4.4 (2,792 ratings)

Slow Dance in Purgatory (Purgatory Series Book 1)

Name: Slow Dance in Purgatory (Purgatory Series Book 1)
Rating: 4.4 (2792 reviews)
Author: Amy Harmon
ISBN: B007UC40D4

by Amy Harmon

ghosts

About this book

The hallways are empty, the school day long over, the din of lockers and youthful laughter have dissolved into silence. It's as if the very walls are waiting. And then through the intercom a song starts to crackle, the soundtrack of a forgotten life. And the band begins to sing - "Lovely Maggie falls for Johnny, a boy no one else can see. Heartthrob Johnny, 50s bad boy, trapped for eternity. Lonely boy and lonely girl, unsolved mystery. Maggie and Johnny, only high school sweethearts, because Johnny can't ever leave. Do wop, Do wop.."

In 1958, a rumble goes down outside the brand new highschool in Honeyville, Texas. Chaos ensues, a life is lost, and Johnny Kinross disappears. But in 2010, someone finds him. Orphaned at the age of ten, 17-year-old Maggie O'Bannon finally finds a permanent home with her elderly aunt in a small Texas town. Working part-time as a school janitor, she becomes enmeshed in a fifty-year-old tragedy where nothing is as it seems and the boy of her dreams might vanish when the bell rings.

This volatile and mismatched romance is doomed from its start, as Maggie struggles to hold on to yet another person she is destined to lose. Secret love and hushed affection are threatened by outside forces, resulting in a desperate race to keep a secret no one would understand. Deeply romantic, funny and tender, Slow Dance in Purgatory captures the heartache of a love story where a happy ending might be decades too late.

Publication Date: May 25, 2026
ASIN: B007UC40D4

Reader Reviews

Can't wait to see what happens next!

May 31, 2018

4.5 stars — OK, first thing you should know about me is that I’m a scared crier…meaning tears fall out of my eyes uncontrollably (b/c it’s not normal crying) when I get scared. And this book is NOT scary people. I mean, there are suspenseful bits, sure. But apparently just the concept of ghosts scares the crap out of me. I started this book at 1am while my husband is away on business, and you better believe I freaked myself out. I don’t know why I said first thing, that was more just an aside...

A Wonderfully Nostalgic Read

September 28, 2019

I finally made time to read the only two remaining Amy Harmon books I had yet to check off my TBR list. I had been hanging on to this duet for quite some time because I wasn’t ready to be to the end of that list! However, I’ve been able to read 4 of Amy’s books this year alone and it’s been a complete joy. Each one has been utterly unlike the last! What a treat to know such a versatile author! She continually has me adding genres to my blog’s categories that I’ve never needed before. This time...

A Must Read

February 4, 2025

This was so good that I inhaled it! I could not put it down. It was so well written it was like a movie in my mind that just isaiked me in to it but better! I loved the writing! I read over a hundred books a year and was getting bored with the books I was reading and boy am I glad to have come across this one! Clean romance, amazing plot, super super cool--never read anything like it! )

Teen romance

June 29, 2016

I really enjoyed the authors latest book The Bird and the Sword and thought I would try this one. This is a solid three stars because I liked it but I don't plan on reading the sequel and it left on a pretty big cliffhanger. This is a very teen book. The girl gets so wrapped up in the boy it's unhealthy. The idea of the story was interesting at first, but when It is so unbelievable by the end and you just can't imagine how the author is going to pull this off in a \"roll your eye\" way, it's...

Thought it would be lame but it was great!

May 20, 2012

I was a little nervous about what this book would be like. I've never gotten into ghost stories, it was referred by a friend of the author, and I've usually been pretty disappointed in the books I've bought during Amazon's free (or super-cheap) e-book sales. However, I was very surprised to find it enjoyable and well-written. This was a great, fun read! I thought the storyline was engaging and I enjoyed the characters. The plot had interesting turns and enough mystery that I'm really looking...