Graycee B > Recent Status Updates

When I read Strange Houses, I initially thought it was based on true events— it could've been, but I've since learned that these books are fiction, & honestly? Thank goodness, because I'm 2/3 of the way into Strange Pictures & while it has a slower reveal/build, the twists & turns are tremendous & horrifying. I can't imagine the amount of planning & attention to detail that goes into writing these books. I love it.

The plot conflict build with this book is slow, but the character building & world building is fantastic. I loved the spiritual characteristics. It's true that there is a lot of set up before the conflict unfolds & any conflict before that is hazy to the point it's almost boring—but that could just be my ADHD. I struggle with slow burn books or books that take their time setting up the chess board, if you will.

The last part of this book is surprisingly emotional. Its enlightening and there's more that's was discovered about the mystery clinic and it's past including its mysterious patients with appointments that the clinic is waiting on.

I love that each cat story is also shedding more light on the clinic the further you progress into the book. At the beginning, the only thing you know is that Shuta was recommended this clinic indirectly —it's hard to find and looks super sketchy. As more perspectives are shared, more information about the clinic is shared. The clinic is beginning to seem even more peculiar.

I really liked the story about Bee and Shuta. The steady progress that Shuta makes as he navigates life with a cat. Never even owning fish before the day he stepped foot in that clinic and was handed a pet carrier. It's very serendipitous the way Bee intervenes in Shuta's life. I look forward to reading about the other cats.

Miv & Sharon are in that phase where they are trying on mak-eup & it's so innocent because it's for nobody but themselves. Because they want to look pretty. Not look pretty for boys, although it might be an alterior motive. It brought me back to when me & my friends were doing the same in high school/junior high.

Side note: What if Richard and one of his siblings are the Ripper? And just how abusive is Mr. Andrews?

A lot is happening with Miv and Sharon. They're exploring and playing detective but around them, they're also uncovering truths and seeing things about the people around them they hadn't noticed before. Like what is happening between Sharon's mom and Miv's dad???

Things are getting more interesting. I’m starting to like reading the book and listening to the audiobook at the same time—I think it’s more helpful with this book.

Quirky and comical at times. A definite Who-Dun-It. Slow-burn.

Having a hard time reading this one. It’s not what I thought it would be. This is a book that is purely my own undoing because I didn’t do the obvious thing and look inside the book or read a few pages. So it’s been out on the back burner. Though, as an attempt to continue making progress through this book I might read a story from here for every book I read instead of finishing this one.