Hidden Pictures - Jason Rekulak

Horror

Rating: 9/10

A creepy as hell and wildly inventive ghost story that delivers a read perfect for the heat of long summer days or the early chill of fall.  One that will require a rather sparse review to avoid any unintended spoilers.

Fresh out of rehab, Mallory takes a job as a summer nanny for five-year-old Teddy. A sweet boy with a vivid imagination and a love of drawing.  As the drawings Teddy brings down after his daily quiet time grow steadily more sinister and unsettling, Mallory is determined to figure out why. When Teddy declares that his invisible friend is the one drawing the pictures, she has no idea that this is just the start of strange incidents careening her way.

As Mallory starts to feel someone, or something, watching her at night, she will find herself questioning what is real. She has a history of delusions after all, and she may be spiraling.  And then there’s the fact that no one believes what she’s uncovered, least of all Teddy’s parents.

I loved the nostalgic aura of classic ghost story the author imbued in this book and the wonderful characters he cast in it! With a pace that never lets up, I hope that you will find the ending as unexpected as I did.

Kudos to the author for including the drawings from Teddy, which offer up another conduit of clues for the reader, besides those formed by words of course.

P.S.  Pay close attention to the drawings!  I’m mad at myself for not going back to look at them all together before the big reveal. Hindsight as the saying goes…

Book Pairing(s): The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf, The Shining by Stephen King, The Troop by Nick Cutter