From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour: The Quiet Child by John Burley

Monday, August 14, 2017

Blog Tour: The Quiet Child by John Burley

Author: John Burley

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Date of publication: August 8, 2017

From the award-winning author of The Absence of Mercy, comes a gripping and darkly psychological novel about family, suspicion, and the price we are willing to pay to protect those we love the most.

It’s the summer of 1954, and the residents of Cottonwood, California, are dying. At the center of it all is six-year-old Danny McCray, a strange and silent child the townspeople regard with fear and superstition, and who appears to bring illness and ruin to those around him. Even his own mother is plagued by a disease that is slowly consuming her.

Sheriff Jim Kent, increasingly aware of the whispers and rumors surrounding the boy, has watched the people of his town suffer—and he worries someone might take drastic action to protect their loved ones. Then a stranger arrives, and Danny and his ten-year-old brother, Sean, go missing. In the search that follows, everyone is a suspect, and the consequences of finding the two brothers may be worse than not finding them at all.

I have really enjoyed the other book that I have read by this author. So, I went into this book with high expectations. I ended up being drawn right into the story right away. I actually read this entire book on my three hour flight last week. It's kind of hard to talk about this book without giving away spoilers, so I'm not going to try. There are a few surprises and the book definitely took a turn that I wasn't expecting.

I had to sit on it for a few days to really digest the story and the ending. To be honest, I'm still not sure how I feel. And maybe that is what the book was supposed to do...be one that will stick with me for a long time. I liked it and I didn't at the same time. I was kind of disturbed by some of the events in the story. But at the same time, I had to applaud one decision that Michael made because in the end it had a positive result, but for a huge price.

I'm definitely recommending this story. It's well written and I loved the setting. Give it a try and see what you think.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author:

John Burley attended medical school in Chicago and completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. He currently serves as an emergency medicine physician in Northern California, where he lives with his wife and daughter, and their Great Dane and English bulldog.

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

Tour Stops

Tuesday, August 8th: The Ludic Reader

Wednesday, August 9th: The Book Bag

Thursday, August 10th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Friday, August 11th: Bewitched Bookworms