From time to time Goodreads puts out different curated lists with books for specific genres, and this one was on a recommended list for horror.

I also liked the cover art. I’m starting to see a pattern where the cover art does a lot of influencing me in what I end up picking. What can I say, I’m a sucker for nice visuals.

We’re going to meet Mallory Quinn, an ex-drug addict who is 18 months sober, and is starting her job as a babysitter for 5-year-old Teddy, son of Ted and Caroline Maxwell.

Here is a nice setup for a horror story:

• The house in a quiet neighborhood
• There are woods at the back of the house
• The kid has an imaginary friend that he likes to draw
• An urban legend of a murder happening on the grounds a while ago
• Also, the kid and others are possessed a bit, nothing to worry about.

One thing that you will notice in the book is the images.

You get to see Teddy’s drawings, and it’s a little unsettling. I was always expecting to turn the page and see some horrific picture, and it kept me a little on the edge, which I enjoyed. Especially in the e-book, as you go page by page, and you will see the image when you flip the page.

He draws during his Quiet Time and gives the drawings to Mallory as gifts. While some of the pictures are normal, others have his imaginary friend Anya in them. She doesn’t look… right. This also scares Mallory, making her start to think something is not right at all.

The drawings become increasingly more sinister and detailed.

Apart from that, they are an important part of the story in helping piece together what is happening.

While the book takes you in this classic direction of a child seeing an entity and the entity taking control of the child, the big twist comes about three-quarters of the way through the book when you find out Teddy’s true identity and the role Ted and Caroline played in all this.

I don’t want to spoil it completely, but I’ll leave a hint: Anya means “mom” in Hungarian.