Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
funny
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
mysterious
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
Quick Summary:
Hidden Pictures is a fabulous fictional, mysterious, thriller that will make you want to speedily turn each page! I did not see this book as a horror novel, but everyone is scared at different levels! Mallory Quinn is a former drug addict that is turning her life around. After getting clean, she is ready to take on more responsibility. She applies for a babysitting position, watching a 5 year old little boy named Teddy. However, Teddy spends time interacting with his imaginary friend which is not so imaginary.
The Review:
I try very hard to not let other reviews influence me before I read. I saw this book constantly popping up on my social psychological thriller feeds and I thought, “alright I need to know what the hype is about.” Now that being said, after reading I decided I would see what other people thought of the book and, well, it’s a mess! You have many readers and many different sites rating it as a must read of 2022. I’m only 3 years late to the party! But I agree with the masses. This book was a lot of fun to read and below you might see why.
I could not get enough of this book! Every page I was trying to peek ahead to see what was going to happen. At the end of every chapter, I kept telling myself, this will be the last one and then I will go to sleep. I felt like a little kid staying up past her bedtime to figure out what on earth was happening! My husband may have complained a few times to put on my headphones and turn out the light so that he could sleep. Don’t worry, no husbands were harmed in any way during this reading! Jason did an amazing job writing this book and telling the story the way that he did. It was very creative. It was easy to read, it always kept me guessing and wanting more (even after I finished it), and the clues that I may have skimmed over, made complete sense once I finished the book.
The characters were so well written. Character development was superb. I think if Jason would have done any more character development, it would have honestly ruined the story.
As Americans, we love an underdog story. That’s what Mallory is. A former addict, trying to live a healthier life and do the best she can. The whole time I kept thinking, I swear to goodness gracious if she is somehow the sketchy character, I’m going to be so mad. I mean, please don’t make the comeback kid the bad guy! But you will have to read the book to find out! The Maxwell family that Mallory babysits for consists of Caroline (mom), Ted (dad), Teddy (5 year old child), and Anya (the family ghost). Caroline is a dedicated VA psychologist. Ted works in some kind of tech world. Teddy is going to start Kindergarten in the fall. Caroline and Ted need someone to babysit him while they are at work in the meantime. This is where Mallory comes in. She ends up being the one hired, and Mallory moves into the beautifully redone, small cottage in the back yard. In my head, the Maxwell’s family is so carefully crafted. At one point while I was reading, I thought “wow, I wish I could be a part of this family.”
Then there is Mitzi. Mitzi is the neighbor of the Maxwells. She is the crazy, old, racist, eccentric psychic that befriends Mallory. Mitzi is vital in helping Mallory by using her abilities to speak to the dead through a spirit board (Ouija Board). Of course, I cannot forget Adrian. What a supportive character (and boyfriend) he is to Mallory. He is totally relationship material, and he honestly reminded me of my husband when we first started dating. Super caring, super respectful, and super kind. I don’t really want to go into too much more detail of anyone, because I want the reader to experience the kind of interaction I did with each character.
Here's to the spoiler part of the review! Do NOT read if you want to go into this book as blindly as possible.
Now some of the most common complaints are that this book is racist, transphobic, fatphobic, and atheist hating. And to be honest, I read those complaints and was kind of aggravated by them. There is racism, I didn’t interpret any transphobia, fatphobia, or any atheist hating. I think what Jason was trying to write were fictional people that are flawed like living, breathing humans.
Mitzi is racist. That is a common stereotypical trait of many older people. And hell, have you seen the America I am living in in 2025? There are racists everywhere, and not just in one age demographic. Would I have wished that Mallory would have corrected Mitzi when she was racist? Yes, I do. But that is just like real life. So many people will not say anything when a racist comment is said. They think comments but saying it out loud is a different story. That takes courage. And Mallory was someone who was kind of shy and didn’t want to start waves. Remember, she is brand new to this community. Making a good impression is important to her. I am not saying it is right, I am saying that I really think Jason was trying to show people are flawed. Mallory doesn’t think that way. You can hear her inner monologue.
I understand where some readers could interpret this book as transphobic. However, the author wrote Teddy as a boy because the Maxwells were hiding Flora (the girl). They KIDNAPPED a girl and thought it would be much easier to hide a girl if they changed her to a boy. Now this is messed up for many reasons… first, they freaking kidnapped a child. Second, they forced a girl to be a boy. Now, if anyone listens to a truly transphobic asshole, they will say things like “their parents are forcing a child to change genders” or “parents won’t love their children unconditionally if they are a different gender than what the parents wanted.” This thinking process isn’t rational at all. These people make shit up to fit their belief and sometimes their religious ways. As my friend says, “you can’t fix stupid.” The Maxwells were forcing Flora to be a boy to conceal the fact that the adult Maxwells are kidnappers and murders. It is much easier to hide a girl by making them a boy, when the world is looking for a girl. It was not, in my opinion, because they wanted a boy. To all my trans friends out there I see you, I love you, I respect you and your journey.
As for fatphobia, the only thing I can think of is when Mallory made a comment about her mother losing weight and how her mom had been fat because she was lazy when Mallory was living with her. There are two trains of thought I have. First, Mallory may have just been describing her mom. But secondly, if there was any malice in Mallory’s thinking, it may be because she felt like her mom abandoned her even after she had gotten clean. I don’t remember thinking anything about it. I am a heavier woman, and I don’t love the descriptor, but I mean it’s also a way to describe or distinguish me from other people. I believe Mallory was demonstrating about how her mom changed, as she had, over the years and had started taking care of herself. As for other characters, I can only think of Mallory using terms like slim or skinny or fit to describe other characters.
Mallory is a religious woman. She goes to church, and she also goes to NA meetings which are usually held in church basements. The Maxwells are atheists and in their house rules, they ask Mallory to keep her religious beliefs as well any supernatural thoughts to herself. This was asked politely, and Mallory didn’t have a problem with that at all. Any parent has the right to ask a nanny to keep certain information to themselves and respect their rules. That comes with the territory. The Maxwells had reasons to hide religion and supernatural beliefs from Teddy because they want him to keep his mouth shut. They had reasons for being strict in their rules. They are trying to keep a very dark secret. This obviously wasn’t to protect Teddy, but to protect themselves.
This book was well written and a great page turner. It was one of those books that when I finished, I was going through everything that I had just read and piecing all the foreshadowing and clues that were within the book together. I will give it a 5/5. I may even pick this book up again in the future.
If you are interested in reading/discussing books that I have reviewed or would like to read along with books that I am currently reading feel free to check out my blog!
https://treatyoshelfbookreviews.blogs...
Hidden Pictures is a fabulous fictional, mysterious, thriller that will make you want to speedily turn each page! I did not see this book as a horror novel, but everyone is scared at different levels! Mallory Quinn is a former drug addict that is turning her life around. After getting clean, she is ready to take on more responsibility. She applies for a babysitting position, watching a 5 year old little boy named Teddy. However, Teddy spends time interacting with his imaginary friend which is not so imaginary.
The Review:
I try very hard to not let other reviews influence me before I read. I saw this book constantly popping up on my social psychological thriller feeds and I thought, “alright I need to know what the hype is about.” Now that being said, after reading I decided I would see what other people thought of the book and, well, it’s a mess! You have many readers and many different sites rating it as a must read of 2022. I’m only 3 years late to the party! But I agree with the masses. This book was a lot of fun to read and below you might see why.
I could not get enough of this book! Every page I was trying to peek ahead to see what was going to happen. At the end of every chapter, I kept telling myself, this will be the last one and then I will go to sleep. I felt like a little kid staying up past her bedtime to figure out what on earth was happening! My husband may have complained a few times to put on my headphones and turn out the light so that he could sleep. Don’t worry, no husbands were harmed in any way during this reading! Jason did an amazing job writing this book and telling the story the way that he did. It was very creative. It was easy to read, it always kept me guessing and wanting more (even after I finished it), and the clues that I may have skimmed over, made complete sense once I finished the book.
The characters were so well written. Character development was superb. I think if Jason would have done any more character development, it would have honestly ruined the story.
As Americans, we love an underdog story. That’s what Mallory is. A former addict, trying to live a healthier life and do the best she can. The whole time I kept thinking, I swear to goodness gracious if she is somehow the sketchy character, I’m going to be so mad. I mean, please don’t make the comeback kid the bad guy! But you will have to read the book to find out! The Maxwell family that Mallory babysits for consists of Caroline (mom), Ted (dad), Teddy (5 year old child), and Anya (the family ghost). Caroline is a dedicated VA psychologist. Ted works in some kind of tech world. Teddy is going to start Kindergarten in the fall. Caroline and Ted need someone to babysit him while they are at work in the meantime. This is where Mallory comes in. She ends up being the one hired, and Mallory moves into the beautifully redone, small cottage in the back yard. In my head, the Maxwell’s family is so carefully crafted. At one point while I was reading, I thought “wow, I wish I could be a part of this family.”
Then there is Mitzi. Mitzi is the neighbor of the Maxwells. She is the crazy, old, racist, eccentric psychic that befriends Mallory. Mitzi is vital in helping Mallory by using her abilities to speak to the dead through a spirit board (Ouija Board). Of course, I cannot forget Adrian. What a supportive character (and boyfriend) he is to Mallory. He is totally relationship material, and he honestly reminded me of my husband when we first started dating. Super caring, super respectful, and super kind. I don’t really want to go into too much more detail of anyone, because I want the reader to experience the kind of interaction I did with each character.
Here's to the spoiler part of the review! Do NOT read if you want to go into this book as blindly as possible.
Now some of the most common complaints are that this book is racist, transphobic, fatphobic, and atheist hating. And to be honest, I read those complaints and was kind of aggravated by them. There is racism, I didn’t interpret any transphobia, fatphobia, or any atheist hating. I think what Jason was trying to write were fictional people that are flawed like living, breathing humans.
Mitzi is racist. That is a common stereotypical trait of many older people. And hell, have you seen the America I am living in in 2025? There are racists everywhere, and not just in one age demographic. Would I have wished that Mallory would have corrected Mitzi when she was racist? Yes, I do. But that is just like real life. So many people will not say anything when a racist comment is said. They think comments but saying it out loud is a different story. That takes courage. And Mallory was someone who was kind of shy and didn’t want to start waves. Remember, she is brand new to this community. Making a good impression is important to her. I am not saying it is right, I am saying that I really think Jason was trying to show people are flawed. Mallory doesn’t think that way. You can hear her inner monologue.
I understand where some readers could interpret this book as transphobic. However, the author wrote Teddy as a boy because the Maxwells were hiding Flora (the girl). They KIDNAPPED a girl and thought it would be much easier to hide a girl if they changed her to a boy. Now this is messed up for many reasons… first, they freaking kidnapped a child. Second, they forced a girl to be a boy. Now, if anyone listens to a truly transphobic asshole, they will say things like “their parents are forcing a child to change genders” or “parents won’t love their children unconditionally if they are a different gender than what the parents wanted.” This thinking process isn’t rational at all. These people make shit up to fit their belief and sometimes their religious ways. As my friend says, “you can’t fix stupid.” The Maxwells were forcing Flora to be a boy to conceal the fact that the adult Maxwells are kidnappers and murders. It is much easier to hide a girl by making them a boy, when the world is looking for a girl. It was not, in my opinion, because they wanted a boy. To all my trans friends out there I see you, I love you, I respect you and your journey.
As for fatphobia, the only thing I can think of is when Mallory made a comment about her mother losing weight and how her mom had been fat because she was lazy when Mallory was living with her. There are two trains of thought I have. First, Mallory may have just been describing her mom. But secondly, if there was any malice in Mallory’s thinking, it may be because she felt like her mom abandoned her even after she had gotten clean. I don’t remember thinking anything about it. I am a heavier woman, and I don’t love the descriptor, but I mean it’s also a way to describe or distinguish me from other people. I believe Mallory was demonstrating about how her mom changed, as she had, over the years and had started taking care of herself. As for other characters, I can only think of Mallory using terms like slim or skinny or fit to describe other characters.
Mallory is a religious woman. She goes to church, and she also goes to NA meetings which are usually held in church basements. The Maxwells are atheists and in their house rules, they ask Mallory to keep her religious beliefs as well any supernatural thoughts to herself. This was asked politely, and Mallory didn’t have a problem with that at all. Any parent has the right to ask a nanny to keep certain information to themselves and respect their rules. That comes with the territory. The Maxwells had reasons to hide religion and supernatural beliefs from Teddy because they want him to keep his mouth shut. They had reasons for being strict in their rules. They are trying to keep a very dark secret. This obviously wasn’t to protect Teddy, but to protect themselves.
This book was well written and a great page turner. It was one of those books that when I finished, I was going through everything that I had just read and piecing all the foreshadowing and clues that were within the book together. I will give it a 5/5. I may even pick this book up again in the future.
If you are interested in reading/discussing books that I have reviewed or would like to read along with books that I am currently reading feel free to check out my blog!
https://treatyoshelfbookreviews.blogs...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Abandonment
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-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
i read this really fast so id say i did enjoy it and it did lowk make me feel scared sometimes and the drawings were actually pretty creepy. the twist wasnt super shocking but it was still good imo. only thing is i did feel super disconnected from the main character like even at the end of the book i still feel like i dont know who she is. it feels almost like she has no personality. i did hav fun reading tho and the ending made me feel so sad for mallory
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated