From Jason Rekulak, Edgar-nominated author of The Impossible Fortress, comes a wildly inventive spin on the classic horror story in Hidden Pictures, a creepy and warm-hearted mystery about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.
Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.
Mallory immediately loves this new job. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, 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.
As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, and his stick figures steadily evolve into more detailed, complex, and lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to suspect these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell’s house.
With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy—while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past—before it’s too late.
The Review
HIDDEN PICTURES by Jason Rekulak was such a fun read. I’m so glad I got my hands on a hard copy and I definitely recommend listening and reading along with a physical or ebook copy.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been living for audiobooks and normally I’m fine with that format and don’t feel like I’m missing anything. But for this book, I recommend a physical copy because the entire book includes these really creepy images-pictures.
The book stars Mallory who is newly out of rehab and looking for a fresh start. She takes a job as a nanny for an affluent couple, living in their pool house and spending her days minding their son Teddy.
One day Teddy draws a horrifying scene that deeply unnerves Mallory. As time passes Teddy continues to draw more and more pictures-increasing in creepiness.
Mallory decides to look into the drawings and as she does she uncovers the horrifying truth behind them. And it’s much more than I imagined.
I loved this supernatural thriller. It read almost like a horror mystery and I felt like a detective trying to figure out what was going on.
I especially loved the pictures. They added a multidimensional element and I think they’re what creeped me out so much while reading.
I recommend it to readers that love thrillers and horror books alike. I think this book drew a nice line between the two.
Thanks to @flatiron_books for the advanced copy!
Hidden Pictures…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out Today!
Since his wife died, Ralph Roberts has been having trouble sleeping. Each night he awakens a little earlier until he’s barely sleeping at all. During his late night vigils and walks, he observes some strange things going on in Derry, Maine. He sees colored ribbons streaming from people’s heads. He witnesses two strange little men wandering the city under cover of night. He begins to suspect that these visions are something more than hallucinations brought about by sleep deprivation. Ralph and his friend, widow Lois Chasse, become enmeshed in events of cosmic significance.
The Review
Two telepathic sexagenarians fight for a good cause, and I can see why it hasn’t been adapted.
That’s it – that’s the review.
INSOMNIA by Stephen King
When researching the book I found out that INSOMNIA is one of only a few Stephen King books not adapted.
After a few pages, I could see why.
We’re following Ralph who has just lost his wife to cancer. He slowly starts to lose sleeping hours and mayhem ensues.
For sure there are questionable passages. About race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, abortion, and so on. I can see why no picture house has wanted to touch it. There’s one storyline in general that would make a lot of people unhappy if brought to the screen.
Characters with bias’ and prejudice are off-putting sometimes and it makes you wonder about the personal views of the author but I think it’s important to understand that in fiction- authors often express differing viewpoints from their own.
And I think it’s important to discuss certain topics from different areas and perspectives.
But the funny part about the book is the plot.
If you could picture two 72-year-old insomniacs teaming up to solve a mystery by communicating via telepathy and using auras to navigate between the good and the bad.
And at some point, it became a little tiresome.
In the beginning, I enjoyed the story, Stephen King’s writing is superb, I even liked the characters and felt a kind of likeness towards them but then I just kept going.
It is extremely long. And it’s a feat to finish. Glad I read it finally, but I wouldn’t likely revisit it.
I recommend it to readers who won’t flinch at controversial subjects and overall already enjoy Kings’ aesthetic.
Loved the audiobook but landed at an overall rating somewhere in the middle. I liked but didn’t love INSOMNIA.
INSOMNIA…⭐️⭐️⭐️
A genre-defying new novel, inspired by Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, which brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us.
1978: at her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she’s home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.
Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.
Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.
2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.
The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all.
The Review
THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL by Jennifer MacMahon. For the first half of the book, I turned on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to run in the background.
This book is atmospheric and brooding and I read it on a cloudy rainy afternoon in California.
Such a vibe!
It’s inspired by FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelly and I loved Jennifer Mcmahon’s take on it. This is one of my favorites by her.
This book will appeal to thriller and horror lovers alike as it stands on the fence between the two. I loved our protagonist and the deep atmosphere created in both timelines.
This comes out on April 26th and I think would be a great introduction to the author if you’re new to her books.
Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books/Scout Press for the advanced copy!
THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
