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

Monday, August 14th: From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, August 15th: Kahakai Kitchen

Tuesday, August 15th: SJ2B House Of Books

Wednesday, August 16th: Readaholic Zone

Thursday, August 17th: Tina Says…

Monday, August 21st: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Tuesday, August 22nd: StephTheBookworm

Wednesday, August 23rd: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

Wednesday, August 23rd: Art Books Coffee

Thursday, August 24th: A Bookworm’s World

Blog Tour: The Forgetting Place by John Burley

Author: John Burley

Publisher: Willam Morrow

Date of publication:  February 2015

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 injustice, contain secrets? 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 of 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.

Last year I read The Absence of Mercy and enjoyed the mystery.  So, I was looking forward to reading The Forgetting Place.  For the most part, I enjoyed the book.  It definitely drew me into the story right away.  Lise Shields is a doctor at Menaker State Hospital and receives a new patient who has no back up information about him.  His story is intriguing and ends up with her on the run trying to save his life.

This is a kind of hard  book to review because I don't want to give away the major twist.  It would ruin it.  I did figure out what was going on about halfway through the book and if you pay attention you will too.  But that didn't take away from my enjoyment of watching Lise figure things out.  I just got there ahead of her.  That being said, I was a little disappointed in the ultimate result because I feel like I have read this plot and seen the movie before.  I'm not saying it was bad, I just was hoping for something a little more original.

I would recommend giving this one a shot.  If you like psychological thrillers, you will like this one. I look forward to seeing what this author comes up with next.

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.

Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

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

Review & Giveaway: The Absence of Mercy by John Burley

Giveaway Details: Want to win a copy of Absence of Mercy?  Just fill out the Rafflecopter below. (US only)

Author: John Burley
Publisher: William Morrow
Date of publication: November 2013

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.

My thoughts:

I thought that The Absence of Mercy was a pretty good mystery.   The story flowed pretty easily and was well written.  The book is told through the points of view of Ben, his wife and the teens in the town.  There is a killer loose in the town and it has everyone scared.  It was interesting to see how the town reacted to the killings.  I thought Ben's reaction to the murders was the most interesting.  The way it almost paralyzed him at times and caused him to lose sleep.  Being the coroner and having a teenager, the murders must have really hit home.  

My only complaint was that I thought the way the murderer was discovered was a little too neat and tidy for me.  It was a little unbelievable.  I also would have liked a better epilogue.  I felt like it left some things open.  Despite that, I do recommend the book.  It's a great effort for a debut book!

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About the author:

John Burley attended medical school in Chicago and completed his emergency medicine residency

training at University of Maryland Medical Center/Shock Trauma in Baltimore. He currently serves as an emergency medicine physician in northern California, where he lives with his wife, daughter, Great Dane, and English Bulldog. This is his first novel.

Catch Up With the Author: