Strange Pictures, by Uketsu

Book 17 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! What do you know, I’m back on track for the year! My link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy from there. A couple of weeks ago, I raved about the delightfully strange and compelling novel Strange Houses by the pseudonymous author Uketsu, and I knew I would have to check out any other works of his that are available. This meant picking up the more recent release, Strange Pictures (2025). The basic concept is the same: a mystery-horror tale told in large part through the use of images, though where Strange Houses used floorplans, Strange Pictures uses drawings! Though the basic concept is the same, the telling of the story — and the mystery at the heart of it — is very different from the previous novel. Strange Pictures weaves what at first glance appear to be three independent stories in separate chapters. The first story involves two students who delight in…