Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

420 reviews

_morganmpalmer's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

kduh32's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Murder

chelbelle122's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The end portions feel a bit rushed and contrived but I was gripped and steadily reading for much of this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

A large aspect of the conclusion of this book’s plot could be described as potentially transphobic, making a kid conform to a gender identity that isn’t their own

cloudwalkerbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

sarathelara's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility and Car accident

mrs_bookdragon's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse and Murder

aprescriptiontoread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I had no idea what HIDDEN PICTURES was about before I started. I got a little nervous when I realized there was a creepy kid (not my favorite trope), but I’m so glad I stuck with the story. I was able to read it in a day. I didn’t want to put it down. It has a unique point of view (there are actually drawings in the book that are clues). There is what seems like an unreliable narrator, but unlike many others in the genre you find yourself trusting her versus assuming she’s missing something. Only reason I didn’t go full five stars was for a romance plot that didn’t feel necessary. I’m excited to read more by Rekulak. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Kidnapping

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Car accident, and Death of parent

fairytalefootnotes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Narrator(s): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tropes, etc: Haunted, Child Sees Things, Recovering Addict FMC

POV: Single, 1st Person

Cliffhanger?: No

Brief Summary: Recovering addict Mallory is looking for a new start after rehab and is thrilled when the Maxwell family hires her as a live-in babysitter for their son Teddy. Things are going great until Teddy begins to draw unsettling pictures dictated to him by his “imaginary friend.”

The Praise: I really enjoyed this! Mallory was a really great character and was easy to root for. Teddy was so cute and I loved the relationship Teddy developed with Mallory. The story in general was unique and surprisingly sweet at times. I also really liked the fact that Mallory’s story was so real. She wasn’t a troublemaker or from a bad home or anything people usually assume about people suffering from addiction, she was a promising student athlete whose life was upended by an injury and guilt. It was refreshing to see.

The audiobook narrator did a great job as well!

The Critique: I can’t really think of anything I really disliked about the book!

Final Thoughts: This was creepy, twisty, and surprisingly sweet. A really great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Infertility

nailartklaudia's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Drug use and Murder