" 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 Pick In 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 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.
Publishers Weekly,In Petrie's gripping if somewhat padded sequel to 2016's The Drifter, veteran of the war in Afghanistan and former Marine lieutenant Peter Ash seeks solace in the Northern California redwood forests. Instead, Peter finds a hostile grizzly bear and must escape by climbing a tree. To his amazement, he discovers an elaborate network of ropes and platforms high in the treetops-the creation of June Cassidy, an athletic, attractive journalist who's hiding out from a menacing group of ersatz Department of Defense agents. It becomes clear that June is being hunted because of her mother, Hazel, a research scientist who died under mysterious circumstances. Might Hazel's death have had anything to do with her top secret project-developing a new level of artificial intelligence? Peter and June must rely on gumption, wiles, and his nearly superhuman survival skills to fend off their would-be captors and killers. The feisty June plays well off the damaged Ash, who suffers from PTSD, but the action-packed conspiracy plot would have been even more effective if trimmed a bit. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Jan.) � Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.,Publishers Weekly,Publishers Weekly,In Petrie's gripping if somewhat padded sequel to 2016's The Drifter, veteran of the war in Afghanistan and former Marine lieutenant Peter Ash seeks solace in the Northern California redwood forests. Instead, Peter finds a hostile grizzly bear and must escape by climbing a tree. To his amazement, he discovers an elaborate network of ropes and platforms high in the treetops-the creation of June Cassidy, an athletic, attractive journalist who's hiding out from a menacing group of ersatz Department of Defense agents. It becomes clear that June is being hunted because of her mother, Hazel, a research scientist who died under mysterious circumstances. Might Hazel's death have had anything to do with her top secret project-developing a new level of artificial intelligence? Peter and June must rely on gumption, wiles, and his nearly superhuman survival skills to fend off their would-be captors and killers. The feisty June plays well off the damaged Ash, who suffers from PTSD, but the action-packed conspiracy plot would have been even more effective if trimmed a bit. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Jan.) � Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
