The True Death: A Michele Shepard Story (Unabridged‪)‬

Headed for some well-deserved shore leave, Shepard is gunned down in the streets of Seattle, a victim of "a mugging gone stupid." He awakens, not in a hospital bed, but in the surreal world of Purgatory. Within seconds of his arrival, he is saved from a gruesome and painful end by his new best friend, Horace. That's Quintus Horatius Flaccus the philosopher, to you Roman history buffs. Horace explains to Shepard the cold, hard rules for surviving in Purgatory. More than just the walls have ears, and he's not sure how long Shepard will last.