There are great setups to novels that draw you in and there are just authors themselves that draw you in. Pictures of You by Josh Malerman happens to be both. Malerman entices the reader to dive into his latest novel, all while being an author that most of us are going to read either way. Pictures of You is an unsettling and horrifying thriller filled to the brim with suspense and tension.
After a magical night out on the town with her boyfriend Jack, Emily wakes alone in a huge bed in a beautiful, well-lit room. But the pink ceiling, the mauve walls, and the deep, dark corners are nothing like the hotel she and Jack rented.
More worrisome yet: Emily has no memory of this place from the night before.
Where is she? A woman’s voice directs her to remain in bed. Just so… And beyond the end of the bed, a picture frame upon an easel—a frame with no canvas, no painting, no art. Only…there is the silhouette of a person Emily does not recognize. A person emanating demand, danger, evil. And the way the woman talks…and the things she says…She’s acting as if Emily herself is the painting. The still life. The art.
Emily is as scared as she is confused. But it’s immediately clear Jack’s life is on the line with her own. And if she attempts to escape the bed and the wood frame of this nightmare masterwork, neither will survive the experience. Emily is fierce, independent, brilliant, but to get out of this, she’ll have to think like an artist herself. The clock is ticking. For Emily. For Jack. For being forever trapped.
Of course when I saw the name Josh Malerman, it was a must-read, especially after Incidents Around the House, but it really was the unique plot, setup and story itself that peaked my interest. Pictures of You is the kind of fresh storytelling I am always on the look for in a horror story and for some people this book will be perfect. Myself, not so much, but I am guessing it is mostly because of how my brain works and processes some stories.
Pictures of You features a few characters and their point-of-views while adding more as the story progresses. This was hard to keep track of in my mind. Again, I can see how these characters can be the draw for some readers, but almost acted in the opposite direction for me. The back-and-forth nature, which sometimes overlaps, lost me here and there, making it hard to follow in various moments. While Malerman’s writing itself is wonderful in the moments I followed easy, there was something about the way this book was laid out that had rattled.
Malerman does craft a story that had an uneasy vibe and unsettling feeling throughout, again, something that really hooks me in a good horror story. It is suspenseful and well paced with tension you could cut with a knife that was built up from beginning to end with a release at the end that lingers and stays with you. Even with my inability, personally, to follow along easily (although I was able to), proves that Malerman knows how to craft a horror story that hits hard, pulling you in and keeping ahold of you.
While personally Pictures of You didn’t fully hit home with me due to its structure and shifting views, I love and appreciate the ambition and creativity behind what Josh Malerman accomplishes with the story. The novel delivers on atmospheric dread that rarely lets up, building on suspense and tension throughout. Pictures of You is a deeply unsettling and thrilling horror that proves Malerman remains a commanding voice in the genre.
Pictures of You hits bookstores everywhere on September 8, 2026 from Del Rey. The audiobook, narrated by Beth Hicks, is available via Libro.fm!
