In Pictures of You, a woman becomes the unknowing subject of an artist’s dangerous work in this intense Hitchcockian thriller.
LitStackers! Get ready to add another title to your “TBR” stack! Pictures of You by Josh Malerman is in presale and generating serious buzz. This thriller from Del Rey | Penguin Random House set for publication Sept. 8, 2026, has early readers buzzing. We’re here to show you what’s on the book cover, from the publisher’s official description to the early reviews that suggest this book is one you want to pre-order today. Here we go!
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About Pictures of You
After a magical night out on the town with her boyfriend Jack, Emily wakes alone in a huge bed in a beautiful, well-lit room. But the pink ceiling, the mauve walls, and the deep, dark corners are nothing like the hotel she and Jack rented.
More worrisome yet: Emily has no memory of this place from the night before.
Where is she?
A woman’s voice directs her to remain in bed.
Just so . . .
And beyond the end of the bed, a picture frame upon an easel—a frame with no canvas, no painting, no art.
Only . . . there is the silhouette of a person Emily does not recognize. A person emanating demand, danger, evil. And the way the woman talks . . . and the things she says . . . She’s acting as if Emily herself is the painting. The still life. The art.
Emily is as scared as she is confused. But it’s immediately clear Jack’s life is on the line with her own. And if she attempts to escape the bed and the wood frame of this nightmare masterwork, neither will survive the experience.
Emily is fierce, independent, brilliant, but to get out of this, she’ll have to think like an artist herself.
The clock is ticking.
For Emily.
For Jack.
For being forever trapped.
Josh Malerman’s unforgettable and terrifying Incidents Around the House became an instant classic of horror—and now Malerman has done it again. Pictures of You is a tale of thrilling terror that will chill you until the last page—and have you thinking of the heroine’s search for love and the meaning of art long after.
Praise for Josh Malerman, Author of Pictures of You
“Josh Malerman [the author of Pictures of You] is a master at unsettling you—and keeping you off-balance until the last page is turned.”—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of The Staircase in the Woods and Black River Orchard.
“Josh Malerman [the author of Pictures of You] is a master magician of narrative form.”—Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger
“Josh Malerman [the author of Pictures of You] is such an insidious architect. I call all of his haunted houses home, and this just might be his most devilish design yet.”—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters
“Josh Malerman [the author of Pictures of You] delivers one of his best novels yet, and one of the most memorable villains in recent history. This is the literary equivalent of a defibrillator.”—Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home
“Once Malerman hits the gas, you better hang on tight, because he doesnʼt let up until the stunning finish.”—Philip Fracassi, author of Behold the Void
About Josh Malerman, Author of Pictures of You
Josh Malerman is a New York Times bestselling author and one of two singer-songwriters for the rock band The High Strung. His debut novel, Bird Box, is the inspiration for the hit Netflix film of the same name. His other novels include Incidents Around the House, Daphne, Spin a Black Yarn and Malorie, the sequel to Bird Box. Malerman lives in Michigan with his wife, the artist-musician Allison Laakko.
You can connect with Josh Malerman on his website, and on Facebook and Instagram.
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Del Rey | Penguin Random House
ISBN Hardcover 9780593723159
Pub Date Sep 8, 2026
LitStack Spots by Josh Malerman
Here are a few more LitStack Spots that you’ll definitely want to add to your TBR stack, including Bird Box by Josh Malerman, Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman, and Malorie by Josh Malerman.
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As an affiliate of Bookshop.org, Malaprop’s, Books-A-Million, Audiobooks.com, Chirp, 2nd & Charles, Amazon, NameHero, Envato, and Place-It, LitStack may earn a commission—at no cost to you—when you purchase through our affiliate links. We appreciate the brands we work with, and also appreciate that using our affiliate links may help you find your next great read, a book or two or more, in whatever form, while simultaneously supporting LitStack. When you use our affiliate links, you help keep LitStack running—and for that, we thank you.
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