The Forgetting Place Blog Tour and Review

The Forgetting Place by John Burley
Publication date: February 10, 2015 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Source: Publisher for an honest review
Description:
Menaker State Hospital is a curse, a refuge, a prison, a necessity, a nightmare, a salvation.

When Dr. Lise Shields arrived at the correctional psychiatric facility five years ago, she was warned that many of its patients-committed by Maryland’s judicial system for perpetrating heinous crimes-would never leave.

But what happens when a place like Menaker is corrupted, when it becomes a tool to silence the innocent, conceal an injustice, contain a secret? Why is it that the newest patient does not seem to belong there, that the hospital administrator has fallen silent, and that Lise is being watched by two men with seemingly lethal intent? The answers are closer than she realizes and could cost her everything she holds dear.

In this chilling follow-up to The Absence of Mercy, author John Burley—a master at medical and psychological detail—showcases the many ways in which the dangers of the outside world pale in comparison to the horrors of the human mind.

My Take:

When the blog tour request for The Forgetting Place came through my inbox, I jumped at the chance to read and review the next book by John Burley. I read and reviewed his first book, The Absence of Mercy back in November of 2013 and just loved it. The problem with trying to review one of Burley's books is that there is always a twist and it isn't something that anyone would want to give away.

Lise Shields is a doctor working at Menaker State Hospital. She is dedicated at trying to help her severely mentally-ill patients and when the administrator of the hospital becomes too vague and illusive regarding a new patient's records, Lise becomes very concerned. It begins to seem like he is intentionally trying to keep her from being effective in her treatment of this mysterious patient. Lise, however, will not be deterred and continues to ask questions and search for information. What she uncovers is very unexpected.

I really enjoyed the writing and the way that the book reveals the reasons that Jason, the new patient, ended up in the hospital. Through the sessions with Lise, his story slowly unfolds and the reader learns more and more about Jason's life before he enters the hospital. We also get to learn more about Lise's past and her experiences at the hospital. The story flows wonderfully and Burley is a master at pulling the reader into the story as it gets more and more complicated.

 As with The Absence of Mercy, I found The Forgetting Place to be nearly impossible to put down. While I was reading it I could think of nothing else - it haunted my thoughts as I did dishes or laundry or whatever other chore that had to be done (as quickly as possible so I could get back to the book). After I finished reading the book, it still haunted me. Burley is extremely good at writing books that just don't let go. I did figure out the twist (or I was hoping I was right), but I still enjoyed the book and the twist when it was revealed immensely. I have and will continue to recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense, mysteries, and psychological thrillers. This was such a great read and I will be reading it again soon.

Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

About John Burley

John Burley is the award-winning author of The Absence of Mercy, which won the National Black Ribbon Award recognizing a new voice in suspense writing. He attended medical school in Chicago and completed his emergency medicine residency at University of Maryland Medical Center and R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. He continues to serve as an emergency medicine physician in Northern California, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and Great Dane.

Find out more about John at his website, and connect with him on Facebook and Twitter.

John’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, February 10th: A Bookworm’s World
Wednesday, February 11th: Ms. Nose in a Book
Thursday, February 12th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Friday, February 13th: The Reader’s Hollow
Tuesday, February 17th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Wednesday, February 18th: Booksie’s Blog
Thursday, February 19th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, February 23rd: Kritters Ramblings
Tuesday, February 24th: BoundbyWords
Wednesday, February 25th: A Book Geek

The Absence of Mercy

The Absence of Mercy by John Burley
Publication date: November 19, 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss for an honest review
Description from Goodreads:

A doctor and father in small town Ohio weighs the need to catch a killer against his fears for his family's safety in this debut psychological suspense novel

Just west of the Ohio River, lies the peaceful town of Wintersville. Safe from the crime and congestion of city life, it is the perfect place to raise a family . . . or so they thought.

Life as the town medical examiner is relatively unhurried for Dr. Ben Stevenson. With only a smattering of cases here and there-car accident victims, death by natural causes-he has plenty of time to spend with his loving wife and two sons. That is until a teenager's body is discovered in the woods and Ben, as the only coroner in the area, is assigned to the case. But as the increasingly animalistic attacks continue, the case challenges Ben in ways he never suspects.

With its eerie portrait of suburban life and nerve-fraying plot twists, this is psychological suspense at its best-an extraordinary debut that challenges as much as it thrills.

My Take:

When I first started reading The Absence of Mercy, I didn't know if I was going to like it, despite the fact that I really liked the premise of the book. It took me a few chapters to get drawn into the story, but once I did, I had a hard time putting the book down.

This book is the stuff of a parent's nightmares. Really. We follow Ben, the medical examiner, working in a small town as he tries to help the authorities solve a brutal murder. The murder itself is horrific and the fact that the victim is a teenager just makes the whole thing worse.

I was pulled into the search for the killer and was intrigued by the way information is given to the reader if one pays attention. The growing horror of gradually figuring out who was behind the murder(s) was pretty gut-wrenching.

I liked how characters are very slowly examined, but at first, it is difficult to determine if a character is just quirky or if it is something more sinister. I was kept guessing for awhile. However, there are clues for the reader about several of the characters.

I think this book will stay with me for awhile. I find myself thinking about certain events or aspects of a character at odd moments. This was a disturbing read, but I couldn't put it down. For a first novel, I think it was pretty impressive and I look forward to reading more by John Burley.