The Wild One

Written by Nick Petrie

Narrated by Stephen Mendel

War veteran Peter Ash tracks a murderer and his criminal family through the most forbidding and stark landscape he has ever encountered, in the latest thriller from the bestselling author of The Drifter.

Losing ground in his fight against post-traumatic claustrophobia, war veteran Peter Ash has no intention of getting on an airplane--until a grieving woman asks Peter to find her eight-year-old grandson. The woman's daughter has been murdered. Erik, the dead daughter's husband, is the sole suspect, and he has taken his young son and fled to Iceland for the protection of Erik's lawless family.

Finding the boy becomes more complicated when Peter is met at the airport by a man from the United States Embassy. For reasons both unknown and unofficial, it seems that Peter's own government doesn't want him in Iceland. The police give Peter two days of sightseeing in Reykjavik before he must report back for the first available seat home. . . and when they realize Peter isn't going home until he accomplishes his mission, they start hunting him, too.

From the northernmost European capital to a rustbound fishing vessel to a remote farm a stone's throw from the arctic, Peter must confront his growing PTSD and the most powerful Icelandic snowstorm in a generation to find a killer, save an eight-year-old boy, and keep himself out of an Icelandic prison--or a cold Icelandic grave.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Jan 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9780593107041

Nick Petrie

Nick Petrie received his MFA in fiction from the University of Washington, won a Hopwood Award for short fiction, and his story 'At the Laundromat' won the 2006 Short Story Contest in the Seattle Review. His debut novel featuring ex-soldier Peter Ash, The Drifter, won numerous awards including the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel in 2017.

Reviews for The Wild One

[lewilliams-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Having read the previous Peter Ash novels, The Wild One was a disappointment. This series is much better when Peter is teamed up with Lewis. Also, it'd hard to believe that with his PTSD, one eye swollen shut, and a head injury, that one man could defeat for police officers, plus the other fights he gets in. Not the best Peter Ash novel.

[randall6hansen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No question... I am a Peter Ash fan. And this novel has Iceland, the Swedish Chef, MDMA, and other elements that interest me. Iceland is an amazing country and I suggest visiting... but I am biased as I have Nordic roots.

Back to the review. Unlike earlier novels, Peter does this adventure all on his own -- and I came to miss his crazy buddy Lewis and his intelligent girlfriend June. Just a bit too much Peter... all-the-time.

And there was way too much on Peter's nightmares. Don't get me wrong, I know many veterans who suffer from PTS, but the dwelling on it without a solution was a bit much. Funny that ketamine was also mentioned in the book, as some veterans are actually being treated with that medication.

Overall, definitely enjoyed the book and storytelling -- but hoping the next book gets a bit more on track with some of the earlier novels.