Strange Pictures / Strange Houses

by Uketsu, Jim Rion (Translator)

Strange Pictures

A series of drawings made by a young woman before her death.

A child's disturbing picture of his home.

A desperate sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments.

Each contains a chilling warning.

Each reveals a terrible secret, hidden in plain sight.

Uketsu's eerie mysteries have captivated millions of readers. Can you find the clues in these strange pictures and uncover the sinister truth that connects them all?

Strange Houses

A mysterious windowless room on a house's floorplan hints at a hideous secret. A young girl suspects that her cousin's seemingly accidental death was the result of a sinister family tradition.

Can you uncover the dark secret of these strange houses? When you do, an unforgettable truth will be revealed.

Genres: Mystery, Horror

448 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 2025

About the author

Associated Names:
* Uketsu
* 雨穴
* อุเก็ตสึ (Thai Profile)

Reviews

[Alba RS]

Una mica sobreexplicat però diferent i entretingut.

[Biju James]

Strange Pictures
Labelled as a chilling horror sensation, I would rather label it a frantically paced thriller with two genuine chilling moments.
There are three stories that start off distinctly but as we progress the threads that connect them become evident. And one story to link them all.
The first is of a young couple. The husband has a blog where he posts stuff on his life. His wife unfortunately dies during childbirth. But it's not as straightforward as we imagine. She has left a series of drawings behind and it is upto us to decipher them.
The second is of a mother and child. The child draws a picture in the school and there are secrets hidden in the picture that unravel.
The third is of an art teacher who is murdered on a hike. Whodunnit? And why has the teacher drawn a picture in his final moments?
The fourth and final story connects everything.
The best part of the book are the clues. I quite enjoy clues that are scattered as a mystery progresses. We get to figure things out on our own and the whole process becomes incredibly immersive. Here the stories have pictures. The clues in the pictures are explained via maps and flow charts. Great fun. And we can enjoy the whole experience.
Overall, it moves fast. It is less than 250 pages and with the pictures and flow charts, not much text to labour through. It definitely is a different kind of experience.

[Zoy Ngaira]

Book was an okay read. Easy enough storyline to follow. I personally didn’t like the addition of the pictures because they are just extremely obscure until you get to the end of the book where all the pictures make sense but honestly they don’t add much to the storyline. Don’t bother guessing what you can deduce from the pictures because it’s likely you will be way off. The twist was good. I think the last 50 pages or so were a lot more interesting than the entire book and they felt like a quicker pace. I’d say there’s no real lead character in the book or maybe it only becomes apparent at the end of the book when everything comes together. I wouldn’t run to recommend this book. I’m early in my thriller literature and haven’t read many thriller books so can only compare to a small handful.

[Timoteo Stéphanie]

Quatre histoires qui semblent, au premier abord, totalement indépendantes… et qui vont finalement révéler un fil conducteur à travers différentes temporalités.

Au cœur de ce roman, le dessin tient une place essentielle. Uketsu explore sa signification, ce qu’il révèle de la psychologie de ceux qui le réalisent et surtout le fait que rien ne semble laissé au hasard.

J’ai trouvé l’idée vraiment ingénieuse et originale. Les dessins apportent une dimension très visuelle à la lecture et donnent presque l’impression de vivre une véritable expérience.

Je me suis d’ailleurs laissée porter par la plume, passant d’une histoire à l’autre tout en essayant de comprendre progressivement comment les différents éléments allaient s’imbriquer. Je me suis surprise à tourner les pages sans vraiment voir le temps passer 😉

En revanche, ne vous attendez pas à un thriller construit autour d’un énorme plot twist : ce n’est clairement pas l’objectif ici. Si c’est ce que vous recherchez, vous risquez donc de rester sur votre faim.

J’ai également eu une impression assez particulière durant ma lecture : celle d’assister à un cours dans une salle de classe, où l’on nous explique, étape par étape, ce que les dessins peuvent révéler. Une sensation très personnelle, mais qui m’a accompagnée tout au long du roman.

Ce fut donc une lecture surprenante et originale, dans le bon sens du terme, même si je ne pense pas être devenue une grande amatrice de ce genre littéraire pour autant 😅

💌 Lu dans le cadre du Prix du Meilleur Polar 2027 des Éditions Points. Merci à la maison d’édition pour l’envoi et cette découverte 🥰

[Chantal Suikerbuik]

i liked the books very much!

Strange pictures was a book with so many question after each chapter and so mysterious. i loved every sentence of it i would 1000% recomend this one if you like to figure out what is going on in peoples mind.

strange houses, it was very different, writing syle and story. if you like difficult books i would recomend this one.

both books had such great plottwists and want to read them again.

[Alyssa Joanne]

It honestly kept me hooked.

It has this quiet, eerie vibe that slowly pulls you in. Not super scary, but more on the unsettling, “something feels off” kind of feeling. I liked how unpredictable it was just when I thought I got it, may twist ulit.

Medyo confusing at times, but that’s part of what made it interesting.

[Kevin Soria]

Only read strange houses so I’ll update with strange pictures. I first read Strange Buildings and now I’m sure I’ll read every “Strange” book as soon as I can get my hands on it. Dark, weird, and a lil silly these are fun they move fast and the illustrations add a lot. More than anything the endings always deliver. This will make a banger of a tv or movie series in the right hands.

[Wiebke]

Interessante Idee aber eigentlich funktioniert das Buch auch ohne die "Strange Pictures"/Bilder, weil sie immer sehr detailiert beschrieben werden - Am Ende für mich also einfach ein komplex durchdachter Krimi für Japan-Fans.

[Mai Linh]

I personally liked Strange Houses more than Strange Pictures. I had no clue who the culprit is until the very end of the book. Mysterious, dark and good weird. Finished each book in one sitting which is very rare for me haha

[Nicol]

OMG?? This book definitely reached my expectations. It was a really fast read and really interesting from the start. On lot of the parts I was really confused but at the end every question that I had was answered. I would definitely recommend this to everyone who likes crime.

[Che Parts]

Must read if you are into strange things or love reading mystery books.

[Barbara Nadolny]

Strange Pictures is an amazing book.

[Gaby]

I loved how every story was intertwined, good short stories

[Katelan Schrader]

They were so intriguing and it kept me guessing the whole time.

[Carlos Pelea]

Strange Pictures >>>> Strange Houses

[Wendy]

Quirky and quick books to read. I was interested in the drawings. Strange Pictures lost me near the end and Strange Houses was not very believable and kind of bizarre to my mind.

[Angel]

Strange Pictures: Better than Strange House. The plot twist was better and more satisfying, though not mind-blowing. Overall it was okay.

[Aqlshafa]

strange pictures bikin hah heh hoh walaupun di tengah udah agak ketebak siapa siapanya.. tapi pas dibaca sampe akhir tetep berasa sedihnya, campur aduk

[Tamara]

Entretenido y diferente

[Seleiny Rodríguez]

Espectaculares, muy especiales en la forma en las que las escribe, a mi parecer. Ha sido mi primera lectura de literatura japonesa y estoy muy agradecida

[Manasi Chutke]

Very different way of writing. A quick read to get you out of the reading slump.

[Meric E.Y.]

2 kitabıda bir gecede okudum bitirdim, çok başarılılar:)

[Holly]

i enjoyed the concept and it was a quick, fun read. The execution of the idea let it down. It felt contrived and the characters were one dimentional.