I got this book as an advanced reader copy through Scene of the Crime and Netgalley.

Erin Reece left home after graduating high school and didn't want to go back. She got a call that her father was in the hospital which got her to go back home. It was hard for her to go back to the memories as at that time people were disappearing (including her mother) and no one knew what had happened.

The town folk were not all happy to see her return, and then a body is discovered on her fathers farm while he is in the hospital. Of course all suspicion turns to her and her father.

So, in the end the truth is discovered and it is a twist at the end. Very well written and great suspense. I really enjoyed this story!!

Dark and twisted. This book will haunt you long after you’ve finished.

A town haunted by its past. The ghosts of the past are everywhere. Right from the beginning, I was pulled into the story. It has a dark haunting vibe to it. The pacing is a little slow in some places but not enough to deter me from the story. As the story progresses, you can feel something building and you just know it’s going to shake you to your core. With the many twists and turns the author threw in there, I was both surprised and delighted at the ending. The author did not disappoint!

This is a new to me author. I really enjoyed his writing and storytelling style. Great suspense! I can’t wait to see more from this author. If you love suspense and those thrilling books, this one is for YOU! Grab your copy today! I give this 5 stars.

This was a fast paced thriller that showed how a small town can have big city problems. The main character, Erin Reece, was well written and made me understand what it must have been like living in a small town but wanting to get out as you got older. She also had me picturing the nostalgic memories as she remember them. There is plenty of suspense and twists and turns in this story and I will definitely be reading more by this author. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book thanks to the publisher, William Morrow, and the author, John Burley.

4.25 small town gritty stars

I quickly powered through this one and really liked the descriptive writing style and character development. This was fast-paced storytelling and it definitely drew me into the story.

Set in the small town of Wolf Point, Montana, we meet Erin Reece who grew up there but has been gone for 15 years. Erin is now a veterinarian in Colorado. She grew up on a farm with her parents and her best friend Robbie lives at the next house down the road. Now Erin’s father is sick, and she’s been called back home.

Wolf Point has a strange history of people disappearing without a trace. There are flashbacks from Erin’s childhood and vignettes of the people who have disappeared. The town is still haunted by the disappearances and Erin doesn’t meet a welcoming committee when she returns to town. Even best friend Robbie is keeping his distance.

Things get really interesting when a body is discovered on Erin’s family farm. Is her father the one behind the disappearances? Will Erin be able to clear his name or will the town seek justice of their own? There are so many secrets in this town!

This one builds to a heart-pumping conclusion that I was almost too scared to read! This was my first John Burley book, but I will read some of his earlier books for sure!

Thank you to William Morrow, Netgalley and Scene of the Crime for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I extremely enjoyed this book. I fell into the world of Wolf Point and barely looked back. The characters and story line of Erin going back to the town she left fifteen years prior had me hooked. I will say that I only am giving this four stars due to the alternating time lines and flashbacks. I found myself rereading and flipping back to the beginning of a chapter to see what time frame I was reading about.

I did not see the last 1/4 of the book coming. I was pleasantly surprised and shocked by the ending and how it all came together.

This book was a roller coaster ride. Erin Reece comes home after many years away to take care of her sick father and when bodies are found on his farm, he is accused of being behind the disappearances that happened years before. We find out about the mindset of the town both in the past and present and even learn about the victims on the days they disappeared. This book was suspenseful and you find yourself feeling a wide range of emotions with a thrilling conclusion to who was behind the disappearances and what happened to these people and why.

I loved Burley's first book but could not get into this one, which was sad. The alternating timelines knocked it out for me. Where are the authors who, without prologue, start the story on page one and carry it through to the end. This was a DNF.

I really thought I have this story figured out but I was wrong, there is so much depth on this story that was so gripping and enthralling. I was a bit shocked how everything turns out. The characters are likable and the plot is intense. I highly recommend it to those who loves a suspense thriller read.

Eleven year old Angela Finley was the first person in Wolf Point, Montana to disappear. Taking her sled, she set out to meet her friends and was never seen again. Over a three year period, sixteen people disappeared from the community and were never found. One of them was Erin Reece’s mother. After graduating from high school Erin left for college and stayed away for over ten years, but a call from her father’s doctor brought her back home. Arriving at the hospital to see her father, she is surprised to see a policeman stationed outside of his room. A sinkhole on her father’s farm had opened, revealing skeletal remains. The officer in charge of the investigation does not suspect her father, but word has gotten around the small town and not everyone believes in him.

John Burley alternates the story of Erin’s return with scenes from her childhood and the stories of some of the townspeople who disappeared. Erin had befriended Robbie, whose small stature and Native American heritage left him open to bullying from a group of boys. Her defense of Robbie formed a bond between them and when she returns to Wolf Point he is someone that she must see. They not only shared a friendship, but also a secret that may be related to the disappearances. Someone knows what happened in the past and Erin’s arrival may offer them an opportunity to complete what was started all those years ago. Burley’s tale of suspense will have you losing sleep and guessing to the very end and is highly recommended. I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow Publishers for providing this book for my review.

Can you go home again? Erin returns home when her father falls ill. After a series of missing persons, including her mother, she left Montana 15 years ago and hasn’t been back. Those missing person cases were never solved.

What is billed as a psychological thriller is really so much more. It’s a mystery along with a story of grief. What starts out very slow jumping from timeline to timeline and pov to pov, turns into well developed characters and an ending you’ll never see coming.

I had a little trouble following things in the beginning, but am glad I stuck with it. And I could sympathize with the kids as they weren't allowed to go anywhere for fear of being the next missing person. It eerily feels a little like today.

I read a lot of mystery/suspense/thrillers and like when there is something a little different. This book falls outside the normal mold. You root for Erin as she exorcises her demons and keep reading to unravel the mystery of what happened to all those missing people.

I enjoyed this thriller. It is a well written story about a small town that has alot of people turn up missing within a three year span. The characters bring the story to life and kept it engaging. I enjoyed being pulled in right from the beginning. The twists and turns had me sitting on the edge of my seat just waiting to see who did it. This is my first book by this author and I look forward to reading more from him. I truely enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I highly recommend this book.

This takes place in Wolf Point, Montana, where a group of elementary friends plans on meeting to go sledding after school. Angela Finley has a task to complete before she can meet Erin Reece and her other friends. Angela doesn't make it to the sledding hill, she seems to have just vanished.

It doesn't stop there, along with children, some adults come up missing. The towns people are scared and keeping a close eye on their children.

Erin Reece's mother, Helen, drives her daughter and friend, Robbie Tabaha, to the movies. She would return to pick them up, except she never showed.

Years later, after leaving Wolf Point, Erin has come home after a call about her father being in the hospital. The news is much more worrisome, when Erin is asked to go to the station to hear that skeletal remains have been found on her father's farm.

The citizens of Wolf Point, haven't forgotten the past and want revenge. They've already judged, and convicted Erin's father, but the truth has been buried a long time and the past is about to return with new targets.

I thought I had figured out the villain, but as the story continued to unfold there was a shocking twist that I never saw coming. A lot of people had a lot of secrets. Enjoyable read!

I requested and received an ARC from NetGalley via William Morrow and Custom House and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

This was an amazing thriller. Right from the first few chapters I was hooked. It was really well written and kept me guessing about how the book could end. There was even a twist I wasn't expecting in the last few chapters!

Erin put Wolf Point, Montana behind her 15 years ago- with good reason. Her mother, her best friend, and others (a total of 16) disappeared in the 1990s and her relationship with her father was shaky at best. Now, though, she's back because he's very ill. The last thing she expects is that human remains will be found on his land. Is her mother's body there? Her father is the obvious suspect but there's many secrets in this small town. This is told moving between POVS and time periods (1990s and the present) and that works well to tell the story. Erin did well for herself (she's a vet now) but not so everyone in Wolf Point. What happened to her friend Robbie to make him so reclusive? No spoilers from me but know that Erin knows more than she lets on initially. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Nicely twisty and well plotted.

**I received and advanced copy of Surrender the Dead for my honest review**

Surrender the Dead by John Burley is a psychological thriller set in a small town in Montana. Erin Reece is in her early teens when people in the town begin disappearing. The disappearance of her mother turns Erin’s world upside down and she eventually runs away to start her adult life far from all the memories. But when she gets a call that her father is sick, she returns to the town where she grew up and all its memories. She arrives at the hospital to find a police officer guarding her father’s room and knows something isn’t right. A body has been found buried on their family farm and Erin is thrust back into the awful memories of all the missing people—including her mother. As she tries to make sense of what happened 20 years ago, she is forced to confront the town and the people that shaped her. This book had an interesting premise and it wasn’t obvious what was going on in the town like in a lot of thrillers. It kept me guessing until it all came together. I struggled a little at the beginning because I wasn’t sure at first about how the chapters were organized and it was a little confusing. Overall, I couldn’t put it down but it also made me really uncomfortable at times. I’m not usually scared by this type of thriller but I was kinda freaked out while reading this book. I’m not sure if it was because it was realistic or if it was because I had no idea what was going on. Either way, by the end, I liked this story and it kept me engaged.

The story begins with Erin returning to her hometown of Wolf Point, Montana after receiving a call that her dad is in the hospital. Although he has been gone a long time, Erin is still haunted by the men, women and children who disappeared from the small town never to be seen or heard from again. One of the missing is Erin's mother. Shortly after her return, two skeletons are recovered on the land her dad farmed making him suspect #1. However only two skeletons were found so where are the others?

Calling all psychological thriller fans!!

This was quite the page turner. The chapters alternate between the years of the kidnappings and Erin returning home. It sent chills up my spine reading about the abduction of one child and a few adults. We do know right away that the abductor is a male, a very strong male, that drives a white van. Automatically every main male character is a suspect in my mind....even Erin's dad. I never guessed who it was in the end, and it was shocking! I mean very shocking! I didn't see it coming. Do vans, especially vans with no windows, creep anyone else out? They have always creeped me out!

There is a chapter in this story that takes place in 1995 that didn't make sense to me. I didn't fully understand the repercussions of that year and that instance until the very end! Chills!

Thank you William Morrow, Author John Burley and NetGalley for my #copy of this book! This one comes out January 12, 2021!

Book Rating: 5/5

Veterinarian Erin Reece returns to her hometown of Wolf Point, Montana when she learns her father is critically ill. Wolf Point holds unpleasant memories for Erin. Her mother and her childhood friend were just two of the people who went missing from the town over twenty years ago. While in town, she reaquanits herself with some of the people she knew years ago, including her former best friend Robbie Tabaha. Some of these meetings go better than others. Things get even worse when human remains are found on her father’s farm. Now her father’s health is the least of Erin’s problems. He is now a suspected murderer and it soon becomes clear that many people in Wolf Point are keeping secrets, including Erin.

Surrender the Dead by John Burley is an engrossing thriller. The suspense builds as the story continues and becomes creepy as more details about the disappearances from the town of Wolf Point come to light. The way the story is told does get a little confusing and makes the pace uneven. There are flashbacks to different events in the past that are interspersed between what is going on in the present. Those flashbacks aren’t sequential though, so it takes some effort to keep track of where in the story’s timeline they take place. However, in the long run, the effort is worth it. The closer to the end you get, the more suspenseful the book becomes and I didn’t want to put it down. There are many twists toward the end that really surprised me and they just keep coming before the book comes to a dramatic conclusion. Some of the scenes aren’t for the squeamish, but I enjoyed this suspenseful thriller and especially liked the strong bonds of friendship between Erin and Robbie.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Scene of the Crime Early Reads for this ebook. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

This is my literal nightmare. People just vanishing left and night with no trace. Y’all. The anticipation and the stress from the victims were palpable on these pages. I could feel them trying to fight because they knew it was their time.

I haven’t really read a heart pounding thriller in a while, and this one definitely made up for that. There are alternating chapters of present day and the past, but y’all, I didn’t get confused. It flowed so well that I wasn’t confused! Also, there’s a lot of characters, minor and major. Well, there’s like 294284828 people that are taken without a trace, so once I realized they were another victim, it kind of made it easier on my brain. I do feel like there were so many characters that it did kind of make it not as strong with other characters. Plus, we have some that got married or changed names, or go back nicknames. I needed a character board! If we could have just focused on a few, it would have really been absolutely wild wild (instead of just one.. wild 😜)

This book is a hefty one. I was not expecting it and I honestly breezed through it quicker than I anticipated. This is a true page turner, and the ending still has me running for the hills.

Thank you William Morrow & NetGalley for the gifted copy! Surrender the Dead is out Jan. 12th!

It's always nice to come across a writer who is new to me and who checks all of the boxes and makes me want to read more by him or her. Such was the case with John Burley and this excellent book.

I have found that books billed as thrillers are often fast-paced with twists but not much in the way of character or location development. That is not the case with <i>Surrender the Dead</i>. Not only is it fast-paced with wow! twists at the end, but it is character driven and I can still feel the wind blowing in Wolf Point, Montana. I loved the descriptive writing.

Erin Reece returns home to Wolf Point, Montana for the first time in fifteen years because her aging father is very ill. A surprise in the form of a human skeleton found on their ranch also awaits her. The story goes back and forth between events that occurred in the late 1990's and her situation in the present time. Sixteen people went missing from Wolf Point over the course of three years when Erin was growing up, one of whom was Erin's mother. No trace of them was ever found. Could the body found on the Reece ranch be the first of many buried there? Is Erin's father responsible for the disappearances? Does Erin know more about the disappearances than she is letting on? These are just a few of the questions raised as the story progresses.

This book gripped me from the start and I loved the way the events of the past were revealed little by little. The characters came to life for me as well as the small town on the Montana highline. I highly recommend this book for those who love a good story and excellent writing.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this advance copy. It was a joy.

Erin is a Veterinarian who returns home to Wolf Point, Montana to be with her sick father. The story shifts from present day to back in the 90’s when 16 people went missing. The chapters are labeled with the back dates so there is no confusion but it is distracting with each shift. It’s a slow moving thriller that turns into a macabre ending. I found the ending to be a little implausible, the killer came out of left field. Erin and her friend, Robbie, were very likable characters so you were rooting for them the whole time.
Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and NetGallery were this early ARC ebook. (less)