The Hidden Leisure Horror Horror Book Review

Imagine waking up and realizing that nothing seems familiar, the past is en enigma and the future uncertain. What’s even stranger is that Rachel starts to smoke and eat red meat, dresses provocatively and goes after any man she wants, a far cry from her own self that she has not clue about despite what people tell her about her own past. Her sudden amnesia and broken mirrors in her house alarm Mike, the man she suddenly starts seeing even though she has rejected him in the past. Not far strange crimes begin to happen; people’s homes are invaded by a force that brutally destroys anyone on the premises and broken mirrors are the only thing that starts to establish a pattern. Mike can’t help falling in love with a woman who still can’t remember her past, but the more they discover what clouds her memories the worse the chaos around them. Strange coincidences and forgotten family secrets starting to surface to light, turns out that somehow Rachel is connected to one of the victims and her future strongly depends on figuring out the past. However, the only person hesitant to dig in is Rachel herself, is she afraid of the answers or is something else afraid of being discovered? With time ticking down and more mutilated bodies surfacing, Mike has to do his best to help and solve the riddle that has dragged his future to the stake as well.


This was a fun read, it had an element of mystery pulsating through the pages and I was eager to read about the past, some characters were more interesting than others; Elizabeth for example was quite mesmerizing even though we knew she has left this realm for the dark side and was no longer alive as the book began, her past is preserved in diaries that fall into the hands of police who are investigating the horrific crimes. Few other characters stand out, Murray and Mike are pretty realistic but the flaw is in the time line. As another reviewer said, one has a hard time figuring out how much time is passing between chapters, and there are unexplained things that happen the author didn’t really give reason for; two of the characters that die are barely connected to the tale, I thought it was a distraction and an easy was to max out the body count and connect Rachel to the previously committed crimes. Considering it was Pinborough’s first novel it’s certainly understandable and there were a few passages that I really enjoyed and found through provoking. I have read on the internet that this is being worked into a script, hopefully to be made into a movie; the story is certainly good enough and executed pretty fairly even if I didn’t give it the highest rating. Am I glad I read it? Yes, it’s certainly enjoyable and you can see potential in the author’s words and ideas.


- Kasia S.