2024 the best horror novels review

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GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER

“I loved it." ―Stephen King

From Edgar Award-finalist Jason Rekulak comes a wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, for fans of Stranger Things and Riley Sager, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

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 save Teddy before it’s too late.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Flatiron Books; First Edition (June 6, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250819350
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250819352
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.35 x 1.15 x 8.25 inches
Reviewer: Penelope
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great story
Review: I enjoyed this story. It was entertaining and I liked Mallory's character.The book was a quick read, and I recommend it.

Reviewer: SeattleSue
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting Plot, Good Storytelling
Review: I enjoyed this mystery with supernatural overtones and thought it was well-written. The characters, in my opinion, were well-developed and seemed true to their parts. Some foreshadowing seemed obvious, but I think it made some of the final twists even more unexpected. It’s a surprisingly bittersweet novel as well. I enjoyed it and would recommend as a fun book that is easy to read, has some ghost horror, an interesting main character, and reads as a good mystery.

Reviewer: Terry
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: What a Book!
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Mikell
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent read!
Review: I could not put this book down from the time I started it. It only took me less than 24 hours to read it and I enjoyed having the pictures for reference, it made the story more realistic!

Reviewer: RosemanticReads
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I'm looking forward to reading Jason's upcoming release!
Review: I REALLY enjoyed this book. Think, bought it on Audible to listen on the way to work but got hooked so I bought it on Kindle so I could binge it at home good😂I like how the author created a backstory for the character that would make it easy for others to doubt her when she started having concerns about Teddy.Catherine and Ted seem like such wonderful parents. Ted was a little rough around the edges and Catherine is a successful psychologist specializing in substance abuse and recovery. It's clear that while Catherine adores Teddy, she's struggling with the guilt of being a working mother.This book had me stressing the entire time because I didn't know whether these strange things happening in the house were real or just a symptom of the FMC relapsing. I know that was the intention behind her backstory and the author wanted us to feel that way.I enjoyed the flow of the book, and how it kept you guessing until the end. I wasn't expecting that twist at the end. While I was disapointed with how things were wrapped up, I also found them realistic. It makes sense that Teddy wouldn't want to continue having a relationship with the FMC after all the trauma they went through.Overall I thought this was a wonderful book, and I'm looking forward to reading Jason's upcoming release!

Reviewer: Another Read By Angie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: My Rating : ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Mesmerizing StarsY’all I loved this book , it was so different and I was instantly enamoured and was fully committed to this unique and memorable story.“If you start poking your noses into family secrets, someone may bite them off .”This is my second read by Jason and I’ve learned that his writing style for me is like medicine for my eyes . His writing. Is so descriptive and visual that I truly feel I am cast as a shadow following the narrator through the story.Mallory is a very likeable character that is 18 months sober and is being interviewed for a nanny position her sponsor has landed for her .She is so nervous and desperately wants a second chance at life and putting her past behind her .Quickly things get crazy weird and there is a sense of super natural threads webbed though out the story and boy let me tell yah things get wild & SO TWISTED I think my neighbours heard my gasps !!If your looking for an interesting Unputdownable super natural thriller , look no further Hidden Pictures is great story telling at its finest and I now know I will read everything @jasonrekulak writes 🖤QOTD~ Are you artistic, good a drawing ? I’m terrible at drawing and truly admire those who can 🎨!!

Reviewer: iamkilin
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Me encantó el libro, no pude dejar de leer, lo terminé en un día. Lo recomiendo si te gusta el suspenso.

Reviewer: MsHaniaK
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: What??? I actually can’t believe that I went from “this book is so predictable” and snickering at it being a “TikTok sensation” to crying at the end and rating it 5 stars!!!I honestly thought it would be another “imaginary friend” scary story.. I was so wrong!!This book was plotted so well! I have to admit some of my suspicions came to be true, and some parts were soooooo dramatic (lol) but when a book makes me feel this way, it deserves the high rating! This is SO NOT just another ghost story! This was a very compelling and immersive read with very likeable characters and some good drawings too! This book can be easily described as “hard to put down”. I read this on my kindle and I ONLY EVER read my kindle at work. Not with this book as I found myself reaching for it even when I was home and that says a lot!Read it! It was such a fun read!!! I have a fantastic time with it!

Reviewer: Bianca
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I think I finished the book in 2 days LOL. Really good book, page turner. Wont expect the end turn.Good read!! Cant wait for his upcoming new book coming.

Reviewer: MATZBACH
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a masterpiece I loved it wow it’s everything you could want from a horror book, and I loved the drawn aspects