The Wild One

By: Nick Petrie

Narrated by: Stephen Mendel

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

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 best-selling 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.

©2020 Nick Petrie (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Nick Petrie's exceptional writing has earned him comparisons to many of the thriller-genre greats, but The Wild One announces that period has come to an end: Petrie is setting the bar, not reaching for it." (Michael Koryta, New York Times best-selling author of Those Who Wish Me Dead)

“This kinetic, breathless masterpiece illustrates why Petrie is here to stay.” (Publishers Weekly)

Mixed feelings

Good storyline but for a few quibbles (below). Good setting, described with detail and imagery. I felt the freeze! Iceland in the midst of a winter storm. Good fight scenes, with great improvisational weaponry. Interesting and heartwarming secondary characters to offset the psycho villains. (No June or Lewis, but it worked for me). Also, Peter makes some headway regarding his PTSD — nightmares from Iraq and claustrophobia. He begins to accept himself as a man changed by the furnace of war. So, all good. Plus, I like this narrator. He’s good! A little flat at times, but that's better than über-dramatic. Quibbles: 1). Author definitely incorporates his own political opinions / agenda into the narrative regarding past foreign affairs / wars and current policy. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to feel the author intruding into the storytelling. Sounds odd, but there it is. 2) Author once again repeats nearly verbatim some paragraphs from previous books — describing Peter, his werewolf eyes, big hands, white static. 3) The story ended too abruptly and with loose ends regarding Peter’s status.

One of my favorite books in a long time

I don't think I've ever said this about a mystery/thriller novel, but this book is absolutely beautifully written. I don't really know how else to describe it. Nick Petrie's books and writing continues to get better and better, and the plot and characters keep growing, improving, and developing. Petrie's writing, at times, almost feel like reading poetry or Shakespeare, with his vivid descriptions, allowing the reader see, smell, hear, or feel exactly what's happening in the scene. This novel is largely set in Iceland, and Petrie makes you feel as if you are there, sitting right next to Peter Ash on this adventure. To do this also takes, I imagine, a large amount of research, which is so evident by the descriptions. This novel felt like a combination of amazing authors all coming together. Peter Ash feels like Jack Reacher, the setting and description is like a cross between the back country of C.J. Box's novels with a detail intricacies like Clancy. It keeps you locked in like Vince Flynn or Brad Thor. I can't begin to describe how much I loved this book. I imagine it will be one of my favorites of 2020, although it's a little early to say. This series quickly rocketed up to one of my favorites out there. I applaud Nick Petrie for his ability to develop this amazing, in-depth character, who isn't necessarily this can-do-no-wrong gunslinger that we see lots of nowadays. This character feels real, and his stories are amazing. Highly, highly recommend this book and series. Although you could easily read this as a standalone, I would definitely recommend reading the series first. It will provide some backstory to the character that you don't want to miss out on. The narration by Stephen Mendel was amazing, and the fact that he has done the whole series makes it even more enjoyable to listen to. It was extra impressive in this novel, with the Icelandic and Irish accents.

Not my favorite

The story was good but a bit redundant about the PTSD. The author spent too much time on the details of the fights. I thought the premise was good but some of the characters were not particularly developed. Not my favorite Peter Ashe. You can skip this one. It won’t stop me from trying another in the series though.

More good stuff...

I have liked all of the Ash series to date. TWO didn’t disappoint. Being Peter would be a nightmare, but that just means that the writing is good enough to allow the listeners to relate to the characters.

Solid Book

Loved it by the end, thecbook was slow to start. but gained traction quickly. I would definitely recommend it

Great Reacher style book!

Highly recommended and I have more than 400 titles in my library. If you are waiting for a new Jack Reacher this definitely works.

Better than the Last but not as good as the first

I loved the first book and thought I had found a new series to follow, the next few were ok but to enjoy book 4 you really needed to suspend any thoughts of reality, it was so over the top, Petrie might has well of reversed gravity. I thought I would never listen to another in the series but this story took place in Iceland, a place I have been to and loved so I took a chance that maybe Petrie had returned to more realistic story lines. Petrie did take a step back from fantasy law enforcement behavior but not far enough His treatment of the Icelandic law enforcement community as totally incompetent just killed it for me. Maybe back in the days of Dukes of Hazard and in that genre total incompetence might be ok, but not when on the flip side you are trying to tell a serious story. I do not recommend this book.

My dude

Love this character. Although I did miss Louis in this book, I found it to be another credit worth spending. Hope to see more soon!

Nick Petrie keeps getting better

I’ve read or listened to all his books. He brings Peter Ash alive and keeps the action hot. Hard to get out of my car. Best one yet.

Not as good as the first 4 books

I kept stopping and coming back to this book. The other books in this series, I couldnt stop listening. Lewis was absent and June's presence was minimal. The fight scenes were a huge disappointment. The plot had too much going on and I still had questions about what happened to some important characters. The ending just seemed rushed as if the author got tired of writing and decided to just wrap it up.

More please

Enjoyable read in a style not unlike Simon Kernick's. It's certainly good enough writing to sustain the interest despite a dull, unemotional narrator. So why is this, the fifth Peter Ash book, the only one to appear on Audible? Could we have the others now, please - preferably with someone else reading?

Great narration, but very poor story.

Thought it would be more "Lee Child", like, sadly it was not. Peter Ash is no Jack Reacher.