I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Is tolerating absolute mediocrity worth it for a decent twist (or two) at the end? Hidden Pictures is the perfect book to ask that question — and the answer really depends on one's patience for bland writing, weak character work, and a whole bunch of subgenre cliches.

Hidden Pictures is Jason Rekulak's first novel marketed primarily towards adults, but it still reads very early-YA in execution; the writing is basic and plain to a fault, never establish the tension and mood this conceptually dark story desperately needs. The physical book compensates the lack of flavor in writing by having pictures physically inserted throughout, but this multimedia approach feels more like a last-ditch effort than a clever supplement to a self-sufficient material (I also received my ARC as an audiobook, so this visual aid has no benefit to me).

For veteran thriller/horror readers, the first half of Hidden Pictures will test one's patience with its explosion of cliches: an unreliable young female narrator with traumatic past who constantly makes dumb decisions, creepy kid 101 (draws disturbing pictures, doesn't make friends, has imaginary playmate, talks to the air), and responding to these strange occurrences with the most worn-out methods (Ouija board, baby monitor, library research, etc.). There's nothing fundamentally wrong with any of these elements, but when a story in 2022 is still trying to sell baby monitor with static noises and ghostly visuals as one of its pivotal, climatic scares, then there's a problem.

Now, those twists... I have to admit I didn't see them coming (based on general consensus there are 2 major ones): one is pretty laughable and as it was revealed I immediately see logistic plot holes, but I commend the author for even going there. The other is objectively decent, and actually turns earlier events on their head.

Hidden Pictures will find its audience in readers who either just transitioned from YA to adult fiction, or someone who's new to the thriller/horror genre — everyone else can stay clear.

Edited review!
> Mallory Quinn is a recovering addict. Due to a horrible car accident in which her sister died, she is left in enormous pain so the drug prescribed was Oxycontin, which we know today is highly addictive. When she couldn't get oxy she moves onto heroin and other drugs. However, once she winds up in rehab after so many frightening occurrences, she gets a job as a mother's helper in a very posh neighborhood. Caroline and Ted Maxwell are the parents of Teddy, a sweet five-year-old. All goes well as Mallory and Ted strike up a friendship and Mallory discovers that Teddy likes to draw.
>
> Initially Teddy's drawing is typical of a five-year-old, stick figures and the like. When Mallory comes across a drawing of a man dragging a woman, a dead woman, Mallory knows that something is definitely amiss. As time moves on Teddy gets more proficient at his drawing as they become more detailed and frightening. Teddy also has an imaginary friend he called Anya, and time and circumstances make Mallory believe that the spirit of Anya is operating through the art of Teddy and then invading Mallory also seems also to be influenced by the spirit.
>
> There is definitely something supernatural going on and Mallory is connected somehow. At one point she learns there was an unsolved murder in the woods behind the house. Her neighbor, who is a psychic, turns up dead, there adds another aura to the tale.
>
> Previously, Mallory meets a young man who she grows close to and together they try to figure out the mystery before it is too late.

Well I wish I could say that the end or even the middle, had the same momentum as the beginning, but sadly, that’s not what happened. We went to rolling right along to strange and then ludicrous speed. It seems like the author decided to follow the “kitchen sink” philosophy which of course wound up to have this reader doing tons of 😂!

Think of all the craziness one could and the issues of today and you might come close to the absurdities the author threw at us.

What a huge shame as this book had some things going for it like 🧖‍♀️ 👻And some crazies! 🙀. 🙀

Jan and I listened to this one but 😮 wow, it went off the rails as fast as a 🚂 that lost its brakes.

So buyer beware on this one 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♂️On this one!

Mallory is a young woman just released from rehab and landing a dream job as a nanny for the Maxwells. It comes with a fully furnished small cottage that is nicer than anything she’d ever stayed in, including the halfway house that she’s coming from. On top of the perks, she’s beyond grateful and out to prove herself worthy of taking care of spunky 5 year old Timmy.
After awhile she begins to notice that Timmy’s imaginary friend doesn’t seem so imaginary and there’s something not quite right with Maxwells and their home. With odd occurrences and detrimental revelations, Mallory’s dream job becomes a nightmare.
Hidden Pictures is An edge of the seat mystery with a paranormal element to it. The audiobook is narrated by Suzy Jackson and his voice is amazing and on par with the rhythm of the story,
**spoiler**

I thoroughly enjoyed it. My only critique about this would be how easily enthralled and overzealous Mallory was with the idea of the haunting. She threw away her life changing opportunity on a hunch. Also that she was an addict, but didn’t seem to have many addict tendencies. I grew up around and was classified as one. Her mother not answering the phone for her and changing her number was also overkill. I understand pain, however one thing all loved ones of addicts have in common is the ever present worry that they can die any day, hearing the voice of your child alive is huge, especially since her “addiction” was pretty short lived and stemmed from an accident that she may or may not have been responsible for, but it was pretty clear to everyone that she couldn’t prevent it. Everyone I know, including myself are decades in with addicted loved ones and have been through hell and back and my heart breaks for Mallory having a mother like that, and then to take her back at the snap of her fingers once she got fame as if it ended on a good note. Honestly, it left me with a really ugly feeling, I don’t think an addict would act that way, for many reasons, but I also don’t like that the mother got her back on her terms and Mallory swooned at it, she wasn’t a good mom when she was younger or when she got older, part of Mallory’s recovery should have been to just move on from her and grow into herself. Obviously, you know the writing is that good that it makes you passionate about it haha #justiceformallory. So, for that ending, I gave it 4 stars, however, the story is definitely worth reading and enthralling.

Mallory is just out of rehab and lands a job as a nanny for a 5 year old boy in an affluent suburb of Philadelphia. She is very puzzled by the drawings this little boy makes, and fears it is the reflection of something bad that has happened. The parent are not interested in her ideas, but she pursues it anyway, getting her in big trouble. The struggle to fight addiction, even after rehab is completed, is clearly described in this story. Mallory wonders if she can ever have a "normal" life again. An excellent listen!

📖BOOK REVIEW📖
🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

This is my second book in a short time that centers around a college-aged nanny. Both were enthralling reads, but that’s where the similarities end.

In “Hidden Pictures” the author captivates the audience through paranormal undercurrents that ignite intense emotions.

Mallory is a character you fall in love with despite her flaws. Fresh out of rehab, she’s determined to keep her life on track. She’s sweet and well-intentioned but can’t quite make the correct decisions all the time. And when the consequences hit, they hit hard. I wanted to jump in the book and give her and Teddy both big hugs!

This story caught me by surprise with several of the twists. I switched between the audiobook and ebook. The audiobook narrator is fantastic. It’s a must-read thriller!

Sincere thanks to Macmillan and Jason Rekulak for this complimentary ARC I received through NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

#hiddenpictures #jasonrekulak #netgalley #macmillan #macmillanreadinginsidersclub #readinginsidersclub #inexchangeforreview #macmillanaudio #bookreview #justfinishedreading #paranormalthriller #bookstagrammer #thrilleraddict #honestreview #bookreviewer #lovebooks #thrillersofinstagram #lovereading

This was a fun audiobook to listen to and the mystery of it all kept me engaged from start to finish. The narrator did a great job with infusing suspense into the story. If you enjoy supernatural thrillers, I definitely recommend giving this one a read.

Name of Book: Hidden Pictures
Author: Jason Rekulak
Publisher: Macmillan Audio and Flat Iron Books
Genre: Thriller/Paranormal
Pub Date: May 10, 2022
My Rating: 5 Stars

Book’s promo described this as creepy and warm-hearted mystery.
Mallory Quinn was an amazing high school athletic and given a track athletic scholarship to Penn State. However, when she was injured, she soon becomes a victim of OxyContin. With help she has been clean for 18 months but lost her scholarship and is trying to make a new life for herself. With help of her mentor/coach she has an interview as a live-in nanny for five-year old Teddy Maxwell. The Maxwell’s live in the wealthy area of Spring Brook, New Jersey; they are new to the community moving from Barcelona.
Although there are many very qualified applicants, Mallory has such a delight personality she is given the job.
Now at twenty-one, she is excited as she likes her new job and loves living in the small but comfy guest cottage. Mallory and Teddy hit it off immediately. Teddy loves to draw and is never without his sketchbook. Mallory notices that his drawings are very detailed for a five-year old and the more recent drawings are looking more and more disturbing. Teddy has an imaginary friend named Anya. He states he knows she is not real only pretend. Hmmm

Mitzie the eccentric next door neighbor tells Mallory that the guest cottage has been used for gardening materials but 70 years ago Annie, an artist and cousin of George Barrett who owned the house, lived in the guest cottage. However, when Annie goes missing, it is believed she was murdered and hid in the forest behind the cottage.
The drawings get more and more detailed and more disturbing. Mallory wonders if Teddy’s imaginary friend Anya is Annie!
Mallory confides in Adrian the young good looking landscaper; both he and Mitzie the neighbor have a plan to help decipher the meaning of drawings. They set up an Ouija Spirit Board in hopes of reaching Anya or Annie. Anya does communicate with them but it doesn’t make sense.
Personal Note: I love Ouija Board ~ always totally fun!!

Things get worst for Mallory.
I don’t want to give too much away. This was a 5 star read for me and I give very few 5 star ratings!
Story kept me on the end of the chair.
Fans of authors, Jennifer McMahon and Simone St. James are going to love author, Jason Rekulak!

Narrator Suzy Jackson did an awesome job performing all the characters!


Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 10, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC audiobook.

Description from NetGalley:
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.

I really liked this one. It’s fast paced and had me worried about characters from the get go. It’s spooky and has a few turns both for the story overall but also for Mallory herself. This is a book I just had to keep listening to. The narrator did a fantastic job. I did have a small issue with how religion was used in the book, but it did not impede my enjoyment.

Overall: 4/5

This book was so spooky! I loved every second of it. My one thing is that I think this novel is better enjoyed in a written format. I listen to audios fast and I just think I may have missed some things. I am going to pick up the physical book when it comes out.

This book starts off slow, and I almost gave up. When it started to pick up, it went from a crawl to full running. I’m glad I stuck it out, because that ending was worth it all.
I didn’t expect the story to be as ghosty as it was. There was just enough creepy haunting to make you second guess everything that is happening. I really felt that Mallory’s drug use was going to bring the story down a different path, and I’m glad it didn’t. I don’t usually like books with addicts or former addicts as their main character, but I did like Mallory.
The narrator of the audiobook was perfect. Suzy Jackson is believable with all characters, even the child’s. Sometimes narrators can have a cringey child voice, but not Suzy. I think her voice really kept me listening and not give up on the story.
If you want a good slow burn thriller that sneaks up on you, you will love this book.

This overall just felt average to me and nothing special honestly. I LOVE books with the creepy kids drawing creepy things aspect but this just felt like the typical “he’s drawing creepy things is it a ghost or not let’s spend 80% of the book dragging this out and pondering this” and then suddenly everything just gets thrown in your face super rapidly at the end. It wasn’t bad and it had some good twists at the end but overall just ended up being average and somewhat predictable.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review.

What a creepy concept for a story!

The book description really gives you the bare bones of the book and I was excited to see how it would play out.

This is the story of Mallory, who is recently out of rehab and trying to get her life back on track. She is hired on as the live-in nanny for a little boy, Teddy, and falls in love with caring for him. Everything seems fine until Teddy’s drawings evolve…

Having the audio version, I did potentially miss out on illustrations included within the physical book, but I could still visually see every detail in my minds eye.

The pace of this book was quite steady until the last maybe 15-20% of the book and then things happened very rapidly. Some things were tied up quickly and some things I thought might be important or play a part later were never explained.

I did gain sympathy for Mallory, the protagonist, and really wanted to see how her quest to stay clean would continue and play out. You could really feel all of the emotions going through her; from happiness, to anguish and anxiety.

I did enjoy the paranormal aspect of the story and almost with that there were a little more to it, although it felt fully flushed out as a concept and did give just enough to the reader/listener.

All in all, I thought it was a great concept for a book and enjoyed the audiobook. This story definitely shows you to have faith and trust in your instincts.

Thank you to the author, Jason Rekulak, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the arc audiobook!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Every time I thought I had finally figured it out and understood where the plot was heading I was totally wrong. If you enjoy mysteries and crazy plot twists then you will not regret reading this book.

Yes!! Loved this book from beginning to end! Every time I suspected I knew what a twist was going to be, it would be that and so much more! I listened to the audio version and the narrator was amazing, she added sooo much emotion with her storytelling. Highly, highly recommend!!

I should have dnf'd this book, but I thought it would get better. The dialogue was weird, I didn't care about any of the characters and I didn't like the way that religion was used.

Mallory is a recovering addict when she takes a nanny job with a wealthy family. The five-year-old boy she takes care of loves drawing pictures. When the pictures take a supernatural element, Mallory begins to wonder what is going on and will her secret past also come back to haunt her?

I really liked the first 75% of this book. It is domestic suspense and was well written and I only just had it figured out. However, the last quarter of the book went off the rails. It became completely unbelievable, and it felt like it was just plot twists for the sake of surprise, not in service of the story. I still ending up liking it, but not loving it as I had at first.

I listened to this one and really liked the narrator. I even checked back a few times to see if it was more than one narrator, as the different voices were so well done. I think that the audio version added to my enjoyment of this story.

All in all, this book was not what I was expecting (this is nothing like Rekulak's previous book The Impossible Fortress (which I really liked). I liked that he tried a different genre completely and brought in some supernatural elements, but the end of the book was just not quite right. 3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance audio copy for review.

For starters, I had a tough time connecting with Mallory. At times I didn’t know if she was a high school kid, a college student or an adult however since she struggled with addiction, I know it can mentally and emotionally stunt yourself growth so this may have been intentional by the author but it got infuriating at times as a reader and made it harder for me to grow any emotional attachment to her. The premise of the book was unique to any I’ve read before which is refreshing and the twists were not what I was expecting, I had a hard time with the pace of the story and found it dragging and the writing was just okay which was why it got 3 stars instead of 4. Also, I don’t agree with the horror classification- at best this is a mystery with supernatural/paranormal undertones.

I listened to the audiobook and absolutely loved the narrator! I went into this with high expectations and wasn’t disappointed. I liked the writing style and the characters. The plot twist I definitely did not see coming! It was creepy, atmospheric, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Definitely enjoyed this one.


Mallory Quinn leaves rehab and accepts a job a babysitter in Spring Brook, New Jersey for Caroline and Ted Maxwell. She moves into their adjacent cottage and looks after their five year old son Teddy.

Teddy loves to draw and is frequently found with his pencils and pad. He likes to draw various things such as bunnies and trees. However, one day his drawing take a disturbing turn. A man in the forest dragging a woman’s body. Eventually Teddy’s drawings become more troubling and the simple stick figures turn into professional looking artwork.

Mallory doesn’t know what to make of this but suspects that a supernatural influence is attempting to leave clues about a murder that happened long ago. Mallory joins forces with her wacky neighbor and her handsome new friend to solve the mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

An entertaining ride with an enjoyable narrator. Good for fans of Behind Her Eyes and readers who like their domestic thrillers with a paranormal twist. A recommended purchase in all formats for most collections.