Pictures of You, Josh Malerman: A Review

Josh Malerman is an autobuy author for me. Incidents around the House is one of my favorite reads in the last few years. Inspection is phenemonal. So when this dropped in my inbox. I was thrilled.

Pictures of You gave me Yellow Wallpaper x From x Tusk vibes in the best possible way.

Emily is abducted by a deranged woman named Helen who is hellbent on creating a masterpiece. Jack searches the strange small town for his missing partner. Without spoilers, I will say that this was a ride. Malerman does such a good job of creating a sense of unease through dialogue and observation. At no point early on can you get a clear sense of what is really happening. Is Emily hallucinating? Is this a psychological breakdown? Is she truly in danger?

That tension paired with the sense of dread he builds in Jack's POV carried the unknowns and kept me turning pages. The introspective moments and past reflections worked really well to develop Emily's character in quiet moments and tied in well with the ultimate conflict.

Pictures of You is a study in creation and the line separating genius from insanity. It will leave you questioning the depths of passion and depravity, the mechanics of blind devotion, and feels extremely relevant in a time when human creation is challenged by the rise of AI.

A solid read and would recommend to anyone who loves a good psycholical suspense element in their horror. Huge thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.