Burning Bright

In this sequel to [book:The Drifter|25361840], Lt. Peter Ash is back to save another day, this time acting as bodyguard for one June Cassidy, who escaped a kidnapping attempt she believes is connected somehow to her mother's development of a learning computer algorithm. June is determined to solve the mystery surrounding her mother's death even as her own life seems to be in danger. Peter is drawn to her, but more than that, he refuses to leave her unprotected. And so begins a classic scenario of road-trip-with-bad-guys-after-us, Peter and June forced to trust each other before they've gotten to know each other.

The aforementioned scenario is one of my favorites in this genre, so I was immediately drawn into the story by both this and show more the fact I've cared about Peter since his introductory scene in The Drifter. Only a few drawbacks to this one: some plot predictability and some slightly wooden dialogue when the techie elements are being explained. (Then again, anyone who had to explain this stuff in real life would be using jargon, too.)

I'm committed to this series because though it is a suspense series, its strength is in its characters. Petrie depicts his protagonist in heroic and human strokes. Peter continues to wrestle with claustrophobia from his service as a Marine, and his desire to get better is explored more in this book but isn't his only defining characteristic. I hope to see June as a permanent part of his life and Peter as a hero who can find strength in the vulnerability of seeking help. We're also given a quick glimpse of his growing-up years, hinting that the author knows things about this character he hasn't shared yet with his readers. All these things make me eager for the third book about Peter Ash. show less

Petrie’s debut thriller, The Drifter, was a 2016 favorite. In these novels, Petrie’s protagonist, Peter Ash, is a veteran Marine lieutenant who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. His war experience left him with a form of post-traumatic stress disorder that he calls “the static,” and it starts up whenever he’s in a confined space—indoors, for example—threatening to bloom into a full-blown panic.
For that reason, he’s spent a lot of time tromping around the deep forests of the northwest United States, living in a tent, trying to convince himself no one is shooting at him. Unfortunately, in this book, someone is.
When he climbs a young redwood tree to escape a rampaging bear, he discovers he’s not the first or the only one show more hiding out up there. Following a trail of ropes, he finds a woman with a bow and arrow, the arrow aimed at his heart. (Hits it, too, but not in the literal sense.) The sound of automatic weapons on the ground tells them they need to fly. Their escape through the treetops, thirty stories up and above the forest fog is pure excitement. And that powerful opener is just the beginning of their non-stop adventure.
The woman, June Cassidy, is on the run. Her mother—an artificial intelligence researcher at Stanford University—was killed by a hit-and-run driver, all the contents of her office were carried away in the middle of the night by “government” heavies, who later tried to kidnap Cassidy. Her mother has developed an algorithm to penetrate secure networks called Tyg3r, and quite a few determined folks think now Cassidy has it.
Cassidy wants to know who killed her mother. Ash’s interest is in Cassidy, and he wants to use his considerable tactical and physical skills to protect her. In a recent essay about thriller superheroes, London Review of Books editor John Lanchester described his Superman Test for plausibility: “Is what I’m being asked to believe less likely than the character’s being able to fly?”
Somehow, Petrie’s depiction of Ash and his actions would pass that test. In part that’s because the author is meticulous about explaining how Ash and Cassidy do what they do. Whether you understand all those rope climbing terms or not, the details are utterly convincing.
At the same time, it seems less believable that multiple teams of heavily armed pseudo-governmental agents are driving around in phalanxes of black Ford Explorers. Yet, Ash needs a significant foe, and there’s a high-tech prize of inestimable value here. Perhaps it makes sense that considerable human and firepower resources are focused on acquiring it.
Though heavily overmatched, Ash and Cassidy are not without resources of their own. In addition to their personal skills, Ash calls on some a few pals, including one from The Drifter, Lewis: genius investor, crack shot, awesome sense of humor. Banter between Cassidy and Ash is pretty genuine and entertaining too.
The Northern California and Seattle-area settings are refreshing and full of possibility for the kind of mental isolation that breeds paranoia. And there’s plenty of it in this novel, given the game-changing significance of the technologies it explores. As Petrie says in an author’s note, “large institutions, both public and private, operate with few controls in a fast-changing environment. For some reason, I don’t find this entirely comforting.” Nor will you. show less

This book really grabbed my attention from the start with almost non-stop excitement. It almost felt like I had been thrown into an action movie and I loved every minute of it. Before I even knew it, I had read a large part of the book. The pace of the story did eventually slow down but the excitement never stopped because I couldn't stop trying to figure out how things would work out. This was such a great read.

Peter Ash is veteran dealing with PTSD which causes him to feel claustrophobic anytime he is indoors. He deals with it as best he can which usually means that he tries to stay out of buildings as much as possible. I find Peter to be a very interesting and unique character. He thinks quick and knows his limitations. June is a show more reporter that finds herself hiding from a group of men that attempted to kidnap her. June meets Peter and they start to work together to figure out why she has been targeted. June's character really complimented Peter's nicely. Their personalities meshed perfectly and they seemed to be able to work smoothly together almost from the moment that they met.

This book has no shortage of action. Peter and June find themselves in the middle of several intense situations and I never know exactly how things would turn around. I was never quite sure exactly who the bad guy was so I didn't really trust any of the characters besides Peter and June and of course, Lewis, who I was very happy to see make an appearance in this book. The story took quite a few twists and turns with many unexpected moments.

I would recommend this book to others. This is the second book in the Peter Ash series and while it could be read as a stand alone, readers will probably appreciated the background knowledge from the first book. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in this exciting series.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Penguin Group - Putnam G.P. Putnam's Sons via NetGalley and First to Read. show less

Burning Bright is a book that is advertised as having a character like Jack Reacher in another author's series. Both Reacher and Peter Ash suffer from PTSD in the same way that neither character can be in one place. Reacher has to keep moving and Peter has to stay outside because of claustrophobia. Both characters still have a desire to help people and injure the bad guy. Burning Bright also deals with artificial intelligence's ability to learn. AI can be used in very positive ways as well as do deep destruction. Four stars were given to this scary book not in the sense of boo but what artificial intelligence is capable of causing.

Burning Bright (2017) by Nick Petrie. Peter Ash was introduced in the book ‘The Drifter’, an action filled thriller that beingness of his character. Ash returns, facing a grizzly while backpacking through the woods of California. His escape is, literally, up a tree. While waiting for the bear to get bored eating his phone and other possessions, Peter finds a new climbing rope leading higher into the tall trees. With nothing better to do, he climbs only to discover a new adventure and a new woman in his life.
She has a gun, just like the men who shortly arrive down below. The shooting starts and the pair in the tree have to escape in the most dazzling fashion. She is June Cassidy, a journalist whose mother had recently died. Mom was show more a computer software expert with a new gizmo that the “Government” is very interested in owning. She didn’t sell and after a few offers, died.
June is on the run after the “Government” people decide she has the device.
Peter and June team up and try to discover who is after them. Action and more adventure ensue.
While I was reading this I thought the opening chapters were brilliant. The latter chapters, for all their life and vitality, reminded me of so many other ‘Conspiracy’ books and movies from the past several decades. If not for the strength of the main character, this book might dissolve into the mists of a routine type of story. Also, there is something of a growing feeling that the author might have been reading too many of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels. Not a bad thing to tip your hat to if I say so myself.
Still, very worth reading. show less

Lee Child states " Lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Peter Ash is the real deal." Ash is former Marine who suffers from PTSD. He escapes a Grizzly by climbing a California Redwood. High atop the tree, he is astonished to meet a woman pointing a compound bow at him. So begins a page turning ride. It would help to have read the first book in this series, The Drifter to get the background on Ash.

Pretty similar to the first book. An interesting story that kept me reading, but Peter's PTSD is still dominating him. His friend Louis is back, and is still more interesting than Peter to me.

It was a little hard to decide who were the good guys and bad guys in this one. Guess that's a good thing - keeps things interesting.