India, July 29 -- Despite its dark themes, Strange Pictures, the horror sensation from Japan written by Uketsu, the anonymous literary figure and YouTuber, could almost be classified as children's literature for it evokes that same sense of wonder that good children's novels do. It also makes you want to put on your detective hat and attempt to solve the complex picture puzzles at the centre of its plot.

On the surface, this book seems like an anthology of three seemingly unconnected horror-mysteries best solved using pictures. Halfway through, it becomes clear that the three stories are connected. In the most compelling chapter titled The Smudged Room, a single mother, Naomi, wakes up in her apartment and finds her child, Yuta Konno, mi...