Peter Ash Books in Order: How to read Nick Petrie’s Series?

Written by Nick Petrie, this explosive thriller series revolves around a new action hero, war veteran Peter Ash. When Peter Ash came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he needed to deal with what he calls his “white static,” the buzzing claustrophobia due to post-traumatic stress that has driven him to spend a year roaming in nature, sleeping under the stars. He couldn’t stay away forever and, when he returned to civilization, he ended up with a lot of unwanted problems to deal with in an explosive way.

How to read the Peter Ash Series in Order?

Every entry in the Peter Ash book series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.

1. The Drifter – War veteran Peter Ash spent a year roaming in nature, sleeping under the stars, fighting his claustrophobia. But when a friend from the Marines commits suicide, Ash returns to civilization to help the man’s widow with some home repairs. Under her dilapidated porch, he finds more than he bargained for: the largest, ugliest, meanest dog he’s ever encountered…and a Samsonite suitcase stuffed with cash and explosives.
2. Burning Bright – Peter Ash sought peace and quiet among the towering redwoods of northern California, but the trip isn’t quite the balm he’d hoped for. The dense forest and close fog cause his claustrophobia to buzz and spark, and then he stumbles upon a grizzly, long thought to have vanished from this part of the country. In a fight of man against bear, Peter doesn’t favor his odds, so he makes a strategic retreat up a nearby sapling.
3. Light It Up – Peter Ash leaves a simple life rebuilding hiking trails in Oregon to help his good friend Henry Nygaard, whose daughter runs a Denver security company that protects cash-rich cannabis entrepreneurs from modern-day highwaymen. Henry’s son-in-law and the company’s operations manager were carrying a large sum of client money when their vehicle vanished without a trace, leaving Henry’s daughter and her company vulnerable.

4. Tear It Down – Peter Ash is restless in the home he shares with June Cassidy in Washington State. June knows Peter needs to be on the move, so she sends him to Memphis to help her friend Wanda Wyatt, a photographer and war correspondent who’s been receiving peculiar threats. But when Peter arrives in Memphis, he finds the situation has gone downhill fast.
5. The Wild One – Losing ground in his fight against post-traumatic claustrophobia, 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.
6. The Breaker – A man wanted by two governments, Peter Ash has found a simple, low-profile life in Milwaukee, living with his girlfriend June and renovating old buildings with his friend Lewis. Staying out of trouble is the key to preserving this fragile peace . . . but when Peter spots a suspicious armed man walking into a crowded market, he knows he can’t stand by and do nothing.

7. The Runaway – Peter Ash is driving through northern Nebraska when he meets a young pregnant woman alone on a gravel road, her car out of gas. Peter offers her a lift, but quickly finds her angry ex-cop ex-husband hot on their trail. It seems Helene has seen something she was never meant to see…. and that protecting her will put both their lives on the line.
8. The Heavy Lift – Peter Ash’s friend Lewis has helped him out of jam more times than he can count, and has saved his life more than once. So he doesn’t hesitate when Lewis asks a favor. Lewis has left his criminal past behind, but a former associate may be in trouble, and he and Peter must make a trip to check in on the man. But their visit immediately takes a dark turn when they arrive to find a smoldering cabin. They soon realize that someone has stolen notebooks full of incriminating secrets about Lewis’s long-ago crimes.

If you like our article about the Peter Ash reading order, don’t forget to bookmark it! You may also check out the Jack Reacher series.