Editorial Content for Pictures of You
Book
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Reviewer (text)
Josh Malerman is not sitting idly by as Other Mommy, the film adaptation of his terrific novel, INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE, is set to be released next month. Instead, he is out promoting his latest book, a work of psychological horror that only his fertile mind could produce.
What always makes a Josh Malerman tale ring true are his characters. They are all imperfect and prone to make mistakes that often worsen the diabolical situations in which he places them. This is more than a little apparent in PICTURES OF YOU, in which the creative endeavor of art and painting is taken to a deadly, sinister level.
"[Readers] are clinging to each page hoping for a resolution that seems completely out of reach.... With PICTURES OF YOU, Malerman shines a light on the artistic process and the talent behind it, only to turn that concept on its ear."
Emily and Jack were planning to enjoy a special evening out on the town. But when Emily wakes up with her head pounding, she notices that the bed she is lying on alone is not the one in the hotel room they had booked. It will take some time until the fog clears from her mind. Only then will she realize that she is in the clutches of a dangerous and demented woman who has special plans for her.
To Emily, her captor is just “the woman” at first. She is miming painting a portrait of Emily through an empty framed canvas that provides her with a picture of her “still-life subject” on the bed in this strange room.
Meanwhile, Jack has awakened without Emily and is looking for her. When he comes up empty, he reaches out to the police who are not too helpful. As he goes through the events of the previous evening, he seems to recall seeing a woman on the beach near the walkway to their hotel. The rest is unclear, and the search for his missing girlfriend continues.
PICTURES OF YOU plays out less like an intense supernatural tale, which we have come to expect from Malerman, as Emily and Jack endure the psychological torment of a maze that he has created for us. As we fall down the rabbit hole with Emily, certain facts and truths will rise to the surface. She eventually will realize the identity of her abductor, and the reason for this horrific experience becomes evident in a backstory that is chilling and disturbing.
When the woman and her lone co-conspirator are able to seize Jack as well, the situation seems more than dire as the suspense is ratcheted up for readers, who are clinging to each page hoping for a resolution that seems completely out of reach. A police officer knows the alleged perpetrators from his small town. He just has trouble bringing himself to the realization that they could ever mean anyone harm. This is a lesson that he may learn too late to save Emily and Jack.
With PICTURES OF YOU, Malerman shines a light on the artistic process and the talent behind it, only to turn that concept on its ear.
Teaser
After a magical night out on the town with her boyfriend, Jack, Emily wakes up alone in a huge bed. But the beautiful, well-lit room is nothing like the hotel she and Jack rented, and she has no memory of this place from the night before. Where is she? A woman’s voice directs her to remain in bed. And beyond the end of the bed is a picture frame upon an easel --- a frame with no canvas, no painting, no art. But there is the silhouette of a person Emily does not recognize. A person emanating demand, danger and 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 that Jack’s life is on the line with her own.
Promo
After a magical night out on the town with her boyfriend, Jack, Emily wakes up alone in a huge bed. But the beautiful, well-lit room is nothing like the hotel she and Jack rented, and she has no memory of this place from the night before. Where is she? A woman’s voice directs her to remain in bed. And beyond the end of the bed is a picture frame upon an easel --- a frame with no canvas, no painting, no art. But there is the silhouette of a person Emily does not recognize. A person emanating demand, danger and 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 that Jack’s life is on the line with her own.
About the Book
A woman becomes the unknowing subject of an artist’s dangerous work in this intense Hitchcockian thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE.
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.
But 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 and 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.
Josh Malerman’s unforgettable and terrifying INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE became an instant classic of horror --- and now Malerman has done it again. PICTURES OF YOU is a tale of thrilling terror that will chill you until the last page --- and have you thinking of the heroine’s search for love and the meaning of art long after.
Audiobook available, read by Beth Hicks
