Today, those at the emporium are thrilled to be on the blog tour for Rebecca Rogers’ The Purgatory Poisoning and thank you Random Thing Tours for the swift arrival of a copy to read so they could give their honest opinion.
With a striking cover and tagline, it promised to be a novel destined for the Enchanted Emporium’s bookshelf. Scroll down to see if it fulfilled its potential.
Book Review: The Purgatory Poisoning by Rebecca Rogers
Title: The Purgatory Poisoning
Author: Rebecca Rogers
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Comedy Fantasy
Release date: 2nd March 2023
Blurb
How do you solve your own murder when you’re already dead?
Purgatory (noun):
- Where the dead are sent to atone.
- A place of suffering or torment.
- A youth hostel where the occupants play Scrabble and the mattresses are paper thin.
When Dave wakes up in his own personal purgatory (St Ives Youth Hostel circa 1992), he’s shocked
to discover he’s dead. And worse – he was murdered.
Heaven doesn’t know who did it so with the help of two rogue angels, Dave must uncover the
truth.
As divine forces from both sides start to play the game, can Dave get out of this alive? Or at the
very least, with his soul intact?
Thoughts from the Emporium
Full of humour, Dave’s story conjured up the emporium’s staff’s own memories of youth hostel holidays and childhood especially Willow and Rosa who remembered the 1990s. Setting purgatory in a Cornish youth hostel was inspired as were many of the memorable cast. An angel resembling Michael Palin added to the highly visual scenes which could easily be translated into a movie. Told in an unique voice, Dave and the crime solving angelic duo provided many chuckles and kept everyone turning the pages. They were rewarded with unexpected twists as Dave not only tries to solve his murder but avoid hell too.
With sibling rivalry, complicated a love life and unravelling family secrets, there are many suspects in this unusual murder mystery. Towards the end the busy, character heavy scenes required a reread to understand the mechanics of the murderer’s reveal but all in all, everything came together with a satisfying, clever conclusion.
This novel is an enjoyable fantastical escape with demons, angels and Dave. With its humour and air of supernatural, The Purgatory Poisoning is a welcome addition to the enchanted bookshelf to be recommended to others.
Author Biograpghy
Rebecca Rogers grew up in Birmingham on a diet of Blackadder and Monty Python. For a long time, she
thought Michael Palin was her uncle (he’s not). Now a civil servant by day and writer by night, she’s a proud mum to two grown-up boys and lives in the glorious south west of England.
The Purgatory Poisoning is her first novel and won the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Prize 2021.
The Enchanted Emporium Bookshelf 
Murder with a sense of humour thrown in – sounds like a great read! I’ll look out for this one!
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Hope you enjoy it. It’s an unique read
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