I am thrilled to be one of the first to read and review the English translation of Strange Pictures, the debut novel by masked Japanese YouTuber Uketsu. This unputdownable read delivers a perfectly constructed puzzle that comes together with a fantastic precision. As with many Japanese mystery novels, the themes are very strong, and Uketsu masterfully blends horror, psychological suspense, and brutal realism. I especially love the blunt, straight-to-the-point narrative style, which kept me hooked from start to finish. The strange pictures are truly mesmerizing!

This was unlike anything I’ve read before. From the get go there was something unnerving about the book, and the strange pictures only added to this feeling. The book starts with a mysterious blog post and unsettling images as the reader slowly finds out more about the images and how they’re all connected. The multi media aspect combined with the drawings made for a thrilling read, I found myself unable to put this book down. As the reader slowly finds out more about the initial image and all the ones that follow, the plot reveals itself and it’s insanely clever and imaginative. I really enjoyed this, both for the horror element and the visual elements too. Such a unique story!