Burning Bright (Peter Ash, Bk. 2) by Nick Petrie
Read by Stephen Mendel
Penguin Audio
Grade: B
In Burning Bright, Nick Petrie’s second Pete Ash thriller, Petrie takes on a lot of hot button topic, Surveillance, drones, privacy, hacking, black budget special operators, military corruption, the influence of technology on our everyday life, survivalism and archery. Many of these topics have been explored better with more focus in other books but here he blends them into a interesting mosaic. Even the things that made his first novel stand out, the crisp action and his main characters PSTD are muted. This, at times leaves the listener a bit befuddled by the plot, not sure what piece is important and, by the end, you’re left with the feeling that there’s a lot of loose ends. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because in a way it highlights the unique nature of Petrie’s highly appealing main character and the reality that the world isn’t always as cut and dry and books portray. As Ash hacks his way through this miasma of modern society, we get even more of a glimpse into his outsider nature. The highlight of a Burning Bright is the budding relationship between him and his quirky new love interest. It’s an adult relationship between two complicated characters who are still coming to terms with who they are. All in all, Burning Bright is a solid effort, with some fun action and lots of developments that create interesting possibilities for the series. If you are already invested in this character than you’ll enjoy the book, but if this would be your introduction to Peter Ash, go read The Drifter first.
Stephen Mendel seems to be one of those narrators whose main talent it seems is to blend into the background and let the listener immerse themselves into the story. He does an excellent job managing the rhythm of the dialogue, giving the interplay between characters a natural feel. He tries his best to guide the listener through a plot that can be a bit murky, keeping you in the game for the next key moment of character dialogue or action. Burning Bright is a worthwhile addition to a series that should appeal to fans of Jack Reacher style, thinking man action thrillers.
The Guilded Earlobe 
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