Review: Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

Published by: Flatiron Books on May 10, 2022

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror

Page Count: 375

Format: Kindle Edition

Source: Library/Libby App

Rating:  ★★★ ★ ☆

Goodreads' synopsis:

"Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late."

My review:

Typically, I let books sit on my TBR for a very long time, but this was one of those rare occurrences where I have only heard of the book a few months ago, and I am so happy that I didn’t let it sit for a long time. 

I went into this book thinking I wasn't going to love it, but I really did. Sometimes “ghost” stories really don’t intrigue me, but this book was great. It follows a recovering addict who becomes a nanny in a very problematic household, which is slowly revealed. There were twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting and it made the story so much more interesting. I really enjoyed the haunting portion coupled with a mystery. Safe to say I will be reading Jason Rekulak again!

Plot and Writing:

I really enjoyed the writing. I read this book in only about 2 days, and I was on vacation while reading it and I couldn’t put it down. I listened to the audiobook and sometimes it is easy to lose interest, but this kept me hooked the whole time! There were some portions where I was definitely creeped out, but there were some that were lacking, so if you are looking for a very creepy book, I don’t think this is it.

CAWPILE rating:

Characters: 7

Atmosphere: 7

Writing: 8 

Plot: 9

Intrigue: 9 

Logic: 8

Enjoyment: 9