Hidden Pictures Book Review

Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! Today, I am back with another book review. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak has been on my TBR list for the longest time; I've heard so much hype. So, let's get into it!

In this novel, we follow recovering drug addict, Mallory, who is just recently hired to be an in-home nanny for the Maxwells. Mallory, and the child, Teddy immediately get along. Mallory notices that Teddy loves to sketch, and his sketches are what you would expect from a five year old. Crude images of bunnies, balloons, and family members. Until one day, Mallory finds a sketch of a man dragging a dead body through the woods. Then things get weirder, and Teddy's drawings become more detailed. The sketches grow beyond a five year old's capabilities. Mallory is determined to find out what is going on in this house and with Teddy.

I was very excited to start reading this book. I heard so many people rave about it, I see it all over Instagram and Tiktok. To be honest, I was expecting a little more. I thought it would be scarier. I wasn't a huge fan of the twist even though I still didn't see it coming. I mean, I say all that, but I finished this book in about 8 hours.

The main thing I really liked were the characters. Mallory was very determined and wanted to prove herself. As the reader, you could tell she really cared about Teddy. The Maxwells were very suspicious. Both Ted and Caroline made me feel like I couldn't completely trust them. There was a sense of unease even from when we first meet them. Teddy was just a cute little kid caught in the middle of everything.

I've only read a handful of horror books, and while I have never been a fan of the whole ghost thing...its growing on me. Especially when its done well like it is here.

I also really liked getting to see the pictures Teddy was drawing. I read this on my Kindle so turning the page and just seeing these creepy kid doodle was startling. There's also an except in the back that explains the ideas and execution of the drawings which I thought was really interesting. I haven't read a book with some many pictures in a really long time.

Overall, I gave this 4/5 stars. I would still highly recommend checking it out. It's a good read to pull you out of a slump.

Alright folks, that is all for today. Come back next Wednesday for another blog post! As always thank you for reading :)