I had passed on this book, but the social media chatter on it made me curious. Here’s my review of Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
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Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Synopsis: Fresh out of rehab, Mallory takes a job as a babysitter for suburban couple Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.
Mallory lives in the Maxwell’s guest cottage and bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy kid who loves to draw. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.
As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, his stick figures evolving into sketches that seem beyond the ability of a five-year-old. Mallory suspects these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, a murder that might have happened in the guest cottage where she sleeps.
What Else has Jason Rekulak written?
- He’s written a book called The Impossible Fortress, described as an 1980s love story. Hidden Pictures is his first thriller. He also has a brand new suspense novel in 2024: The Last One at the Wedding!
- Something I found interesting: his bio says that for many years he was the publisher at Quirk books, the publishing company for none other than Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which I thought was interesting.
Review of Hidden Pictures
I love divisive books, and Hidden Pictures is getting a lot of praise on my social media, but also left some readers disappointed. People who liked it said it was “creative” and “different” but others found it “overhyped” and “disappointing.”
What did I think of Hidden Pictures?
Overall, it was an entertaining paranormal story.
Mallory is an appealing heroine. She’s fresh out of rehab and trying to get her life together. But when she starts thinking that Teddy, the kid she’s babysitting, is being haunted or possessed by the ghost of a murder victim, is anyone going to believe her?
The book has good suspense. I don’t like flat-out horror. Hidden Pictures was pleasantly scary without being too dark or terrifying.
The setting (suburban New Jersey) was a little blah.
I was surprised that, Miss Peregrine aside, I didn’t mind the pictoral aspect. I don’t think seeing all of Teddy’s pictures added that much to the story for me, but I’m more a words person.
The main mystery of the book is pretty impossible to solve. There is a reveal that the book does hint at through clues, and I did guess one aspect of the story. I don’t want to say more, but if you want to know more OR have read this and want to discuss, come over to my Spoiler Discussion for Hidden Pictures.
