The Absence of Mercy: A Novel

John Burley’s The Absence of Mercy is a harrowing tale of suspense involving a brutal murder and dark secrets that lie beneath the surface of a placid, tight-knit Midwestern town.When a brutally murdered teenager is discovered in the woods surrounding a small Ohio town, Dr. Ben Stevenson—the town’s medical examiner—must decide if he’s willing to put his family’s life in danger to uncover the truth. Finding himself pulled deeper into an investigation with devastating consequences, he discovers shocking information that will shatter his quiet community, and force him to confront a haunting truth.With its eerie portrait of suburban life and nerve-fraying plot twists, The Absence of Mercy is domestic drama at its best for fans of Harlan Coben, Laura Lippman, Jennifer McMahon, and Lisa Gardner.

Amazon.com Review

Author One-on-One: John Burley and William Landay New York Times best-selling author William Landay's most recent books include the novels Defending Jacob and Mission Flats. William Landay: Congratulations on the upcoming release of your debut novel, The Absence of Mercy. It’s a gripping psychological thriller, but there are some deeper themes at work here. As a writer, I know that inspiration can come from many different sources. What inspired this story? John Burley: Thank you, Bill, and congratulations to you on the phenomenal success of Defending Jacob. The idea for my novel was born shortly after the birth of my daughter. During those first few days, I was struck with the realization that here is another human being for whom I would sacrifice everything to protect—including my own life, if necessary. The intensity of such love and dedication fascinated me, and it wasn’t long until I started thinking about how far it could be stretched, about what a parent might be capable of if they were ever pushed to the breaking point. WL: Like you and your wife, the parents in this novel are both physicians. How did your professional background contribute to the story? JB: It’s sound advice to write about what you know. My training as an emergency medicine physician brings what I hope is a level of realism to the medical scenes, but it also gives the reader an opportunity to experience what life is like on the other side of the stethoscope. Physicians dedicate their lives to relieving human suffering, but they seldom talk about their own suffering, about how the practice of medicine grabs hold of you and never lets go. The long hours, the time spent away from family, the patient you were unable to save despite your best efforts—it all takes a toll. In the end, we’re as human as everyone else. WL: Your wife is a forensic psychiatrist, right? Was that helpful in developing your characters? JB: Immensely. The story involves a serial killer who terrorizes a small town. We tend to think of such individuals as extremely rare. But many serial killers are sociopaths, and what I learned through discussion with my wife is that sociopaths are present in almost all communities. About 4% of men and 1% of women fit the diagnostic criteria. They frequently blend in to the community, and are harder to identify than one might imagine. Not all sociopaths become serial killers, of course, but for many of them the potential is there. If that doesn’t make you lock your doors at night, I don’t know what will. WL:Have you always wanted to be a writer, or did that come later in life? JB:I’ve wanted to be a novelist since I was about ten years old. But when it came time to choose a career path the thought occurred to me that writing novels for a living was a long shot and that I needed a day job. I decided to go to medical school, and things sort of snowballed from there. It’s a long training process—so many hurdles along the way. About eight years later I came up for air, looked around, and realized I was no closer to becoming a novelist. So I sat down at my desk during the few days each month that I wasn’t working in the emergency department, and I began to write. Three years later I finished the first draft, but getting to the point of publication involved another three years. And I thought medical school took a long time. WL: You continue to work full-time in an emergency department. How are you able to balance the worlds of medicine, writing, and family? JB: I prioritize as best I can and address the most imminent deadlines first. My wife is extremely supportive, and my six-year-old daughter is a persistent reminder of what’s truly important in life. Still, it’s not easy to balance so many worlds. But what can I do? I love them all.

From Booklist

Parents’ fears for their children are at the heart of this chilling debut. Small-town Wintersville, Ohio, is shaken when violence strikes its youth, first in the mutilation and murder of a 15-year-old boy, then in an attack obviously by the same perpetrator on 16-year-old Monica Dressler, who somehow survives being brutally stabbed, bitten, and maimed. Having autopsied the first victim and seen the damage done, Coroner Ben Stevenson fears for the safety of his sons Thomas, 16, and Joel, 8. As police reach a standstill, with their only suspect ruled out, Ben’s physician wife, Susan, withdraws from discussing the case and discourages Thomas’ increasingly close relationship with the still fragile and traumatized Monica. Then a perceptive young detective puts some pieces together, further tearing the town apart. Physician Burley sensitively portrays parents dealing with damage and loss in a well-constructed plot with increasing tension. An occasional passage of too-florid prose is easily forgiven in this relentlessly readable thriller that will leave readers of suspense waiting for more. --Michele Leber

Contra Costa Times

“John Burley is an emergency room physician, and his hospital experience informs this taut first novel, a psychological thriller . . . [he] explores the disturbing pathologies behind the crimes . . . and The Absence of Mercy is a page-turner all the way to the end.”

Suspense Magazine

“A true psychological thriller down to its very core . . . will both thrill you and cause you to turn away at the same time, this is one debut novel that will definitely make you lock your windows and doors in suburbia before heading off to bed.”

Iron Mountain Daily News

“A tense thriller . . . [and] contemporary horror story that will keep readers on pins and needles until the very last page.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Using his experience as an emergency room physician, Burley skillfully uses the step-by-step discovery of evidence to ratchet up the tension in his debut novel. . . . A smart, disturbing and heartbreaking thriller.”

Booklist

“[A] chilling debut. . . . Burley sensitively portrays parents dealing with damage and loss . . . in this relentlessly readable thriller that will leave readers of suspense waiting for more.”

Alice LaPlante, New York Times bestselling author of Turn of Mind

“Will send chills down your spine. A taut psychological thriller . . . pushes the boundaries of our understanding of the lengths a parent will go to protect their child.”

Wendy Corsi Staub, New York Times bestselling author of Sleepwalker

“Harlan Coben meets Patricia Cornwell in an idyllic suburbia stalked by a predator that will leave an indelible mark long after the final page is turned.”

Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of Robert B. Parker's Wonderland

“In the tradition of Robin Cook and Kathy Reichs, John Burley brings murder to small town America. And like those bestselling novels, The Absence of Mercy is written by an expert who can also tell a really good tale. This one oozes authenticity.”

Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author of Never Look Away

“It’s become a cliché to say you read a book in one sitting, and it’s not true here. I had to get up in the middle of The Absence of Mercy for a drink to calm my nerves.”

Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence

“Riveting, disturbing and complex, John Burley’s The Absence of Mercy is impossible to put down. The suspense starts early and is unrelenting until the very end.”

From the Back Cover

A doctor in small-town Ohio must weigh the need to catch a killer against his fears for his family's safety in this extraordinary debut suspense novelJust west of the Ohio River lies the peaceful town of Wintersville. It's a place where neighbors feel like family, the chief of police knows the residents by name, and the sound of children's laughter echoes along the streets.But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, Dr. Ben Stevenson—the town's medical examiner—becomes entangled in an investigation that will force him to uncover the dark secrets of his seemingly quiet community and ultimately to confront a truth that will haunt him forever.With its nerve-fraying plot twists and eerie portrait of suburban life, The Absence of Mercy is psychological suspense at its best—a remarkable debut that challenges as much as it thrills.

About the Author

John Burley is the author of The Absence of Mercy, honored with the National Black Ribbon Award; The Forgetting Place; and The Quiet Child. He attended medical school in Chicago and completed his emergency medicine residency at University of Maryland Medical Center and the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. He continues to serve as an emergency medicine physician in Northern California.

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