A chilling blog post, a child’s mysterious drawing, a murder victim’s last sketch. All of these are clues in Strange Pictures, a new crime book by anonymous Japanese YouTuber Uketsu. I hadn’t seen any of Uketsu’s videos, but was sufficiently intrigued by this unique storytelling style and I ended up loving this book!

I absolutely devoured Strange Pictures in one evening. I’m on a real crime kick at the moment and Pushkin Vertigo is fuelling my reading, but Strange Pictures is a little different from their other offerings. Rather than a straightforward narrative, Uketsu incorporates pictures and images into their writing, giving readers a visual aid to the story they’re telling. In another author’s hands, the use of the pictures may have felt gimmicky, but it’s clear that Uketsu is a great storyteller and this method works so well.

These bite-size d mysteries intriguing on their own, but seeing the bigger picture was one of the most rewarding parts of reading this book. Much darker than I anticipated, Strange Pictures is a haunting story that is hard to put down.

Apparently there are two more coming and I can’t wait to read them!