As much as we enjoy our favorite writers, it is always exciting for readers of genre fiction to encounter a debut author or series. We get both with THE DRIFTER. Nicholas Petrie has worked in the skilled construction industry in a number of different capacities while quietly honing his writing chops while off the job. The result of his after-hours work can now be found in his first novel, which pairs up a likable and interesting protagonist with a plot containing a number of twists and turns, thus creating a memorable work that serves as an introduction to what hopefully will be a long-running series.

The premise of THE DRIFTER is a new twist on a plot element that has been used before in everything from westerns and romances to mysteries. Combat tours of Iraq and Afghanistan have left Marine Lieutenant Peter Ash with a form of claustrophobia that manifests itself with an internal “white static” whenever he is inside a room or building for more than a short period of time. As a result, Ash prefers being outside at all times. Utilizing the skill sets he acquired as a Marine, he has become what author Marcus Wynne describes as an “urban nomad.” He returns stateside and spends a year on the move, camping and the like. 

"THE DRIFTER is an impressive opening to what appears to be an ongoing series, one with a very unassuming, capable and likable protagonist who doesn’t seek trouble but is not afraid to interject himself into a situation if his own moral code requires it."

However, Ash is motivated to return to Milwaukee when he learns that Jimmy Johnson, who had been one of the soldiers under his command, has died of an apparent suicide. He feels somewhat responsible for the death of his former comrade-in-arms, and shows up at the Johnson home as part of a bogus Marine program designed to rehab the residences of fallen Marines. Jimmy’s widow, Dinah, hesitantly welcomes the assistance, given that she is on the verge of losing the home where she and her two young children reside. But Ash is in for a surprise when he commences work on the all-but-collapsed front porch of the house and finds quite a collection of objects beneath. Two of them are particularly important. One is a very large dog of Heinz 57 lineage that, he eventually learns, is named Marcus; the other is a small suitcase with some extremely interesting contents. It seems that no one wants the dog, except for Ash, yet all sorts of people come out of the woodwork looking for the suitcase. Dinah wants nothing to do with it, even though at least some of the contents could be of great help to her.

Ash is quite curious as to how the suitcase came to find itself under the porch, and begins retracing Jimmy’s footsteps, with Marcus in tow. The trail takes him back through Jimmy’s life, and the discovery that Jimmy had been looking for a fellow soldier who had mysteriously disappeared, much to the distress of the missing man’s grandmother. Ash’s quest takes him everywhere from the headquarters of an unofficial veteran’s assistance organization to the lofty offices of a hedge fund. He acquires some unusual and unlikely friends along the way, along with a set of seemingly disparate enemies who seem to be planning something. And they need the contents of that suitcase to do it. But what exactly are they planning, and why? By the time Ash finds out, it may be too late to stop them, even if he could. Or maybe not.

THE DRIFTER is an impressive opening to what appears to be an ongoing series, one with a very unassuming, capable and likable protagonist who doesn’t seek trouble but is not afraid to interject himself into a situation if his own moral code requires it. Petrie is quite the storyteller, having crafted a novel that clips right along from beginning to end with nary a stumble and belies his status as a debut novelist. The guy writes like a journeyman scribe, balancing the book with equal parts characterization and pacing. And while the main issues raised here are ultimately resolved, there are a couple of questions left open at the end for Petrie to resolve if he so desires. Or not. Regardless, it will be fun to see where he goes from here.