Horror Book Preview: Read or Skip?--Perishing Hill by Leila A Leit

 Think reunions, and you are likely to believe that it will be fun, heart-warming, and filled with good memories and laughter. 

Leila A Leit’s novel Perishing Hill is about how reunions can go really wrong. 

Published in June 2025, the novel is on the bestsellers list for Domestic Thrillers. 

PERISHING HILL Book Plot 

A secluded, island reunion for former neighbors turns dangerous two decades after a local tragedy.

Without a known host or explanation, a group is summoned to a luxury beachfront estate on Ocracoke Island just as a powerful storm hits. The isolation forces long-held secrets, guilt, and lies to the surface.

Every guest is hiding something they desperately want to protect, but an unseen figure is poised to unearth the full, brutal truth, which is about to crash down on them all.

PERISHING HILL Preview and My Take

I used to be one of those readers who was a completionist. No matter how the book was, I wanted to finish it. Now that I review books and cannot read every single book out there due to time constraints, I do enjoy going through previews and picking my next book so that the second I have some free time to curl up with a book, that is the one I will pick. 

Perishing Hill is a difficult book to get into. It has a promising premise, but the execution isn’t as impressive. 

The book begins with a prologue, a letter with a juvenile rhyme (later described by a character), that isn’t signed by anyone. It does nothing to set up the intrigue of what awaits the characters of the story. 

We then move on to chapter one, where we meet the first couple, Camen and Gabe, who are driving to the ferry terminal. They are snappy and bored with each other, but want to get to the bottom of who sent them the letter and what they know. 

Next up, in the same chapter, is Terry/Terrance, who is traveling with his wife, Yvonne, who seems to be controlling. 

Then, again in the same chapter, is Griff, who is apparently working with the anonymous host to spy on the guests. 

Then we have the Host making sure all the guests have arrived. 

And then there is Kathryn, who is with Frank. 

Patrick comes next, and there are another two pages dedicated to him and his point of view. 

At this point, there are so many characters tumbling about from everywhere that it is hard to concentrate. And none of them have unique personalities that hold onto your attention. 

Unfortunately, at this point, I have up on reading further. 

READ OR SKIP?

This is perhaps the first book I have not made it through. I at least make an effort to read the entire preview available to make a judgment, but this was a little all over the place for me, and not enough mystery to keep reading. 

However, it is only my opinion, and based on the reviews, quite a lot of readers did enjoy this book. 

Check out this book on Amazon and let me know what you think