Hidden Pictures: A Novel Hardcover – May 10, 2022

Mallory was a runner in high school, the sixth fastest runner in her age group in her state. Her future looked bright. She had a full ride scholarship to a highly rated university until she suffers a common but painful injury and is given pain pills. She is injured again, and this time the pills aren't enough. She is introduced to much harder drugs, and soon is an addict. After a cab driver revives her when she eventually overdoses, Mallory fights hard to regain her sobriety.Now 21, Mallory is due to leave the sober house where she has lived while transitioning from active addict to an addict who is 20 months sober. But she has nowhere to go: her mother has washed her hands of Mallory due to her addiction; as have all her friends.Seeing her dilemma, her sponsor and new running coach, recommends her for a position as a nanny for a young child before the child starts kindergarten in the fall. She gets the job and her future looks promising.Mallory is the kind of babysitter I would have wanted for my kids, even with her past as a drug addict. Her addiction history is buried deep in the book, and explains why her recovery coach was willing to recommend her for the job. My heart broke for her. It isn't the last time it was broken reading the book.As she starts her new job, where her new employer is fully aware of her addiction and hard won recovery, Mallory falls in love with her new charge. As she and the child bond, Mallory sees her employers have the lifestyle she could have had, and lost due to her past.The child starts giving Mallory pictures he draws during his Quiet Time (the Hidden Pictures in the title). They start as the typical scribbling of a young child, progressing to vivid and detailed works of art. Mallory soon realizes it isn’t her charge who is drawing them.The drawings definitely add to the creepy atmosphere of the book as it pulls you deeper into the mystery of who drew them and why: Mallory's charge or the woman who allegedly haunts the house.Mallory is a young woman I can identify with. The author brings her story to the reader as someone who deserves sympathy, especially as the book continues. She meets people in the neighborhood, including a man who is attractive and seems to admire Mallory. Mallory, ashamed of her past, tells a story to the new people in her life which is widely different than the truth. Her backstory, when shown to be false, slows others from whom she later needs help.The parents are, at first, people who want only the best for their child. However, as the drawings become more detailed, the mother begins to change her attitude and hides the child's drawing material. I come to despise this woman.As the drawings become more detailed, Mallory becomes determined to discover who is drawing them and why. She learns a woman was murdered in the small cottage at the back of her employers' property, and Mallory becomes convinced this is the key to the mysterious drawings.This book has twists and turns that left me gasping as I turned each page, revealing more of the mystery of the drawings, thinking "No, that can't be right." After the first twist (I can't reveal because it would be a spoiler), which changed the mystery into something completely different than what I expected, and I was hooked.The pacing of the story never lags. The author carefully hides the full plot until the last chapter which is one year later. The storyline is complete. The end was my last heartbreak. There is no happily ever after for Mallory. Although her future looks promising, she won't forget the summer she spent babysitting and the love she had developed with her charge.Hidden Pictures was beautifully written. It keeps the reader guessing without the reader knowing they are guessing until he makes a twist or turn.I can hear the book calling to me to reread it as I write. I will, as soon as the echoes die away. Readers of fast paced, non-stop guessing should add this book to their pile of To Be Read. I am sorry it took me so long to read it.

I thought this was a pretty exciting thriller/supernatural horror novel in that the author manages to keep the reader guessing and keeps them on their heels for a good portion of the plot.I suppose with this style of genre at points a reader’s likeability for the novel (or lack thereof) rests on their willingness to suspend a certain amount of disbelief, and that is certainly the case here with Hidden Pictures. I overlooked a few of these “jump the shark” moments because in the grand scheme of things this was a mostly effectively done mystery with some intense and creepy moments.One of the things that works, in my opinion, is how it is told from Mallory’s point of view. Mallory definitely comes across as a sympathetic character, however, given her past troubles and history, there is a level of indefiniteness in what she is telling us: Are we to be completely trusting her judgement? Or is there a level of cloudiness or murkiness that skews what is real? It is that gray area, that doubt cast, which keeps us guessing as to what is reality and what is illusion. Had this been told via third person, I don’t think the book would have had the same effect.But obviously, the pictures that Teddy presents to Mallory are simply one of the most effective elements contained within, and add an entirely new dimension to this genre. The illustrations go from innocent to cryptic to quite disturbing and alarming. Alongside Mallory’s story she tells us, these illustrations give way to another disturbing story that presents itself, one that lingers in the background but comes into focus. The pictures take on a life of their own in some respects, and lead to a frantic and chaotic finish.Overall, Hidden Pictures is one of those hyped-up thrillers that mostly lives up to the billing in my opinion. It has a unique quality in being an “illustrated mystery” and it was definitely a page turner with a dark and unsettling atmosphere.This would be one definitely to pick up during Halloween season.

Hidden Pictures hooked me from the very first chapter. It blends mystery, suspense, and a subtle supernatural edge in a way that kept me flipping pages late into the night. The premise—a nanny noticing eerie changes in a child’s drawings—sounds simple but unfolds into something much deeper and darker.The pacing is tight, the characters feel believable, and there are actual illustrations woven into the story, which adds a unique and immersive element. It’s rare for a thriller to use visuals so effectively without feeling gimmicky.If you like psychological thrillers with just the right amount of eerie tension and a few twists you won’t see coming, this is a must-read. I flew through it in two days and recommended it to three friends by the next morning.