THE DRIFTER By Nicholas Petrie


I was standing in line at the Circulation Desk to check out some books at the Library. The woman ahead of me had an armful of Robert Parker’s Spenser novels. “I’m rereading the Spensers in order,” she confided to me. We chatted and I mentioned I’d just finished reading a Jack Reacher novel. She said, “Have you read the Peter Ash series? They’re better than Jack Reacher!” So, of course, I tracked down a copy of the first book in the Peter Ash series, The Drifter and read it in a day. Yes, there are some similarities between Peter Ash and Jack Reacher. Both have military backgrounds. Reacher was a military cop, Ash was a Marine with deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The differences between Ash and Reacher are more mental than physical. Ash has Post-Tramatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD) which causes him to react whenever he’s inside a building or any enclosure. So Ash sleeps outside (mostly in his truck) and works outside as a handy-man. When Ash’s best friend commits suicide in Milwaukee, Ash travels to the city to try to help his friend’s wife and kids. Things go to a different level when Ash finds a suitcase with $400,000 in it while he’s fixing his dead friend’s wife’s porch. The suitcase also has some plastic explosives in it, too.

Like a Jack Reacher novel, once things get rolling it’s action, violence, and mayhem that keep the pages turning. I need to read the other Peter Ash novels before I can weigh in on whether Ash is better than Reacher. But the competition–so far–is a close one! GRADE: B+
PETER ASH SERIES:
The Drifter (2016)
Burning Bright (2017)
Light It Up (2018)
Tear It Down (2019)
The Wild One (2020)

13 thoughts on “THE DRIFTER By Nicholas Petrie

  1. Michael Padgett

    I actually had the first book checked out a couple of months ago but never got to it. Now that it’s looking like the Coronavirus is going to be keeping us mostly at home for a while it’s a good idea to stockpile plenty to read. If this series is as good as early Reacher I’d give it a shot.

    Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    Yes, it is good and Lee Child said so! I really liked the first two books a lot, and I get the comparison. The third one took a while to get going for me, but picked up in the second half. Up next is #4. I told you they were good!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I’m a little late to the Peter Ash party, but I’ll be catching up on Nicholas Petrie’s series in the weeks ahead. Pretty soon, we’ll all self-quarantine.

      Reply
      1. Jeff Meyerson

        That’s our problem now. We’re supposed to leave for home two weeks from today. Would staying an extra week be smart, or are we better off getting home sooner?

      2. george Post author

        Jeff, I think it would be smart to stay in Florida. NYC could be shut down like New Rochelle if the coronavirus goes wild!

  3. Jeff Meyerson

    Jackie is afraid that if it shuts down and we’re stuck down here, who knows how long it will be.

    She wants to know what Patrick is doing?

    Reply
  4. Rick Robinson

    Not a series I’m interested in, but then I haven’t yet read a Reacher either.

    I rarely go out, so except for essential errands staying at home wouldn’t be a problem. Barbara, on the other hand, is out every day, at 24-Hour Fitness and running errands. We think we have a two week supply of essentials on hand.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Rick, there’s a run on toilet paper, antiseptic wipes, bottled water, and paper towels at our local stores. People are panicking!

      Reply
    2. Jeff Meyerson

      Rick, you might like this one more than the Reacher. The first book (maybe the first two books) is set in your neck of the woods, the Pacific Northwest.

      Reply
  5. maggie mason

    I haven’t read him. I may have picked up one of his arcs at Bcon, but can’t see it, so it may have been shared with my cousin in AZ.

    I haven’t done much stocking up. I usually keep nearly a years worth of tp on hand (what fills the shelf) the mega rolls. I have room for one more package, but haven’t gone shopping recently. I did also buy 2 containers of chicken broth. I recently bought some progresso soup on sale for 79c a can, so am stocked for a while.
    what is impossible to get is face masks. At Kaiser you now have to ask for them. I did buy aloe vera gel and 70 & 90% alcohol – to make my own hand sanitizer. I also bought about 6 boxes of antibiotic wipes, 4 from the 99c store. I had also bought a bunch of paper towels a week ago. When I bought this, there were plenty around. less alcohol than anything else. A friend of mine was coming to pick up my cousin and I at lcc to take us to the catholic cemetery to take pics of aunts headstones, but was wanting to get gas at Costco first. She said for the first time ever there was a big line just to get in Costco. Ralphs (Kroger) is now limiting the scarce items to 2 per person per category. Hopefully it will help make at least some things available to more people.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Maggie, Diane has us well stocked up for the coronavirus outbreak. But some people are going overboard. THE Wall Street JOURNAL had a story on a woman who bought 10,000 rolls of toilet paper!

      Reply

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