I am really excited to share my review of Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak because this was honestly the best thriller that I’ve read in a while! To summarize my thoughts in one sentence: I wish I could read this book again for the first time.

*This review contains minor spoilers. They don’t reveal anything about the main plot points.

Summary: Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn 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. (Source: GoodReads)

Genre: Fiction, Supernatural Thriller, Mystery

Page Count: 368

Any Triggers: drug abuse background, spiritual concerns – ouija boards and possession

Why I Read The Book: I was coming out of my “I need to pause from reading thrillers” break when I came across it at Target, and I thought the back cover description was very intriguing. The sentence that stood out to me was, “But one day, he draws something different: a man dragging a woman’s lifeless body.” I immediately wanted to know what crime the boy witnessed and what trouble was he in. Children have an interesting way of telling us things, so I was curious to see how it would play out. Also, the cover gives me a cozy yet spooky vibe. When I look at it, it makes me think of October, even though this isn’t a Halloween-specific story.

Likes: I loved how Jason used the illustrations to tell the story! It really helped to see how creepy the pictures were and I think if they weren’t included it wouldn’t have illicited such strong reactions from me. During the first set of pictures I literally went from “aww how cute” to “oh…” and it was great because it was such a natural reaction! The pictures definitely help move the story forward and it felt nice as a reader to be included. I’ve never read an adult book with illustrations so it was definitely a unique touch!

I liked how this story wasn’t what I thought it initially was and even with the plot twist I was still surprised at the end. I think Jason wrote that very well especially because it wasn’t random with the directions the story went in. They just felt more overlooked but in a good way because you’re so focused on one idea.

I liked the pacing of the relationship between Mallory’s and Adrian. It wasn’t rushed or forced into anything, instead it all just happened naturally. I also really liked how Adrian and his family were successful and not a stereotype.

Dislikes: I didn’t like how scary some of the pictures were. I’m a bit sensitive to graphic images – I literally get nightmares after watching horror or true crime content and the images usually stick in my mind – so it got to the point where I didn’t want to look at any more pictures. Could I have skipped through the pictures without losing context? Yeah, but I pushed through them.

There were two minor details that felt forgotten – the symbolism of the rabbit and the hidden panel underneath the floorboards. A rabbit was featured in the photos and mentioned earlier in the story so I thought it was something important, but it wasn’t revealed to be. The hidden panel had a lot of potential for more things to happen but after it was first introduced to us, nothing more came out of it. I was expecting more and to be honest after I finished the book, some of my initial thoughts were “but what about X?”

Overall: The story really took me through so many emotions! I started off feeling frustrated for Mallory and my fear progressed every time I turned the illustrated pages, then mid-way I was fully rooting for Mallory. By the end, I was sad and cried. Not a single tear, but actually sobbed! Which confused me and made me laugh because this is a thriller. I feel that this story has a sad happy ending.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Do I recommend? Yes!