Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

66 reviews

zosiablue's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

I just...😬. I don't know! This was a fun thriller with the added bonus of beautiful drawings interspersed. But the twists were so improbable, the characters so cringily stereotyped, and it didn't land. If the author had leaned into the genre instead of trying to elevate it, I think he would've been more successful. Instead, it's kind of a ghost story, psycho-thriller, addict's redemption tale, and class commentary mushed into an admittedly interesting framework. But it just all felt...off.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Addiction, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Alcohol, and Mental illness

boba_n_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I thought this book was good before it hit the plot twist. But once we got there OH MAN did it reel me in!! Usually I can fairly accurately predict the end of thrillers, but this one kept me guessing.

At first, it reminded me of Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. There are some similarities such as the nanny/babysitter and supernatural elements, but Rekulak made this a story all his own. Once you meet Mallory, Teddy, Caroline, and Ted, you’ll want to finish their story to the bitter end. 

When we found out Teddy was a girl who had been kidnapped, my mind was BLOWN. I knew there was some sort of ghost/spirit involved, but I never would have guessed it was the dead mother. And it just keeps getting crazier after that when you find out about Caroline and Ted’s abduction story. I also like that the supernatural element wasn’t proven wrong but just added to the story as “anya” helped to kill Caroline and protect Mallory and Teddy at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

brit7930's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Drug use

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, and Death

Minor: Infertility

blacksphinx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, and Addiction

Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Car accident, and Gaslighting

szyca's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Addiction, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Grief, Infertility, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

elizpalmtree's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, and Grief

becphe's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Engrossing story with a narrator who could possibly be unreliable, keeps you guessing. Other characters unfold slowly making the story suspenseful, interesting and very entertaining.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Infertility

moodreadererin's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Stalking, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Racism

Minor: Medical content, Car accident, and Infertility

xenalia's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.0

I loved most of this book. It kept my interest. It was creepy, mainly bc of the pics. It kept me guessing. 

However, the main character’s name bothered me. Mallory Quinn? You mean like, Quinn Mallory? From Sliders? (90’s tv show with Jerry O’Connell) That was all I could think every time I heard her name. As a huge fan of Sliders, I really wanted her to say “yea, my mom was a huge fan of the show and named me after the main character) 
(Ok. I know that’s a stupid thing to let bother me) 

Anyway, I kept trying to figure out what was going on, who is the ghost, what does it want, who did it?! 

I loved this book up until the last part. Then, well, I didn’t hate it but it seemed like a different book. It didn’t line up with how I wanted the book to end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Addiction, Grief, and Infidelity

jesshart8's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Cursing, Car accident, Infertility, and Violence