I was offered an eARC for review and for an honest opinion.
"The Purgatory Poisoning" is Rebecca Rogers's debut novel and what a debut it is!!
We meet Dave who wakes up in Purgatory dead of poisoning, the last thing he remembers is having dinner with friends. He's not alone in this 'halfway house' to heaven or Hell, there are other residents waiting for their fate. There is a particular criterion for entering heaven, you'll have to check all the boxes if you don't then while in purgatory you can redeem yourself.
Quote
It's not every day you find out you've been murdered, he thought. Or that your mum came from a family of - what did he call them? Diabolists? Or that the angel at god's right hand was the image of Michale Palin.
Angel Gobe and his sidekick apprentice Angel Arial are assigned to Dave's case to find out who murdered Dave but he is special he has some kind of 'blocks' or 'walls' placed during his lifetime that Arial can't lift or break so drastic measures have to come in place, Dave is sent back in time (without God knowing of course because it's forbidden) to solve his own murder.
What followers is a hilarious read and highly entertaining. I loved Rececca's interpretation of Purgatory which was quite intriguing, there is a switchboard in which there are lightbulbs, they represent every human being and what they do throughout life, whether good or evil, is recorded waiting for when your time comes to meet God. I found it hilarious.
It was a delightful read and highly recommended. Looking forward to what she comes up with next.
About the Author
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
Southwest of England.
The Purgatory Poisoning is her first novel and won the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Prize 2021.
Comments