Reviews with content warning for Racism - Hidden Pictures

I really would love it if we left the transgender plot twist at the end of horror stories behind. It’s exhausting. Young Christian junkie woman comes to nanny a wealthy woke atheist vegetarian family who drive Priuses to care for their child. The mother literally purchases a book for the very young child which includes instructions on oral and anal sex and sees no problem with it. The family is a joke, the author is depicting these parents as caricatures of how he sees liberal people. The child in the end turns out to be transgender, but no wait actually it’s just a poor little girl that was kidnapped and FORCED to transition by the evil parents and this poor child is just begging to be a girl. I think it’s fucking deplorable to use a dangerous political strawman in a horror novel. It’s not over though, the whimsical spiritual fortune teller next door is addicted to opium and is racist toward the main family’s Mexican lawn care providers. Everyone that is Christian is hot and fit, anyone not fitting that mold is fat or has something else wrong with them. Don’t recommend this book.

Content Warnings

ollie_jay's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

raeofsunshine's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

keen's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

whitlindeman's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

1.0

I never write reviews, so this isn't a review. It's a warning.
This book is full of weird conservative/alt-right dog whistles and transphobia. Steer clear, unless you're into that sort of thing (ew).

Content Warnings

snsdpop's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

mj_86's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

2.5

Finished reading: October 29th 2024

"When you eliminate the impossible, all that remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

I had a fantastic time reading this author's debut back when I read it in 2017, and I've been looking forward to read more of his writing ever since. I'm still not sure why it took me over two years to finally get to his second book Hidden Pictures... The blurb made it sound like a fitting read for Halloween month, and it was the perfect excuse to finally pick it up. Things started out well enough and I was really enjoying my time with this book despite some red flags. Sadly, the plot made a drastic turn around the 70-80% mark that completely ruined the story for me. Not only were the twists absolutely ridiculous, but they also left me with a bad taste in my mouth and the main gender-related twist was borderline offensive. Transphobia, racism, discrimination against atheists, fatphobia... This story seemed to have a particular right-wing political agenda, and this not only made me dislike certain characters but also ruined the reading experience for me. It's such a shame, because the premise itself is fantastic and I can't deny that I was really enjoying myself during most of the book despite the previously mentioned red flags present throughout the story. I also loved the illustrations, which really complemented the plot... I gave Hidden Pictures an extra star for them, but the rest pretty much ended in a trainwreck. I do hope his newest story has less of a political angle, because I will probably have to give up his writing otherwise.

Content Warnings

More...