Dakota Crow 'wakes' up face down in the mud and realises she is dead. She soon finds herself in the weirdest of hotels which she soon concludes is Purgatory. The hotel is full of people who have committed a heinous sin such as murder or rape. Dakota is shocked to find herself there as she has no idea how she could have ended up in such a place. She's a nice person after all. With no memory of the crime she committed that would check her into the hotel, Dakota must relive moments of her life again to get to the truth which is always just out of reach, teasing her. But, her killer knows. Dakota must get out of Purgatory and escape the shadows which haunt its corridors. But the only way to do that is to solve her own murder and get to the bottom of whatever terrible act she committed. But can she trust the people she meets there? People such as Danny the bartender who fills her in on the rules of Purgatory. Or, Betty who befriends her and helps her enjoy the free booze and cigarettes that seem to be a perk of Purgatory.

Purgatory Hotel is a weirdly wonderful book. And, I use the term weird as an absolute compliment. I think I enjoyed this book so much because coincidentally for my local writers group I recently wrote a short story about a young girl who finds herself in Purgatory so the book really appealed to my own dark imagination. Anne-Marie Ormsby has managed to create an atmosphere where sometimes its what you don't see that scares you the most. The sounds of slithering and scratching outside the hotel room door and the dark oppressive shadows in the corridors totally freaked me out! I love a book that can do this! I enjoyed the fact that Dakota is forced to look at her own life as it slowly unfolds before her, warts and all. She's had a bit of a rough ride and made her own fair share of mistakes. Will she be punished for them forever in Purgatory Hotel. You've got to buy the book to find out! A fab book for sitting reading on a wild and stormy evening which I did! Its stormy in Purgatory you know!