John Burley worked as a paramedic and firefighter before attending medical school in Chicago and completing an emergency medicine residency at University of Maryland Medical Center and the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. His debut novel, THE ABSENCE OF MERCY, received the National Black Ribbon Award, which recognizes a novelist who brings a fresh voice to suspense writing. His second stand-alone novel, THE FORGETTING PLACE, is available now. To learn more, visit his website at www.john-burley.com.