Hidden Pictures
‘The boldest double twist of the year’ The Times
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4.1 • 128 Ratings
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- £0.99
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Publisher Description
'I loved it. The surprises really surprise and it has that hard-to-achieve propulsiveness that won't let you put it down. And the pictures are terrific!' Stephen King
'Must be the boldest double twist of the year. Truly fantastic' The Times
AN AMAZON.COM BEST MYSTERY/THRILLER OF THE YEAR
Mallory is delighted to have a new job looking after gorgeous four-year-old, Teddy. She's been sober for a year and a half and she's sure her new nannying role in the affluent suburbs will help keep her on the straight and narrow.
That is until Teddy starts to draw disturbing pictures of his imaginary friend, Anya. It is quite clear to Mallory and to Teddy's parents, even in his crude childlike style, that the woman Teddy is drawing in his pictures is dead.
Teddy's crayons are confiscated, and his paper locked away. But the drawings somehow keep coming, telling a frightening story of a woman murdered... and they're getting more sophisticated. But if Teddy isn't drawing the pictures anymore, who is? And what are they trying to tell Mallory about her new home?
If you love Hidden Pictures, don't miss Jason Rekulak's twisty new suspense The Last One at the Wedding.
'Genuine jump-scares' Guardian
'Gripping, with intriguing characters and genuinely creepy moments' Daily Mirror
'Whip-smart, creepy as hell . . . Destined to be a classic of the genre' Ransom Riggs
'One of the best and most inventive ghost stories I've read in years' Joe Hill
'Almost enough to make a person believe in ghosts' Kirkus
'So spooky' Buzzfeed
'Memorable and twisty' Esquire
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rekulak (The Impossible Fortress) uses horror as a lens to bring the dark underbelly of suburbia into focus in this gripping supernatural thriller. Narrator Mallory Quinn is a 21-year-old recovering addict getting a second chance as a live-in nanny to five-year-old Teddy Maxwell, a sweet-natured young artist whose wonderfully creepy pictures appear throughout the novel. His uncanny muse/model is his "imaginary friend," Anya, whom his erudite, politically correct parents dismiss. Mallory takes Anya seriously, however, especially as Teddy's art rapidly turns darker and impossibly sophisticated and Mallory learns of a long-ago murder in her guest house quarters. How is Anya manipulating Teddy? Could she be the murder victim? And why do Mallory's concerns provoke such explosive emotion in Teddy's parents? The plot unfolds at a good clip, and Mallory's voice is engrossing, if occasionally too writerly for her working-class South Philly roots. There are no shocking twists here, but Rekulak isn't looking to keep readers up at night; he's holding a mirror up to white, affluent Gen X and asking pointed questions about class, trauma, and horror conventions. In that mode, he executes well and sticks the landing.
Customer Reviews
Great story
This book was really interesting and did keep me gripped throughout. I was a little skeptical reading this as I’m used to reading standard crime thrillers, but I still enjoyed this and felt that the plot was very well executed.
What a surprising ending
This book was so good! Kept me riveted all the way through and I did not see what was coming. Great read and would recommend.
Love it
I loved reading this book. Author’s writing is so easy to read and follow. Massive twist at the end that no one will see coming.