“LOTS OF CHARACTERS GET COMPARED TO MY OWN JACK REACHER, BUT PETRIE’S PETER ASH IS THE REAL DEAL.”—Lee Child*An Entertainment Weekly Must List PickIn the new novel featuring war veteran Peter Ash, “an action hero of the likes of Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne” (Lincoln Journal-Star), Ash has a woman’s life in his hands—and her mystery is stranger than he could ever imagine. War veteran Peter Ash … stranger than he could ever imagine.
War veteran Peter Ash sought peace and quiet among the towering redwoods of northern California, but the trip isn’t quite the balm he’d hoped for. The dense forest and close fog cause his claustrophobia to buzz and spark, and then he stumbles upon a grizzly, long thought to have vanished from this part of the country. In a fight of man against bear, Peter doesn’t favor his odds, so he makes a strategic retreat up a nearby sapling.
There, he finds something strange: a climbing rope, affixed to a distant branch above. It leads to another, and another, up through the giant tree canopy, and ending at a hanging platform. On the platform is a woman on the run. From below them come the sounds of men and gunshots.
Just days ago, investigative journalist June Cassidy escaped a kidnapping by the men who are still on her trail. She suspects they’re after something belonging to her mother, a prominent software designer who recently died in an accident. June needs time to figure out what’s going on, and help from someone with Peter’s particular set of skills.
Only one step ahead of their pursuers, Peter and June must race to unravel this peculiar mystery. What they find leads them to an eccentric recluse, a shadowy pseudo-military organization, and an extraordinary tool that may change the modern world forever.
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“Burning Bright” is the second in Nick Petrie’s thriller series featuring war veteran Peter Ash. The book opens with an abstract event that entices readers and hints at dramatic events to come. Pages later, readers meet Peter Ash enjoying the peace and quiet of a Redwood forest in Northern California. He runs for his life when a hungry bear decides Ash might make a nice snack. As he frantically escapes in the treetops, he encounters someone else, June Cassidy, an investigative reporter escaping not from a bear but from men in sunglasses. This begins a partnership that is filled with danger, mystery, and romance.
Petrie takes readers on a rollercoaster ride, starting in the California trees, and ending at a heavily fortified ranch. Along the way, Ash and Cassidy encounter more “men in suits” who want technology and secrets that they think Cassidy has in her possession. They are in a life-threatening situation, and they make the choice to fight. They escape car wrecks and dodge internet tracking. They encounter paramilitary organizations, and take refuge with an eccentric technology recluse with an unusual identity.
Petrie’s characters have depth and purpose. Readers learn of Ash’s struggles with PTSD, the “white noise,” and his growing romantic relationship, however, the focus is always on saving Cassidy and the technology. The action is smartly paced and frantic right from the start. Page after page is filled with suspense, action, and non-stop twists and turns. “Burning Bright” has all the elements of a great nail-biting thriller.
Note: the cover on my book implies that the forest is burning. Rest easy, the Redwood forest does not burn, but the same cannot be said for Cassidy’s house.
Very well written
good characters. all the nonsense in the trees was tedious.
Fast moving with ever changing situations. The kind of book that I look foreword to the next opportunity to read more.
Intense!
I loved it! One disaster after the next all handled with ease by our lead character.
I agree with Lee Child that Nick Petrie’s Peter Ash is a unique and very compelling hero, a soldier who has returned to the USA after several tours in Iraq/Afghanistan with severe claustrophobia. Notwithstanding that he is very anxious about being indoors, he is fearless and, of course, highly skilled. Burning Bright is action packed, very entertaining and one of several excellent Peter Ash novels by Petrie. If you’re a reader who can’t wait for the next Reacher thriller, pick up any of the Peter Ash novels and you won’t be disappointed. Before reading Burning Bright, I suggest that you start with first in the series, The Drifter, to get the background on Ash. In my view, Nick Petrie’s writing is entertaining, authentic and, like Child’s, plausible. Great stuff.
Immersing
Peter Ash series, book 2, is outstanding. The adventures and thrills keep coming, and also a new character, June, is brought into the novel. Peter has his hands full with trying to protect his new lady friend, stay alive himself, and continue to deal with his PTSD. I binged through this book just as I did the first one. The characters are bright and fun. Stephen Mendel continues to deliver as narrator. Autor, Nick Petrie, keeps it exciting and fun and has become one of my favorite authors.
This was a fantastic action thriller and I fell in love with Peter Ash. I thought this was the first book in the series but even though it was 2nd I never felt lost. I am definitely picking up the rest of his stories though. Fast-paced and full of questions, this was a book that, for a few minutes, made me wish I could climb redwoods and steal cars. I couldn’t put down.