Pictures of You by Josh Malerman is a meta horror novel written like a thriller, all about art. Have you ever seen something so beautiful that you just had to have it, even if it was a person? Pictures of You tells a horror story about a living piece of art, a person who is unwillingly turned into art.
The horror of being an unwilling living piece of art is terrifying, especially when it is as unhinged as the kidnapper. She is an artist who is unsure of herself and what she is trying to display. She has a cult leader mindset and is jealous of anyone who has artistic talent.
The scenes with the kidnapper and kidnapped are the best in the book. I wish the novel would have stayed in this space more, but it is written like a cat and mouse story, so we have to have the chase, which did not work at all for me.
The chase is all about trying to find the missing woman. It is written like a thriller, but there were no thrills. I never felt the urgency of finding the woman. The emotional connection was not there. Malerman tried, but it just did not work for me.
The reader gets a little bit of information from the chase, but it would have been better summed up instead of taking the reader away from the better scenes. The scenes go on way too long.
The novel has a great beginning. The first 25% was peak Malerman creepiness. Then the chase happens, and the novel never recovers. The pace was great at the start, but for me, it went away, and it was hard to get back to.
The ending will be the main divider for Pictures of You. It is meta and artistic, which fits the book, but for me, it was not satisfying. I think maybe the ending was too meta for me. It will make you think. I just don’t know if I get it.
It was a statement art piece from an unhinged, crazy person.
For all the reasons this novel did not work for me, the one that did is the theme of framing. The kidnapper creates art by holding an empty frame, only seeing through this frame of mind. The story is also about changing your frame of mind to look at the beauty of everything.
Pictures of You was first published on September 8, 2026, by Del Rey.
Why did I read Pictures of You by Josh Malerman?
I’m a huge Josh Malerman fan. He has delivered two books in my top 50 of all-time reads with Bird Box and Incidents Around the House.
Malerman is a writer who tries new things. I will not like everything he does, but no novel is the same. He is one of my auto-read authors. He is also on my top list to get books signed by.
I requested an ARC through NetGalley and was happy to get accepted. I got rejected from the last two Malerman books I requested.
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a copy.
Plot Summary:
Emily and Jack are on a getaway to a small town by a lake in Michigan. They spend the night laughing and bar hopping, but when Emily wakes up, Jack is not in sight.
She is in a different room she has never been in before, wearing a dress she has never worn. She is being lit by a spotlight she thinks is the sun.
She sees a silhouette of a woman looking at her through an empty frame, angrily asking her to be still.
She is part of art she didn’t consent to. And where is her boyfriend?
What I Liked:
The first act, where everything is getting discovered about how Emily was taken and the mystery about the kidnapper, was great. It was great discovery writing, and I was intrigued.
I liked the flashback scene. I won’t say too much due to spoilers, but it was a great scene. I felt it was too good and could have been foreshadowed a bit or had the scene happen in parts.
I loved the theme and the way Malerman “frames” it. He is a great theme writer.
I liked what happened to the kidnapper, but I wanted it explained more so I could feel the full impact of the ending and the artistry.
Malerman does Easter Eggs for Goblin and Inspection in the story
What I Disliked:
The momma’s boy cop annoyed me. It fit the small town, but he was just a horrible character that didn’t have enough character development for me to care.
Jack is a character I liked when he was with Emily, but solo, he was too aloof about the situation he was in. I wanted to see or at least feel some panic that I never did, so I didn’t care for him.
The ending was just too meta for me to enjoy.
Way too many darts. Does she have an endless supply?
You could have an interesting drinking game every time a dart is used or the name Ted Gwynn gets mentioned.
Recommendation:
Pictures of You is pretty original. It reminded me a little of The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, where people are kidnapped by people who are crazy or believe in the cause so much.
This book made me wonder: is the kidnapper crazy, or is she a believer in a higher art form?
I think there is an audience for this book. A reviewer that I respect loves this book, but she loved two other books by Malerman that are my least favorites: Inspection and Goblin.
Rating:
Pictures of You by Josh Malerman
3 out of 5 stars
Ranking:
- 1. Incidents Around the House
- 2. Bird Box
- 3. A House at The Bottom of a Lake
- 4. Malorie
- 5. Goblin
- 6. Pictures of You
- 7. Inspection
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