English language

Published June 23, 2022 by Little, Brown Book Group Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-7515-8371-7
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2 stars (1 review)

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, 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.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and …

7 editions

Review of 'Hidden Pictures' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I did win this book via a Goodreads giveaway

This started out pretty solid and went downhill from either the halfway point or, perhaps coincidentally, as soon as I set it down and thought about it a bit.

No spoilers; I hate spoilers for thrillers.

Just note that the main plot has some holes you could drive a train through and the ending is sketchy and potentially offensive? I wasn't really offended by it but I can definitely see a valid argument for that, and even if it wasn't, it was bad. Just. Not good at all.

I did get attached to both Mallory and Teddy and that was enough for me to finish the book. I don't want to say it is horrid, but with plot holes and an ending that retroactively makes the plot holes even bigger, it's hard to recommend it against some of the other released …

Subjects

  • American literature