With a slow start to the New Year and so many snow days (and no snow days), getting my first book of 2025 under my belt was no problem at all. I chose Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak. This one had me hooked from the start. It was engaging, just the right amount of spooky and had some great twists and turns. There are also illustrations throughout the book that add to the story so this is one you really need to pick up and read!

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.
Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.
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. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.
Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.
I’ve been carrying The House in the Cerulean Sea around the house but it’s been a bit of a slow start for me. What’s on your bedside?

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I’m currently reading Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie (yes, the Today Show anchor). It’s really good, and a really easy read that doesn’t have to be read in any particular order.