REVIEW: Strange Pictures (book) by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion

Strange Pictures is more mystery than horror, although I've seen it tagged as both. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This book features three different stories centered around eerie drawings. The stories initially appear unconnected, although the aspects tying them together are revealed by the end.

In the first story, a student who's a member of his college Paranormal Club is introduced to a strange blog featuring a series of drawings. The blog appears ordinary enough, initially, focused on the daily life of a guy whose artist wife ends up pregnant. However, it ends with a chilling final post that hints at a message hidden in his wife's various drawings.

In the second story, a child draws a picture of his home and family that is uncharacteristically eerie. His mother worries that she and her son are being watched and followed. Then her son disappears, leaving her frantic. And yet for some reason she's reluctant to contact the police. Was her son's drawing a hint of some sort of dark family secret?

In the third and final story, a young man who wants to become a freelance reporter decides to investigate his former art teacher's murder during a hike three years prior. His current boss still has the investigation materials from that case, so he decides to talk to any people related to the case that he can still find and recreate his former teacher's final hike as best he can. He also has one additional clue, the drawing found on his teacher's body.

While the drawings, taken on their own, were certainly a bit creepy, this wasn't as creepy a read as I was expecting. This was also definitely one of those cases where the puzzle took precedence over everything else, including believability and actual human behavior. The first story, taken on its own, was probably the best, although the conclusions the students arrived at seemed a bit of a stretch. The second story was a bit strange but overall seemed like a lot of pages devoted to revealing not very much. 

The third story, the one that tied everything together, really strained my suspension of disbelief. If someone in the teacher's position had had the time and ability to do what he did, he would definitely have left behind a better clue. In addition, it didn't make sense that the killer would have let the victim leave a message, no matter how vague, behind.

All in all, I was intrigued by the overall setup, but it didn't really hold together very well.