Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Forgetting Place

This is totally the kind of book my dad would absolutely love. Definitely a thriller, definitely a fast paced read that is difficult to put down.

The Forgetting Place - John Burley
The Forgetting Place
A female psychiatrist at a state mental hospital finds herself at the center of a shadowy conspiracy in this dark and twisting tale of psychological suspense from the author of The Absence of Mercy

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.


Though it was a slow start, the really short chapters help you along. You think, "just one more chapter" and you realized five chapters later, you're getting into this book. It's a psychological thriller and nothing makes sense. To be clear, I haven't read the book that comes previous but I didn't feel like I was out of the loop. I'm not even sure if the author's first book is really the start of a series or not, but this one certainly didn't read like it. 

The story features Dr. Lise Shields who finds herself working in a correctional psychiatric hospital though everyone agrees she could be doing so much more. The entire feel of the hospital feels really off, like everyone else knows what's really going on in this place except for her. She's assigned to the newest patient, Jason, and he comes with no paperwork. She has no medical, psychological, or criminal history on him- she's starting from scratch. Soon after talking with him, she realizes there is a lot more to the story of him being there then she's being led to believe. 

The key to this book are the key plot points, which I can't go into because it will spoil it, but the ending? Didn't see it coming. Well, not completely. I'm not what you would consider a strong reader of suspense thrillers, but I do enjoy them and I do enjoy trying to figure out what exactly was going on. There are some pretty heavy clues early on in the book and if you can remember those points, it all comes together at the end. Jason's arrival at the correctional facility isn't cut or dry, it's part of a much larger conspiracy which pulls Lise in as she digs for answers. 

If you are a fan of thrillers, definitely pick this one  up. It's roughly 350 pages but I'm not kidding when I say it's a fast read. A really great weekend read. Pick this one up on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. You can also get more information about the author, stay up to date on appearances, or learn more about this book and his first one, The Absence of Mercy by checking his website, Facebook, and Twitter.   

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that the ending was a surprise and that you enjoyed getting there!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.