The Drifter

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Peter pushed the truck hard toward downtown, the city roads rough with potholes, trying to get to Lake Capital begot they closed the doors for the day.

One eye on the rearview, watching for the black Ford. But it would be easy to miss in heavy traffic. And Peter's truck would be easy to follow. Unless he was willing to rent a beige sedan, he couldn't do anything about it.

He didn't have a plan for Lake Capital. But the principle wasn't complicated. It was the same principle he'd operated under for years.

Poke a stick into something and see what happened.

not

Really enjoyed this book. I am looking forward to catching up to all the books in the series.

Good novel for folks that appreciate Jack Reacher.

Finished Nicholas Petrie's THE DRIFTER last night. I enjoyed it. It was an action/mystery, very much in the Jack Reacher vein, but it had enough separation from Reacher that it didn't feel like a wanna-be or a copy.

In the protagonist, Peter Ash, Petrie created a flawed, damaged hero that was refreshingly different from Lee Child's uber-hero Jack Reacher. Ash is carrying some deep scars from his eight years in the Marine Corps and just trying to find solace in this world. He has severe claustrophobia as part of his PTSD and that makes everything a challenge for him.

In the book, Petrie manages to raise some serious questions about how the government treats its veterans, as well as throwing some shade at how the rich stay rich in the county.

It wasn't a perfect book, but it was very good. Some of the dialogue felt stiff, and it felt like the pace of the second act dragged a bit, but I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, BURNING BRIGHT, which just came out not too long ago.

maybe better-than-average thriller but a little marred by a drawn-out multi-voiced ending.