Strange Pictures: A Novel

Name: Strange Pictures: A Novel
Rating: 4.689242839813232 (251 reviews)

Uketsu

Jan 2025 · The Strange Series Book 1 · Sold by HarperCollins

251 reviews

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240

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Eligible

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About this ebook

“A labyrinthine and multilayered horror mystery, full of cryptic images . . . wonderfully complex and carefully crafted . . . This is a story where revelations and new questions wait around every corner, and Uketsu keeps readers guessing until the very end.” - New York Times Book Review

“Delightfully macabre and fiendishly clever. Seemingly unconnected stories tie themselves into a complicated knot, which Uketsu masterfully unravels.”—G. T. Karber, author of the national bestseller Murdle

The spine-tingling "triumphant international debut" of the New York Times bestselling author of Strange Buildings and Strange Houses— a series of seemingly innocent pictures draws readers into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches.

An exploration of the macabre, where the seemingly mundane takes on a terrifying significance. . . .

A pregnant woman's sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning.

A child's picture of his home contains a dark secret message.

A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbit hole that will reveal a horrifying reality.

Structured around these nine childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the mystery behind each and the over-arching backstory that connects them all. Strange Pictures is the internationally bestselling debut from mystery horror YouTube sensation Uketsu—an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan's most talked about contemporary authors.

A great read for spooky-season nights
A perfect addition to any Halloween reading list

Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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Ratings and reviews

251 reviews

Joseph Pinlac

September 16, 2025

Exceptional writing and story telling! The character developments kept me engaged, and the pictures hooked me from the start due to the breakdowns and analysis. The story was very interesting, it maintained the thrill with suspense and mystery while connecting the events throughout the book, highlighting relationships between the crimes and psychology behind the actions.

Vivin Oktavira

October 20, 2025

what a twisty novel! i've read another Uketsu's titled Strange Houses (the translated one, Teka Teki Rumah Aneh) and it was as amazing as this one. the way i gagged and havin a headache (fr) from the facts, the twists, the explanation of it all, omg this one is soo goooodddd. i love this so much❤‍🔥

Maulida Tazkia

July 2, 2025

this book is hella addictive. i cannot turn it down once i finished one chapter. the plot? chef's kiss. the ending? well written (at least for me). i would say this book is way much better than uketsu's previous book, Strange Houses (i've read it in Bahasa Indonesia like years ago). a must read if you're into crime, thriller, mystery kinda genre.

About the author

Uketsu is an enigmatic presence on YouTube and an author specializing in horror and mystery. He always appears in videos wearing a white mask and black body stocking, with his voice digitally distorted. His true identity is unknown. His novels Strange Pictures, Strange Houses, Strange Buildings were massive hits in Japan, where he lives.

Jim Rion has lived in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan since 2004. He began professionally translating Japanese to English in 2015, primarily in cultural and travel fields. From 2018, he began working with local sake brewers on international expansion, and in 2022 Stone Bridge Press published his book Discovering Yamaguchi Sake, a guide to all the sake breweries in his home prefecture.He has published translations of two horror/Cthlulhu mythos books with (now defunct) publisher Kurodahan Press, and from 2022 began working with Pushkin Vintage on translating Japanese crime and mystery fiction into English. The first work, The Devil’s Flute Murders by Yokomizo Seishi, was published in 2023. His translation of Strange Pictures by Japanese horror/crime writer Uketsu, is scheduled for publication in January 2025.

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