Peter Ash came home from the war with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and as a result, he has acute claustrophobia. He spends his time living and camping out-of-doors, but when a fellow Marine commits suicide, Peter decides to help his friend’s widow in any way he can. Since her porch needs repair, he starts with that. The discovery of a huge, snarling dog and a black bag full of money and explosives under the porch sets Peter on a course that will put him at odds with a number of people in the local town. Tensions mount as Peter begins to suspect that his friend did not kill himself, but in fact was murdered. And the more Peter investigates, the more he realizes that there may be much more to the crime than murder.  Can Peter figure out who killed his friend before more people die? The Drifter is an excellent mystery debut. The mystery is well plotted, and the action is fast. And of course, the story involves a really good dog, Charles Mingus. My only complaint is that the dog didn’t get a bigger piece of the action at the end. A very enjoyable book: Nicholas Petrie is an author to watch.

Annette G.