If you’re not a fan of paranormal activity in stories, this probably won’t be one you want to pick up. I usually don’t appreciate suspense/mystery books with really unbelievable elements, but it worked for me in this one. This won’t be a story for everyone, but it was right up my alley. With the help of a neighbor and a newly acquired friend, Mallory tries to figure out what the pictures mean and how they relate to the unsolved murder, but nothing is as it seems! Mallory believes that Teddy’s drawings are related to an unsolved murder that took the life of a woman who lived on the Maxwells property. His artwork depicts unnerving imagery inspired by his relationship with “Anya”, his imaginary friend. While she loves everything about her gig as a nanny, Mallory becomes increasingly worried about Teddy and the disturbing pictures he draws. She develops a great relationship with Teddy, the 5-year-old boy she cares for. Mallory is a recovering drug addict who’s hired as a nanny for an affluent family, the Maxwells, in a New Jersey suburb. In that mode, he executes well and sticks the landing.What a WILD ride this was! Hidden Pictures, by Jason Rekulak is one of those out there kind of mystery stories, but such a fun read nonetheless. There are no shocking twists here, but Rekulak isn’t looking to keep readers up at night he’s holding a mirror up to white, affluent Gen X and asking pointed questions about class, trauma, and horror conventions. How is Anya manipulating Teddy? Could she be the murder victim? And why do Mallory’s concerns provoke such explosive emotion in Teddy’s parents? The plot unfolds at a good clip, and Mallory’s voice is engrossing, if occasionally too writerly for her working-class South Philly roots. Mallory takes Anya seriously, however, especially as Teddy’s art rapidly turns darker and impossibly sophisticated and Mallory learns of a long-ago murder in her guest house quarters.

His uncanny muse/model is his “imaginary friend,” Anya, whom his erudite, politically correct parents dismiss. Narrator Mallory Quinn is a 21-year-old recovering addict getting a second chance as a live-in nanny to five-year-old Teddy Maxwell, a sweet-natured young artist whose wonderfully creepy pictures appear throughout the novel.

Rekulak ( The Impossible Fortress) uses horror as a lens to bring the dark underbelly of suburbia into focus in this gripping supernatural thriller.

Teddy book jason rekulak