Strange Pictures
This book is advertised as a mystery-horror. I'm not sure about the horror part, other than a few gorey deaths, but there is a mystery to unravel and a well-crafted thriller atmosphere here. The story is well-told and kept me looking forward to coming back to read the next portion of the book.
From the publisher:
An exploration of the macabre, where the seemingly mundane takes on a terrifying significance. . . .
A pregnant woman's sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning.
A child's picture of his home contains a dark secret message.
A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbithole that will reveal a horrifying reality.
Structured around these nine childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the mystery behind each and the over-arching backstory that connects them all. Strange Pictures is the internationally bestselling debut from mystery horror YouTube sensation Uketsu—an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan's most talked about contemporary authors.
The author does an excellent job of parceling out the pieces of the mystery bit by bit with excellent pacing. I felt, through much of the book, as though I were really learning the details of the murder along with the characters. Multiple points of view are handled well throughout the book, without becoming distracting or confusing.
Though the main focus is, of course, the mystery that needs solving, the book does touch on some larger human themes, such as the lingering effects of abuse and trauma. Characters who otherwise might have been easily forgotten or written off are made much more interesting and relatable, if not any more likable, because of the revelations shared about them.
This would be an easy book to sit down and read right through in one sitting. If you don't mind a bit of blood and the darker side of the human psyche and are up for an excellent puzzle to solve, Strange Pictures is right up your alley.
