I thought this was a good, solid debut. The story was well written and kept me engaged the whole time even though I had figured out pretty early on who the killer was.

This book was fantastic! The tale of a small town haunted by a malicious killer is well-written and keeps you turning the pages.

I received this book from Netgalley. I have not read this author before. Was surprised by his writing, was good & enjoyed this book. Ending was very good but not unusual.
Thank you!

This book turned out to be highly impressive!! I have to say I really enjoyed trying to figure out whodunit and I loved the ending. The scenes were very detailed and was really interesting to see how things played out. Ben is a great character and being the county examiner really ties into the story. Some spots in the book plateaued for me, but then it would pick up in some really good spots. I liked the twist and liked how the ending left room to be creative with it. Thank you Netgalley for the read and to honestly review this book.

I really thought this book was going to be a page turner in the first few chapters. Then it slowed down-way down. I got so that I didn’t care about any of the characters. The story was mired in minutiae. I started to skim. The detail was great to a point but it got in the way of the details of the crimes.
#harpercollins #theabsenceofmercy #johnburley #netgalley

Ben and his family live in the quiet town of Wintersville, Ohio... at least, it was quiet, until someone started brutally murdering teens in town. As the town's coroner, Ben becomes intimately involved with the murder investigation. As a result, he is fearful for his family, particularly for his teenage son - could he be at risk?? What can Ben do to protect his family? How can he help the police with solving these crimes?

This is the first novel I have read by John Burley, and I really enjoyed it. There were some twists and turns that I definitely didn't expect, but liked the backstory that they added. Though there were times I found myself getting frustrated with the characters, I understand their very human instincts and behaviors in the novel. I would happily read another book by this author!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for allowing me the opportunity to read this book!

The story of the Absence of Mercy is the story of Ben Stevenson a medical examiner who deals with a serial killer in his hometown of Wintersville. This story involves the wife Susan, and his two sons, 16-year-old Thomas and 8-year-old Joel. When a victim is found alive in the woods Ben works with law enforcement to unravel the mystery. Taking the readers through the evidence. This story was a crime thriller that could be quite graphic but enjoyable for those like thrillers who take you through the case and yet developing the characters who are all intertwined. Thank you to Netgalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This book is a dark psychological thriller. It started out really good and fast paced, but toward the middle it slowed down and in my opinion, boring.

Thank you NetGalley for this Ebook copy of The Absence of Mercy by John Burley. The story follows county coroner Ben Stevenson and his family - wife/doctor Susan and their two sons, Thomas and Joel while a killer is mutilating and murdering teens.

The descriptions of the murders/mutilations are quite graphic but not overly gross or bloody. The story dragged a bit for me due to the fact that it takes place over the course of a year or so and I didn’t feel that I really got to know the characters motivation with maybe the exception of Ben since he is the narrator. A better understanding of their motivation would have made their choices and the story a bit more realistic for me (trying to avoid spoilers). I gave it 3 stars (good) for this reason. Overall, if you enjoy crime/thriller stories involving sociopaths this book would be a good choice.

Well written, thoughtful and very interesting. I enjoyed how the writer developed the storyline and the characters. I began to suspect Thomas as the killer 1/3 of way. This story is similar to another well written book about parents with “different” children and how they parent. I didn’t care for the detailed descriptions of the autopsies and the use of technical medical terms. I skimmed over some of it.
.I was very surprised by the ending, it was unexpected.

Ben Stevenson is a medical examiner who deals with a serial killer in his home town of Wintersville.
The case impacts his family practitioner wife Susan, and his two sons, 16 year old Thomas and 8 year old Joel. When a victim is found alive in the woods Ben works with law enforcement to unravel the mystery. Taking the readers through the evidence gathering shows that this is closer to Ben then he realizes.

The Absence of Mercy teeters between being good and being average. At it's heart is a mystery that isn't initially easily entangled and you may not see the story unraveling the way it does. I can't say that I did, which is always a pleasurable experience with thrillers. The murders that make up the mystery are not for the faint of heart; they are quite frankly, pretty gruesome. But as much as the story takes you in a direction you may not expect, there are parts that just don't work. As a physician, the author tends to stray into really heavy medical jargon when describing the victim's injuries as noted by his protagonist, a medical examiner, and this won't mean much to people without a medical background. The POV also has a tendency to wander around throughout the book instead of staying with Ben Stevenson, the main narrator. While this does help provide insight into who the murderer is, I can't help but think there could have been a way to stick to telling the story through Ben instead of also telling it from the sheriff, two of his detectives, his wife, his older son, his older son's friend who is one of the victims, a suspect in a psych facility, and multiple classmates of his son. If Burley can ease up some on the medicalese and tighten up the POVs and narratives, he has the ability to create a good storyline.

I did not enjoy this book. It didn’t flow well, and the storyline was not for me. I was actually unable to connect with the characters.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this through William Morrow’s The Book Club Girls.

The Absence of Mercy has a lot going for it: a compelling title and an intriguing premise. Unfortunately, the writing style makes it a slog to get through. When I’m searching for new thrillers, I want a book that is tightly paced. I don’t want paragraphs and paragraphs of detailed medical jargon. I also couldn’t connect with any of the characters.

I liked this book, read it in a few days-definitely a page turner.. A young boy is murdered in a gruesome fashion, then a young girl is attacked by the same killer but lives. And finally another young person is murdered. It is a disturbing story. Family secrets that should have been discussed long ago.

The Absence of Mercy feels like two books to me. The beginning is mystery/thriller and the end more of a family drama. Dr. Ben Stevenson, is a small town coroner, whose job has been mostly quiet until a teenager is killed, horrifically in the local woods. Months pass and everything is calm and then boom another teenager is attacked but his one is alive. The suspense builds and whodunit quickly becomes apparent. Then, the story switches from a whodunit format to a family protecting one of its own, no more mystery just a little disappointment as the ending does not bring clarity or really concludes in any way. The killer is still on the loose and lives are destroyed. The beginning of this book is a solid four stars. Saying that, I also feel like the ending belonged to another story and finishes at a disappointing two stars. Three stars overall as the story is easily read but not what was expected. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Book was given to me but when I attempted to download i got "book is now archived". I tried numerous times.

Wow! What a page-turner! This book had my crying by chapter 5. The story is chilling, gripping, and downright exciting. This is the first book from John Burley that I ever read, and it will certainly not be the last.