Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

51 reviews

ladypuercoloco's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

I got into this one way more than I expected to - not sure why I chose it/how I came by it until I realized it fulfilled a Kindle Challenge requirement for a Goodreads pick.  I read horror/mysteries/thrillers all the time and honestly the blurb sounded a bit familiar to me, but as I got into the book I realized this one really stands out from other nanny horror books I've read.  The supernatural aspects are really well done

"Anya" being the mother was mind-blowing!  I liked the red herring of the mid-century murder plot that wasn't a murder...So many twists and turns came as surprises but even though I marked this spoiler and I seriously doubt anyone cares to read my reviews just in case I won't give more away.

. Having known a few addicts in various stages of use/recovery I really liked the future that was laid out for Mallory and the amount of work she was willing to put in.  This one was a pleasant early January surprise that will be hopefully setting the pace for the year - I LOVE being surprised by plot twists I really don't see coming!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident, Child death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Dysphoria, Addiction, Child abuse, Infertility, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

Overall I don't feel like any particular thing was too graphic but the contents/plot/subplot can be a lot to take in in retrospect. It honestly wasn't until I was looking through the trigger warning list that I realized just how many played a part in this book, but I listed all as mild as none were terribly drawn out. It's a horror book. There are bound to be some horrible things in, especially when it has been an award winner. I rated it just about as high as I ever rate anything - it is excellent at what it does and the elements it is able to work in

marinark's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

The writing in this book is very amatour. Fells more like a creative writing exercise that a novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Transphobia

eswinther's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

sjhowe'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Child abuse

jennabeck13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Genre: Thriller

About 370 pages

Mallory Quinn is a recovering addict who has spent the past two years desperately trying to turn her life around. So when she gets the chance to be a live-in nanny for a picture-perfect family in a quaint New Jersey suburb, she is determined to excel in the position. She gets along great with Teddy, the young boy in the family, and the job seems to be going well. Until one day, she notices some of Teddy’s drawings are a bit disturbing. They show what looks to be a murder… Combining the drawings with a story she heard from a crazy neighbor, Mallory begins to wonder if the house is haunted and if a ghost is using Teddy to communicate its story. She’s not sure how to approach this with the parents as she worries they will think it’s related to her prior drug use, so she sets out independently to figure out what is going on.

WOW. THIS BOOK IS INSANE. I’ve had this on my shelf for a few months but was so nervous to read it because of all the good things I’d heard and was afraid it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, but holy cow, it exceeded them. I won’t go into details for fear of spoiling. But this book was chilling, twisted, and engaging from beginning to end. Rekulak did a terrific job at character development and creating a super eerie setting. I also loved the inclusion of the drawings throughout, so this is definitely one that I recommend picking up a physical copy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Child abuse, Death, and Medical content

carriehaley89's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Addiction, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Infertility

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was so good, I couldn’t put it down. There were so many things that happened that I did not expect in the least. It was a wild ride, especially the last 100 pages or so. This book goes to show that you never know the lengths someone will go to protect their own interests and cover up their own lies and deceit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Deadnaming, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Stalking, Torture, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing

annahamburger's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Drug use, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Classism

Minor: Confinement, Dysphoria, Infertility, Transphobia, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Cursing, Dementia, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Blood, and Infidelity

scarlett_f's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence

ehamlett's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Murder and Child abuse

Minor: Trafficking