A BARNES AND NOBLE BEST BOOK OF 2025
"Uketsu’s strange riddles are chilling and addictive – I couldn’t put it down." ―R. F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface
"Delightfully macabre and fiendishly clever. Seemingly unconnected stories tie themselves into a complicated knot, which Uketsu masterfully unravels."―G. T. Karber, author of the national bestseller Murdle
"Wonderfully complex and carefully crafted . . . Uketsu keeps readers guessing until the very end." ―New York Times Book Review
The spine-tingling "triumphant international debut" (Publishers Weekly starred review) that has taken Japan by storm―an eerie and fiendishly clever Japanese puzzle mystery in which a series of seemingly innocent pictures draws you into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches.
This psychological thriller is an exploration of the macabre, where the seemingly mundane takes on a terrifying significance. . . .
A pregnant woman's sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning.
A child's picture of his home contains a dark secret message.
A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbithole that will reveal a horrifying reality.
Structured around these nine childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the interconnected mysteries behind each and the over-arching backstory that connects them all. Strange Pictures is the internationally bestselling debut from mystery horror YouTube sensation Uketsu―an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan's most talked about contemporary authors.
- A great read for spooky-season nights
- A perfect addition to any Halloween reading list
Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Uketsu is an enigmatic presence on YouTube and an author specializing in horror and mystery. He always appears in videos wearing a white mask and black body stocking, with his voice digitally distorted. His true identity is unknown. His novels Strange Pictures, Strange Houses, Strange Buildings were massive hits in Japan, where he lives.
Jim Rion has lived in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan since 2004. He began professionally translating Japanese to English in 2015, primarily in cultural and travel fields. From 2018, he began working with local sake brewers on international expansion, and in 2022 Stone Bridge Press published his book Discovering Yamaguchi Sake, a guide to all the sake breweries in his home prefecture.
He has published translations of two horror/Cthlulhu mythos books with (now defunct) publisher Kurodahan Press, and from 2022 began working with Pushkin Vintage on translating Japanese crime and mystery fiction into English. The first work, The Devil’s Flute Murders by Yokomizo Seishi, was published in 2023. His translation of Strange Pictures by Japanese horror/crime writer Uketsu, is scheduled for publication in January 2025.
