The Forgetting Place

Burley follows his fine debut, 2013’s The Absence of Mercy, with an even more impressive psychological thriller. Menaker State Hospital in Maryland houses those who are not fit for society, especially those whom society wishes to forget. Dr. Lise Shields, a member of Menaker’s psychologist team since receiving her medical license, works with patients who will likely never recover, or even improve discernibly. Nevertheless, she’s content with her routine—until she gets a new patient, Jason Edwards, who arrives unannounced and without documentation. Though she’s immediately suspicious, she can’t help bonding with her amiable, good-looking, but reticent patient. As her doubts about Jason’s institutionalization increase, so do the efforts of Menaker’s chief medical officer, Dr. Charles Wagner, to tamp down her investigations. Burley, himself a physician, renders the manifestations of psychological illness in such a way that both Lise and the reader must confront the terrifying nature of reality itself. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. (Feb.)