Emily and Jack may have only been dating for a short time, but their magical weekend at the lakeshore in Michigan takes a dark turn when Emily wakes up in a huge bed in a room set up just like a painting. The room is a far cry from the hotel room she rented with Jack, and she has no memory of how she arrived there. As she attempts to navigate her surroundings a voice demands she stay in bed and that she remains “just so.” And there she sees it; a picture frame on an easel through which her captor watches her as f Emily is a great work of art. Jack awakes in their hotel room alone, convinced that Emily has gone to the local drug store alone after confiding in him her fears that she may be pregnant. When she doesn’t return and he discovers her phone still besides the hotel room bed, he begins to comb the small town to find out what could have happened to her. A local town nut. A mysterious art store. A police officer curious about what could have happened to a tourist. All come together for a bizarre art installation.
Josh Malerman’s Pictures of You contains many of the familiar beats he’s become known for. There are complicated characters struggling to find their way in unexpected places and a woman who is not exactly sold on being a parent finding her way to protect a child. This continues some common themes from his previous books Birdbox and Incidents Around the House. Ironically enough, where Pictures of You struggles most is in finding its framing. The text is often repetitive and more than once I found myself just wanting the story to get on with it. There are only so many times you can hear a sinister older woman say the words “just so” and keep someone forced in position with existential threats before you go “okay, but where is this going”.
Pictures of You is available September 8th from Del Ray books.
