Obviously not recommended by this reader. Topping off this delight was a very long confession monologue, which automatically knocks a star off my rating. I expect some implausibility in my reading but there’s a tipping point and this book exceeded it. Along the way the author threw in a kitchen sink full of social issues, and not-as-subtle-as-he-thought political and religious jabs. I laughed and my eyes rolled because it was so absurd. The author did not intend it to be funny. To think this could have been kept a secret is eye-rolling ridiculous.Įach new revelation made me laugh, but not in a good way. I’m telling you there is zero chance of Mallory not knowing the truth within hours of starting her job. The parents apparently have a personality transplant - or maybe they are inhabited by aliens? Because at this point literally NOTHING they do makes any sense whatsoever. The middle of the book had a YA feel (perhaps because this was the author's first book for adults?) and Mallory was a bit too perfect for someone with her history, but my reading buddy, Marialyce, and I continued on.Īt around 75-80% it turned into a dumpster fire. Are dark forces at work to bring secrets to light? With the help of a couple of new friends in the neighborhood she sets out to uncover the mystery. His parents, Caroline and Ted are Type A overprotective and uptight, but she and Teddy bond and they spend their days happily in each other’s company.īut, before long, Teddy begins to draw strange pictures of a gruesome murder, and Mallory learns of the house’s dark past. Having recently completed a stint in rehab, Mallory takes a job as nanny to 5-year-old Teddy. Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force. Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy. Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. From Edgar Award-finalist Jason Rekulak comes a wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, for fans of Stranger Things and Riley Sager, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

Jason rekulak hidden pictures