Publishers Weekly
11/16/2015
This strong thriller from debut author Petrie begins on the mean streets of Milwaukee, Wis. Marine veteran Peter Ash spent eight years fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan; now he’s a civilian suffering from PTSD. Ash’s first order of business after mustering out of the service is to help Dinah, the widow of Jimmy Johnson, a Marine buddy who committed suicide after returning home. While rescuing a huge stray mutt living under Dinah’s ramshackle porch, Ash discovers a hidden suitcase containing $400,000 and plastic explosives. Dinah pleads ignorance, but Ash becomes skeptical after an armed, scarred man accosts him at the house. It all seems to revolve around a mysterious man in a “black canvas chore coat,” whose surreptitious goal is to secure several thousand pounds of ammonium nitrate, a potentially explosive substance. Petrie’s expertly paced plot sets a colorful array of characters on a collision course. Readers will look forward to seeing more of the resourceful Ash. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Drifter
“As I was reading Petrie’s exceptional debut, O’Brien’s [The Things They Carried] buzzed at the edges of my consciousness, casting the newer book as a thematic sequel to O’Brien’s classic...The Drifter may be about a different war, but it’s about the same hell, and in this book it’s about the things a vet carries home with him....[The] lean prose, gritty descriptions, and raw psychological depth give the novel a feel that reminded me of early Dennis Lehane.”—Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“A gripping, beautifully written novel.”—The Huffington Post
“The Drifter is a stunning debut. Peter Ash is one of the most complex characters I've come across in a long time. The pace is like a sniper round, extraordinarily fast and precisely calibrated. The prose is fluid, original and frequently brilliant, the story heart-wrenching and uplifting at the same time. There is grit in this tale that will stay with you for a long time. Perhaps forever. I eagerly await Nick Petrie's next creation.”—New York Times-bestselling author David Baldacci
“A powerful, empathetic, and entertaining tale about the plight many combat veterans face when they come home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Top-notch storytelling.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[Ash’s] sharply intelligent, witty voice strikes the right tone for an honest exploration of the challenges returning veterans face, and while this wandering veteran will remind some of Jack Reacher, Peter’s struggle to overcome PTSD sets him apart. An absorbing thriller debut with heart.”—Booklist
“Petrie’s expertly paced plot sets a colorful array of characters on a collision course. Readers will look forward to seeing more of the resourceful Ash.”—Publishers Weekly
“Petrie's impressive debut thriller is fine tuned, the action gripping, and through Ash offers a well-drawn portrait of a vet who can't escape his combat experience. Like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, Ash's philosophy of detection is to poke a stick into something and see what happens. His discoveries will keep the reader on edge and whet the appetite for more from this author.”—Library Journal
“Nick Petrie’s debut novel follows the compelling story of one former Marine’s struggle to reacclimate himself to civilian life while honoring his commitment to a fallen soldier. That alone is reason to keep reading, but Petrie amps up the stakes in surprising fashion, creating a story that is moving, thrilling and satisfying on every level....[An] intimate story of personal discovery as well as an obsessive pageturner of a book.”—BookPage
“Gritty and engaging, this debut novel will capture readers from the first word. Edge-of-your-seat action keeps the plot racing to a stunning conclusion....This is a fantastic first novel and a captivating thriller.”—RT Book Reviews (4 ½ stars)
“With The Drifter, Nick Petrie has written just about the perfect thriller. I haven't read such a well-crafted and gripping story in a month of Sundays. If this is Petrie's first novel, watch out for the second one. But why wait? This one's here now, and it's a home run.”—New York Times-bestselling author John Lescroart
“A tangled tale of intrigue, action, and adventure with a battle-scarred hero who definitely rises to the challenge. The clever plot is firmly conceived and crisp writing makes this a terrific story, told terrifically.”—New York Times-bestselling author Steve Berry
“Nick Petrie's The Drifter has one of the most thrilling openings I've ever read, involving a dank crawlspace, the nastiest, smelliest dog in creation, and a former Marine lieutenant still suffering from the trauma of his war. It can't get better than this, I figured, but it does. Petrie's novel keeps accelerating even as it burrows ever deeper into the dark heart of the new American dream. It is a sterling debut. And yes, the dog is a star.”—New York Times-bestselling authorWilliam Lashner
“A timely, intelligent thriller, as much an indictment as a gripping page-turner. Nick Petrie’s debut simmers and seethes until it finally boils over in a masterfully-drawn final showdown. Teeming with grit and desperation and told in spare, vivid prose, this is not a debut you’ll want to miss.”—Owen Laukkanen, author of The Stolen Ones
Library Journal
01/01/2016
Peter Ash is a 31-year-old marine vet whose PTSD "white static" prevents him from being indoors. Feeling guilty about a fellow vet's suicide, he goes to Milwaukee to help the widow out, and he finds $400,000 in cash plus explosives and a giant dog under her porch. As Ash investigates his friend's death and possible involvement in some dirty dealings, his probe leads him to a gangster, a plot to blow up a bank in a financial scam, and a hedge fund manager who may have murdered his wife. VERDICT Despite a finale that strains credulity, Petrie's impressive debut thriller is fine tuned, the action gripping, and through Ash offers a well-drawn portrait of a vet who can't escape his combat experience. Like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, Ash's philosophy of detection is to poke a stick into something and see what happens. His discoveries will keep the reader on edge and whet the appetite for more from this author. [See Prepub Alert, 7/27/15.]—Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2015-11-04
A debut thriller that raises questions about domestic terror and the way the American government treats its war veterans. In the prologue, someone identified only as "the man in the black canvas chore coat" buys fertilizer at a farm supply store,clearly intending to build a bomb and evoking parallels to Timothy McVeigh. Meanwhile, Marine veteran Peter Ash sets out to repair the broken-down Milwaukee home of Jimmy Johnson, a comrade who'd committed suicide. Feeling responsible as Jimmy's former commander, Peter tells widow Dinah Johnson that his work is part of a Marine program to assist returning vets. No such program exists, but he knows Dinah would refuse his charity, and he likes fixing old houses anyway. Under the porch he discovers a suitcase that's guarded by a fearsome pit bull. He improvises a clever way to control the dog and finds $400,000 and bars of C4 explosive in the suitcase, hinting at a horrific attack in the wind. Ignorant of the explosives, Dinah wants no part of the money. But a scar-faced stranger is watching the house, and Peter wants to know why—perhaps the man is looking for the suitcase. The enormous dog had been Jimmy's and is named Mingus, after the jazz great Charles Mingus. The snarling monster has an overpowering stench, "a stink sharp enough to cut." Throughout the story, Peter feels "white static" in his head anytime he's indoors, a combat legacy that threatens to incapacitate him. Peter talks to detective Sam Lipsky about the suicide while Dinah and Peter try to find out where the money came from. Midden, the guy in the chore coat, is part of a small group of angry vets who want to teach big banks a lesson: "that the people run this country." Now the story is about much more than Peter defeating his demons; it's about America's sorry treatment of veterans and the desperate measures a few of them might take. Meanwhile, when Peter learns the truth about Jimmy, his mission changes. The relationship between Peter and Mingus is entertaining and reveals a lot about the man's character. A powerful, empathetic, and entertaining tale about the plight many combat veterans face when they come home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Top-notch storytelling.
