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    The Forgetting Place: A Novel
    The Forgetting Place: A Novel
    The Forgetting Place: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Forgetting Place: A Novel

    Written by John Burley

    Narrated by Hillary Huber and James Fouhey

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMar 22, 2016
    ISBN9780062463791
    Author

    John Burley

    John Burley grew up in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay. He worked as a paramedic and volunteer firefighter before attending medical school in Chicago and completing an Emergency Medicine residency program at University of Maryland Medical Center / Shock Trauma in Baltimore. He currently serves as an Emergency Department physician in northern California, where he lives with his wife, daughter, great dane, and english bulldog. No Mercy is his first novel.

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    Reviews for The Forgetting Place

    3.5/5

    59 ratings16 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I received this from a Goodreads giveaway. So this book starts out really good but then hits a lull during the big action scene. I was a little bored by it and kept reading and I am really glad I did. What a great final 100/150 pages. It brought everything together and it sticks with you after you finish. I come in contact with so many books that have in my opinion bad endings that ruin it for me and this book is the opposite. Highly recommend!
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book very much but I liked The Absence of Mercy better. I figured this one out pretty fast so it was quite obvious what was going on but the story was still very gripping. I liked the fact that we got an in depth picture of what goes on in the mental patient's mind and could feel all the tension she went through. Looking forward to John Burley's next novel.
    • 4/5
      The Forgetting Place by John Burley is a highly recommended psychological thriller.

      Psychiatrist Dr. Lise Shields works at Maryland's Menaker State Hospital, a psychiatric correctional facility. She joined the team five years ago, knowing from the beginning that: "There are individuals here who will never leave—who will never reside outside of these grounds. Their pathology runs too deep. They will never be restored to sanity, will never return to their former lives. And the danger, I am afraid—and the great tragedy for those who love them—is to cling to the hope that they will."

      Lise is frustrated when a new patient, Jason Edwards, arrives without any paperwork detailing his medical history and the court orders for his commitment. When she asks her supervisor, Dr. Wagner, he provides her with no details other than stating that it will be fine and she needs to talk to him to find out the information. Eventually he tells her that his presence is related to the murder of his partner/lover, Amir Massoud. Soon it becomes clear to Lise after several long discussions with Jason that his presence at Menaker must be the result of a much larger conspiracy. Then she starts to notice she's being followed. When two FBI agents make contact with her, she begins to understand just how complicated and widespread the conspiracy is and she doesn't know who she can trust. Along the way we learn about Jason's story and some of Lise's background too.

      The Forgetting Place is well written and Burley provides plenty of clues along the way for readers to figure out the conspiracy. I'm going to have to admit that I guess almost immediately what the big twist was in this novel. And while it closely resembles another novel (which I won't name to keep the secret) with the same kind of twist (which was done a little better), it does do a great job holding your attention. I kept reading to see if I had guessed correctly, and there were even a few times I doubted myself, which says enough. The ending made the rest of the novel worth my time and bumped up my rating to highly recommended.

      Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of HarperCollins for review purposes
    • 4/5
      The Hiding Place – A Lovely and Twisted ThrillerJohn Burley returns with The Hiding Place and once again he has written an excellent psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns it would give a tornado a run for its money. Even though the clues are dotted throughout the book when it comes to a conclusion the twists and turns will give you a surprise. It is all those twists and turns, the keeping you guessing that keeps you turning the pages as you get sucked deeper in to the book and the plot.Dr Lise Shields is a psychiatrist working with some of America’s most dangerous prisoners at the most secure mental health facility, Menaker State Hospital, where all the patients have been found guilty with very little chance of ever leaving. She has worked at the hospital for five years straight after her residency completed her medical training.Lise has a patient, Jason Edwards, who appears at the facility with no transfer documentation or any information about the crime he was found guilty of. Even though she complains to the director she carries on working with Jason as she tries to uncover his story and find out if this facility is where he should be. Lise has been advised by FBI agents that people will be looking for Jason that is why there is no paperwork as not to alert his hunters.When Lise gets to work one morning all hell has been let loose as Jason has been disappeared and the authorities are seeking her too for possibly knowing too much. Lise has to escape from the Mental Health Facility while being sought for what she may or may not know. Lise recognises that to survive and help Jason she needs to keep running and get help where ever she can.As the reader is taken on the journey through Lise’s eyes we feel every bump and every scrape the fear the envelopes her as the story goes on. What this does not do is prepare you for the twists and turns in the book as you really are taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and fears. Burley really gets under the skin of the reader and then at the end you feel drained as you are dumped on your backside. You are left to work out if you really did pick up the clues throughout the book as they are there; you just have to find them.
    • 4/5
      The Hiding Place (also published as The Forgetting Place) is John Burley's second stand alone novel of suspense.Dr Lise Shields has always accepted that Menaker Psychiatric Hospital houses some of America's most dangerous criminally insane offenders, until Jason Edwards becomes her patient. There is something not quite right about his presence at the institution, and when her supervisor refuses to produce his file, Lise is driven to investigate. Her suspicions are seemingly confirmed when she is approached by two FBI agents who explain Jason is in hiding, and both she and her patient are now in danger.With several twists in the tale, The Hiding Place is gripping novel. Whilst the story may require some suspension of belief during its reading, most nagging elements of discord are eventually resolved as the startling conclusion is reached. It may be a little slow to begin with, as Burley establishes the foundation for his story, the pace of The Hiding Place picks up considerably as the novel unfolds, building suspense that will keep you turning the pages."This, I realise, so often leads to our downfall. We press forward not because we want to know, but because we must know. It doesn't matter how terrible that knowledge is, or what price must be paid for it. And it is not until the moment of revelation that we scurry back in horror and dismay..."Dr Lise Shields is an interesting character, we are told she has been a psychiatrist at Menaker for five years, and leads a rather solitary life. Her choice of profession was inspired by an uncle that suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and Lise is desperate to protect Jason from his pursuers in a way that she was unable to protect her uncle from his."We belong to our past, each of us serving it in our own way, and to break the tether between that time and the present is to risk shattering ourselves in the process."If you can avoid spoilers, The Hiding Place offers an impressive final twist, perhaps one I should have seen coming...but was neatly distracted from. This is a taut, page turning thriller."The past is what imprisons us. There are some things in this world that can never be undone. But they can be faced. They can be forgiven. And if we hold onto that, then there is a chance for us. A chance that someday...we will be free."
    • 4/5
      In the tradition of Sybil and Shutter Island comes a psychological mystery that will leave you stunned and disbelieving. The Forgetting Place by John Burley is a study in the dynamics of pain, trauma, and grief and the effects they can have on the mental and emotional dynamics of the human psyche."...This is how it is for the majority-the lucky ones, whose illnesses have not claimed them completely-but it is not the case for the patients here. Too ill to be released into the public, or referred by the judicial system after being found either incompetent to stand trial or not responsible by reason of insanity, Menaker houses the intractably psychiatrically impaired. It is not a forgotten place, but it is a place for forgetting-the crimes committed by its patients settling into the dust like a gradual deterioration of the buildings themselves..."Dr. Lise Shields joined the staff of Menaker State Hospital correctional facility five years ago. She understands that her patients are commited by Maryland's court system and for many, there will be no salvation or healing. Shields understands that for many, this is their last refuge. But she begins to sense that perhaps Menaker is being used as something else entirely. A place to hide some patient. To silence them. To conceal them from the world.When a new patient shows up, Jason, with no transfer paperwork at all and no admission paperwork, Shields begins to question why he is at Menaker at all. her questions are met with silence from the administration and soon she feels she is being followed. Who is Jason and what is his secret. His lover was killed, but by who and why? And why is the FBI involved? Shields must unravel the secrets and lies surrounding Jason and Menaker before she becomes another one of its victims.The Forgetting Place is thriller that starts slowly and builds and builds until the secrets surrounding its true plot unravels bit by bit and you have an entirely different novel than the one you began with. And that is a good thing. The secrets behind Jason and his incarceration are at the core of this mystery and there are plenty of red herrings afoot. Burley does a terrific job of creating an original and well paced plot here. Plenty of mystery. Plenty of action and plenty of guessing what is going on, with an ending as exciting as it is sad.A terrific emotional thriller.
    • 3/5
      This was so similar to a book I recently finished (Little Black Lies by, Sandra Block) I can't help but wonder if I would have liked it better if I hadn't read them so close together.This started out pretty good but then things just seemed to get unbelievable and a bit confusing, but when you get to the reveal it makes things a little clearer. Aack this book is hard to review because I don’t want to spoil it for people that will enjoy it.This wasn’t an awful book it was a pretty good story but as I said above I read one that felt similar very recently and I think that may have thrown me a little. I liked the conspiracy angle that kept me guessing. Dr Sheilds has been working at Menaker State Hospital for 5 years but her newest patient Jason comes in with no paperwork and the Administrator seems to not care and when really strange things start to happen and it surrounds Jason things get out of hand.My rating is because I felt like I’d read this book before and the big twist at the end didn’t do it for me.2 ½ StarsI received this book from Librarything Early Reviewers and the publisher for a fair and honest review.
    • 4/5
      3.5/5 I read John Burley's fiction debut, The Absence of Mercy, last year and quite enjoyed it. I was eager to read his just released second novel, The Forgetting Place.Psychiatrist Dr. Lise Shields has worked at Menaker State Hospital - a facility for the criminally insane for five years. She's a conscientious, caring doctor concerned for her patients' welfare.Her supervisor assigns her to a new patient named Jason, who has arrived with no paperwork and no history. When she questions the supervisor, she is told to just proceed, that there will be no forthcoming file. But how can that be? Who is this man? Why is he at Menaker? And who is the man suddenly watching Lise's apartment and following her? When the FBI approach her with a tale of a terrorist bombing plot and a murder, she finally has some pieces of Jason's history at last. But can she believe or trust them? When her own life is put in danger, she has no choice.....I'm deliberately going to be a bit oblique with this review. If you haven't yet read the book, you might want to skip this altogether.I must admit to feeling more than a little annoyed with Lise for the first half of the book - her morning routines, her acceptance of her supervisor's edict and the FBI's information without taking it a step further and looking into it herself. She wasn't a protagonist I believed in or wanted to get behind. Things do pick up in the second half of the book and I started to have suspicions that my mental list of frustrating actions and questionable plot points were actually part of the bigger plot picture. Chapters from both Lise's and Jason's past give the reader additional information to support those initial suspicions.With the final 'reveal' in the last part of the book, all suddenly made sense - and my suspicions were confirmed. I did flip back to the beginning to reread the first few chapters with a different eye and view. Readers who don't persevere through those initial chapters would miss a nice little twist.Burley himself is a doctor and The Forgetting Place benefits from his 'insider' knowledge. Burley handles the topic of mental illness with a deft hand and insight.
    • 4/5
      3.5 There have been so many good psychological thrillers published lately, and this one can certainly join those aptly. Lise a psychiatrist has worked at Mennecker Institution for five years when a patient with no medical history is presented to her. When the FBI gets involved things start moving quickly.The first part of this book was rather slowly paced as we become familiar with the institution, Lise and this new case. The second part was non stop action as things start happening quickly and secrets are revealed. Things are not as they appear, there is much more than meets the eye.Good twisty novel with some heartbreaking looks at entail illness and the havoc it can wreak in a family. I applaud the author from his effort to separate the illness from the person.ARC from publisher.
    • 3/5
      Burley's novel of psychiatry, mystery, conspiracy and paranoia starts out slow, with meandering introspective phrases from our protagonist. It does get suspenseful towards the middle, keeping the reader turning page, but slows down again toward the end. An astute reader may guess at the twist coming because the foreshadowing and clues are pretty heavy-handed, but if you take things at face value, you may get swept up in this tale. I found it merely okay.
    • 5/5
      The Forgetting PlaceBy: John BurleyHarper Collins 2015. Pages 352Copy Courtesy of Goodreads First ReadsReview by: tkMeet Dr. Lise Shields , and her patient Jason Edwards. She has worked at Menaker State Hospital for some time now, and feels very comfortable there. Like a family. Just “who’s” family is the question. Mental illness can be brought on by a variety of factors. John Burley has an extensive understanding on this very troubling and not very treatable without intervention disorder.John had me from the very beginning. I am what I consider a seasoned reader, and this story threw me to the wolves. Sometimes you can guess at an outcome, character, of situation and know what is coming. The superior writing abilities of this author left me in the dark. I never saw it coming. Although I can’t tell what “it” is due to spoilers…know that you wont be able let this story go. The characters are so real they could be family members, and leave you with so many conflicting emotions you won’t know what to think. An absolute thrill ride from start to finish. I wish I could give it more than 5/5.
    • 3/5
      Very personal look at mental illness. Bit weak as a thriller. Seems a bit choppy and inconsistent in places. If you endure until the end you will be surprised with a a big twist. Not really recommended for any group as a bit of a genre buster.
    • 4/5
      I was lucky to get an ARC of the author's first book and loved it. Once again I'm reviewing an ARC, this time for the author's second book. Just the word "asylum" is creepy -- because of the history of those places and because even today, with such advances in medicine, mental health issues are still very scary. Here we have a psychiatrist (Lise) working at a state mental hospital. The patients there are assigned via the court system. Lise gets a new patient (Jason) who comes with no court orders or medical history, which first annoys her, then worries her. Even her boss has no clear answers why he's there. Jason doesn't seem crazy, so Lise wonders how he ended up in the hospital. Then she sees two FBI agents following her and things start to go crazy. We see some backstory from Jason, but mostly it's Lise's story that we read about, especially her odd childhood with her schizophrenic uncle. Things move pretty quickly after the beginning. The final twist is shocking, but there were a lot of clues given by the author, so that I suspected as much during the read. But the book was really good and creepy. Can't wait for more from the author. Received from LibraryThing.com for review.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed reading this book, but was disappointed in the ending. I was very similar to "Shutter Island" written by Dennis Lehane and released in 2003. A movie of the book was made with Leonardo DiCaprio. The book was well written and kept my attention; but as previously stated, was not impressed with end ending.
    • 5/5
      I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! The Forgetting Place is a well written fast paced mystery/thriller. The story is set in modern day Boston on the grounds of a long term Mental institution. The author's portrayal of mental illness is at times chilling and in the end heart breaking. Great book.
    • 2/5
      I just read the first review on this book and because of that I will keep reading....Right now I am almost half way through and hate it...There are so many inconsistencies reading is crazy making. She thinks someone is following her and looking up at her window, puts out his cigarette and he disappears and there is no butt left behind. (This she knows from her window way up in the building.) She is suppose to be a psychiatrist and she is not at all professional. I will try to keep going. And here comes the CIA and the FBI. I got this book from LibraryThings in exchange for an honest review. I think I would not have checked this book off had I known how convoluted it would be.