The following review is a special for BlackFive readers provided by Elise Cooper. You can read all of our book reviews and author interviews by clicking on the Books category link in the right side bar. Light It Up by Nick Petrie is the third installment of the Peter Ash series. It is a fascinating story, but what makes this book special are the many layers. It has an action-packed plot intertwining guns, drugs, and money. But it also probes the subject of returning soldiers. People might think of Peter Ash as a clone of Lee Child’s character Jack Reacher, but in actuality the only similarity is that both are wandering characters. Ash’s military life and his current status as a veteran with PTSD are thoughtfully explored and unlike Reacher Petrie’s character has formed bonds with his girlfriend June and a good buddy Lewis. Readers will not have a chance to get settled in because almost from the first page the action begins. Peter decides to take a job riding shotgun to protect an enormous amount of cash being transferred. His friend, Henry, whose daughter runs a Denver security company that protects cash-rich cannabis entrepreneurs from modern-day highwaymen, Peter, and two others are in an armed truck in the mountains of Colorado. The $300,000 cargo comes under attack by Highway hijackers. Of the four, Ash is the lone survivor of the melee. He is determined to get to the bottom of what happened and will use all his skills learnt while in the military, including being a hunter, tracker, and if necessary a killer. He enlists the help of his girlfriend June Cassidy and his good friend Lewis to find the culprits. Elise Cooper: In many ways this is a story of a veteran? Nick Petrie: I am not a veteran so I am not writing from personal experience. However, I did speak with many who have returned from active duty. They told of the challenges they have faced and my hero, Peter Ash, is based on those conversations. I enjoy talking with vets when they reach out to me. EC: How would you describe Peter? NP: He is reserved, ambitious, loyal, tough, resourceful, and able to use the skills he learned in the military. I wanted to make sure he is morally driven, and is very capable of solving a mystery. But as with many returning veterans he has PTSD, something he calls ‘white static,’ where he has extreme claustrophobia. EC: The June character compliments Peter? NP: I love writing her character. She is Ash minus the military. I would describe her as ingenious, intelligent, no-nonsense, and strong. She and Peter relate well together. I put in the scene of her locked in the trunk of a car to show how she did not think of herself, but how Peter feels being in enclosed places. I based her on the women in my life. EC: In what way? NP: Every woman in my life are pretty ferocious people. My mom is someone who wakes up very day raring to go and has an office nickname of ‘the hammer.’ My sister is super smart and super strategic. My wife Margaret doesn’t take anything from anybody and has no patience for people who are incompetent, lazy, and will not get the job done. They all push me to be a better person. EC: How would you describe June’s and Peter’s relationship? NP: They have found something in each other. I think they profoundly understand one another and are rescuing each other all the time. They also help each other feel safe. I put in the scenes with the letter writing to each other, the Pony Express mail, because each can put down in words their feelings. Peter is a romantic and wanted to woo June. EC: How would you describe Lewis? NP: I think he is bright, curious, and self-taught. He is a career criminal who has decided to go straight. Peter and Lewis have an unconditional friendship similar to the connection those in the military have who served in combat together. A woman who was Lewis’ childhood sweetheart became reconnected to him through Peter since her late husband was his best friend while in the military. EC: Do you think Peter compares to Jack Reacher? NP: I am a great fan of Lee Child and think he is a superstar of crime fiction. I think the world surrounding Peter is a bit different from Reacher’s world. I am very frank that I stole from Lee this character who sticks his nose into another person’s business. You know what they say, ‘bad artists borrow and great artists steal.’ I do see my character as more vulnerable both physically and emotionally. EC: Do you think PTSD is a character in the book? NP: Yes. ‘White Static’ is a voice in Peter’s head. I wrote in the previous book that it is his ‘Spidey sense.’ It is not quite his conscience, but a voice of his warrior self. Speaking with veterans who have this, they say it is a profound piece of their life. At its worse it takes out their relationships and friendships. As in many true cases, I had June push Peter to get help. I put in the quote, ‘Even after months of therapy, part of him still felt like it was his fault, something personally wrong with him. Not just his brain chemistry altered by eight years of war, locked into a fight-or-flight zone.’ EC: Many veterans noted that they feel it is a silent wound and that reintegration is a major problem? NP: All the military characters in this book have some trouble. Peter had PTSD and feels embarrassed and has panic attacks. He does not want pity, but just for others to understand what he is going through. This is why I put in the quote, ‘A lot of guys had trouble figuring out how they fit back into their old life, or imagining the new one.’...
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Jan 26 2018, 11:37 PM
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