience was also a stellar one filled with chills, tears and feels. Highly recommend reading in the dark at night for the full experience 😜

I loved the previous book that I read by this author and was excited to read this, but it missed the mark in a few places.
There were a few loose ends that irritated me, especially the social experiment. The first big twist was handled really badly, the language used felt political and it tainted what should have been a big, if not somewhat unlikely, reveal. It just didn’t feel like the appropriate language, not for that character.
The basic premise was good, the pictures were a great touch and I think it should have been a great book.

I also had a nightmare trying to view the photos on the kindle, apart from 2 near the end that were shown perfectly. I found this really annoying as it could have been fixed but having to go through 8 pages of empty or partial images for each picture was distracting.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

1.5 stars

Equal parts eyeroll worthy and twee. Hidden Pictures didn’t start out great, but I had hope it would improve as the mystery deepened. It only became more ridiculous and heavy-handed. I can suspend my disbelief in horror, but the character twists were predictable, which is not always a bad thing when the execution is great. In the case of Hidden Pictures, the execution was very much not great. I’m struggling to find much positive to say but I did in the beginning like that the art was included. Mallory was a fairly shallow protagonist, despite a backstory that should provide some interesting characterisation, there really wasn’t much going on beneath the surface and still she was somehow the most developed character. Also, there was an undertone to this book that I didn’t like at all.

This whole time I was thinking I would give this book a decent four stars. Then the ending blew me away. The way everything connects was well-done in my view and I think everything wraps up perfectly (including the one thing that doesn't wrap up at all, which I found entertaining).

This story is about a recovering addict Mallory. She's 18 months sober and is looking for a summer job. She's finds this with the help of her sponsor with a family who is looking for an in-house babysitter for their child Teddy. Teddy warms to Mallory immediately and he draws her many pictures. There's something off about the pictures though, they start transforming into more sinister images and who is this woman Teddy is talking to in his room during Quiet Time?

This book could touch upon one of my major tropes in thrillers when female protagonists are projected as weak. It does not however. Mallory has been written as a decent female protagonist (even though she does somethings that made me shout out in frustration), and the plot evolves in a very interesting manner. It's certainly something I didn't really expect even though I had a bit of an inkling.

It's a very entertaining read, and I'm looking forward to more books from this author in the future.

Mallory is delighted to get a new job caring for young Teddy, through her NA sponsor. She loves the family, but is concerned when Teddy draws pictures of his imaginary friend Anya being killed. Mallory investigates and finds there was a death on the property 80 years ago.
Is Teddy channelling Anya? Do the pictures form a puzzle?
Amazing book, loved it! The drawings really brought it to life. So many twists! Fantastic imagination, with a wow ending.

Wow, this book was insane. What an absolute wild ride. It was spooky, eerie and mysterious all bundled into one which is exactly what I needed! I don't know what it is about mystery/thriller books with a little child in it but they really are next level creepy! Hidden Pictures is no exception!

When reading one of these books I'm constantly trying to figure out what's next to follow and this one had me stumped until the very end. I had absolutely no idea where it was going but oh, that ending! So unexpected, and so good! I devoured this book, no joke, I read it in about 24 hours. I was hooked from the very beginning! This had the perfect balance of horror and spooks, supernatural, psychological thriller, intensity and suspense. This is one one keep an eye out for, one I highly recommend!

Thank you so, so much to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Jason Rekulak for the chance to read this advanced copy!

*Please research any trigger warnings before reading*

Because I was sent this ARC as a digital copy, I felt very cheated as the story revolves around pictures, and on the Kindle the pictures do not format. Nevertheless, this was a thriller, not only supernatural vibes but also with a twist that I never saw coming. It was also a twist where I felt that I had to suspend belief a little because I was like 'Really!'

Mallory, who lost her sister in an horrific car accident, is a recovering addict. Her sponsor, Russell, put her name forward to be a nanny for five year-old Teddy. Everything seems perfect, Mallory becomes friends with Ted and Caroline, but best friends with the little five year old. Her life seems to be turning around, but then Teddy, who loves drawing, starts giving Mallory pictures that worry her, pictures that he says are of his imaginary friend Anya. Mallory believes that Anya is trying to send messages through Teddy and there is definitely something supernatural going on and the vibes as you read are very creepy, especially when Mallory hears about a mysterious incident involing one of the previous owners of the house.

Mallory is a believable character and although you do sometimes wonder about some of her actions, you know that she thinks that she is acting to protect Teddy. The middle of the book does slow down, but the tensions builds again towards the end. The final chapter brings everything to a sweet ending.

I enjoyed this, and I'm sure I missed clues along the way. My only regret is that the Kindle did not give me the true experience – being able to see Teddy's drawings would have added an additioinal layer.

Hidden Pictures is great fun! It’s an original, fast-paced horror/ thriller with supernatural elements to it, which I’m not usually a fan of but which works really well in this novel.

We’re following Mallory, a recovering drug addict trying to turn her life around. Her sponsor helps her get a job as a nanny for a wealthy family with a very sweet young boy, Teddy. All is going swimmingly until Teddy’s drawings start to take on an eerie style…

The characters in this novel are likeable and seeing everything through Mallory’s eyes means it’s straight forward to follow and enjoy. The novel is fairly calm and light, slowly building up the tension and eeriness until the last 20% or so when things suddenly get much wackier! There are some bits that don’t quite add up in terms of plot but it’s easy to suspend your disbelief – this is a horror novel, after all – because it’s such a fun read. I really loved the twist we got towards the end, and the epilogue. It didn’t go where I thought it would which I’m glad about – I couldn’t have seen it coming!

Hidden Pictures is a curious mix of influences. Some elements work better than others, and the final twist in the story took it to a very unexpected place. However, there was a lot about it to like.
The story focuses on Mallory, a young recovering addict, and an event that she gets caught up in which definitely proves the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. How feasible the story is I wouldn’t like to say, but I found myself really engaged in the opening then sensing a lack of certainty about quite which direction to take this in before unfolding into the strangest (and least prepared for) twist.
Mallory has been taken under the wing of a sponsor helping her to get her life back on track after recovering from an opiate addiction following a crash. She seems to have descended fast into heroin addiction and things got bad. But now she’s got a job as nanny to Teddy Maxwell, a reserved child who has a vivid imagination.
Things are going well, but then Mallory sees drawings that Teddy is finishing. Increasingly complex, Mallory starts to wonder just who is behind these drawings. Is she imagining things, or is there something supernatural happening?
At this point in the book I was quite invested. It’s interspersed with drawings that will, in a physical copy I’m sure, lend something different to the story. In my ARC they were scrappy and hard to decipher, definitely lessening their impact. A shame, as they are fundamental to the story.
The investigation starts to involve neighbours and long-lost relatives of previous home owners, and things started to wobble as Mallory uncovers some pretty shocking secrets. When Mallory learns the truth of what’s led her to this situation it all escalated very quickly, becoming rather
incredible if I’m being honest.
I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this before publication. It was certainly a book with potential, and its finished version may well iron out some of the flaws.

I enjoyed this story from the fast paced way it started out. It wasn't scary in the slightest but the plot was good. The ending though let it down for me, it just wasn't believable. That nobody was actively looking for this childintheinterveningyearssincehehadgonemissing?. Adrian too was unbelievable, as if he would take Mallorys words as gospel in real life! Altogether a 3 star read for me.

I really do not enjoy leaving critical reviews, but this book really was not up my alley at all.

The characters were not well fleshed out, lacked believably and any common sense,

The plot itself seemed somewhat captivating, that is what kept me reading and not DNFing this book.

I felt like so many of the twists and turns wee quite silly and lacked believability, as did the character’s actions and even motivations. I was really disappointed with this book.

For a couple times I had to go back and check, as I swear I picked this book up because it was categorised as thriller/horror, but it was so far from it. It would have to paranormal romance? Or something where horror is far away from. And with Stephen King’s endorsement? Strange.

I did really enjoy the book cover, it was the best part about the book.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

It's been sometime now that I had requested and been approved an ARC of this book. But I always found reason to put off reading it, now with it expiry date near I was a bit apprehensive whether I should read it or no and I am super glad I did. Though horror is not my usual comfort zone, I was completely hooked on to the plot, the twist and the turns.

The plot is simple, Mallory Quinn is a recovering drug addict/junkee now clean for around 18 months and has now landed herself the job to baby sit the Maxwell's Son Teddy Maxwell after they moved to spring Brook, New Jersey. Mallory instantly loves her job and quickly bonds with Teddy. On the other hand, 5 year old Teddy loves to sketch and is rarely seen without his sketchpad. Teddy artwork usually consist of trees, animals, stick figures but as days pass his drawings become more and more complex and beyond the ability of a 5 year old. In the mean while Mallory learns stories of a murder linked to the cottage, she lives in next to the Maxwell's main house and quickly suspects that where is a link between Teddy's complex drawing's and the murder and that there is some supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell's house and who is using Teddy as communication to reveal her story. With Teddy's parents not willing to believe Mallory and her superstitious ghost story, Mallory is all set to uncover the story hidden behind the pictures and save Teddy's life.

Ever since I finished reading this book , I have been debating whether to rate this book an 5 or 4 stars because though this book had a great plot with some good twist, turns, easy writing with short chapters and well developed and thought over characters with an ending that was hard to predict, this book completely fell short for me on the horror element. Claiming to be a horror story with paranormal activity, this book completely failed to scare the sh*t out of me. The illustrations in the book were also mere beautiful drawing's telling you the events leading upto and revealing a murder mystery rather than being creepy or spooky.

So if I have to rate this book entirely as a thriller, I would surely give it a happy 5 stars but since it a horror story it a 3.5 - 4 from me.

This book is recommended if you like a mild horror story and I also highly recommend readers to read the book rather then listen to its audiobook because the story lies entirely on the illustrations for better understanding.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers at little brown book, UK and the author Jason Rekulak for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this copy. Absolutely loved this book. Never read anything by this author, but will certainly be looking out for more. Great story, loved the main character. Could not put it down, five star recommendation *****

Best book I have read all year!
I was in a bit of a reading slump before I picked up this book, taking weeks instead of days to finish a book; if I finished it at all. But then I started reading Hidden Pictures and I didn’t, and couldn’t put the book down.
I am getting too old to be pulling all nighters but this book saw me reading right through the night and into a new day. I was that deep into the story that I was shocked to see the sun. It felt like I had only been reading for a bit but the story and the writing were so strong time literally flew.
It has an endorsement from Stephen King on the cover so I had high hopes for this book, and it certainly delivered.
If you read only one book this year, make sure it is this one.

this was recommended to me by a youtubers Gabbyreads and I did enjoy it 😊 the pictures are really good and it is definitely creepy and unique

Chilly and twisty, the type of book that you can't read at night or if you suffer from high pression.
It kept me on the edge and made me turn pages as fast as I could.
My only note is that the end seemed a bit rushed, the rest of the story is brilliant and you are always left wondering if it's psychological thriller or horror.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Definitely one of the best thrillers of the year!

I don't want to give too much away but this has some paranormal vibes but is overall an amazing mystery that'll have you breaking your head. We have a great duo in Mallory Quinn and Teddy Maxwell, our protagonist and the child she's babysitting.

I was sure this was a 5 star read but I didn't love the ending. That being said, the whole book is something I'll be recommending to everyone I can. I loved the illustrations.

I can't wait till this releases!

Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Group UK for the e-copy.

4.5/5

5/5 • Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

• no spoiler review •

The best thing I can say about this is that it was everything I wanted out of a horror book. I’m easily spooked and often need long breaks from horror books to calm myself down but I truly could not put this book down at all. It was a beautiful mixture of horrifying, harrowing, and mystifying that put me on the edge of my seat without feeling uncomfortable - which I find is uncommon within the horror genre. Accompanied with hauntingly beautiful images that really bring the narrative home, this story follows Mallory, a recovering addict, as she becomes a live-in baby sitter for 5-year-old Teddy and all goes well until Teddy begins to draw some odd pictures which leads to an exploration of the history of the house, area, and people of the novel, uncovering dark secrets. The story brought supernatural aspects to this world in a way that felt truly real and believable. The ending was the perfect cherry on top of this book and I savoured every page of it. This is a story that won’t be leaving me anytime soon and should absolutely be a must-read for anyone into the spookier side of the literary world.

Hidden Pictures
By Jason Rekulak

Very strong opener on this thriller, I was immediately pulled into the story and will short chapters and plenty of regular reveals it definitely is a page turner. By the 50% mark I was getting strong Amityville Horror vibes, kept having to check if I had mistaken the genre. The main protagonist, a recovering drug addiction is such an interesting character. I was fully invested in her and I loved Teddy, the little boy she was hired to baby sit for the summer.

This is deliciously creepy, very tense. All the way through it was shaping up to be a 5 star read but the plot went off the boil towards the end, I felt a little let down. But a riveting read none the less, with a lesson about giving people another chance.
Thanks to #netgalley and #littlebrownbookgroup for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Hidden pictures tells the story of Mallory Quinn, a former addict who is 20 months sober.
She lands a role as nanny to 5 year old teddy after her sponsor vouches for her and she aces the interview. After working at the Maxwells for a short time she become aware something is not quite right with Teddy. He is a talented artist, there is no doubt, but his drawings depict his imaginary friend Anya in some disturbing ways. Soon Mallory is convinced there is some unfinished business to be settled in the Maxwell home and she won’t stop until she gets to the bottom of it!

I was really excited to read this one. Dark and supernatural tales have a place in my heart. The set up is great, and I loved the fast pace of the story- no slow dragging parts. Having said that I did think certain conclusions were jumped to a little quick by the main protagonist, which I don’t think was very realistic. But hey it’s fiction! I did find Mallory quite jarring at times, as well as her companion in the book very easy to convince of some almost unbelievable things. I found both to be quite irritating due to this.
However I did enjoy the many revelations during the second half of the book, and those are what pushed the book to 3 stars for me.