Peter should have just stayed in the truck. But nooo....
I just finished Tear It Down by Nick Petrie, and once again, Peter has proven himself to be one of my favorite trouble magnets. I started it today. I finished it today. I'll be up half the night getting things done I should have done earlier. Oh, well. I'll sleep when I'm dead.
This time, Peter heads to Tennessee as a favor to June, who has asked him to check on her friend Wanda. Wanda is a photographer, and and Peter arrived at her home to find someone has rather aggressively introduced her home to a dump truck. And not accidentally. I'd say that was a pretty big clue someone has an issue.
Peter arrives intending to help figure out what's going on, which would probably be enough excitement for most people. But this is Peter Ash. Before long, his truck is stolen by Eli, a desperate young man with plenty of problems of his own. Now Peter has two very different situations demanding his attention, and naturally, he can't leave either one alone.
That's one of the things I love about Peter's character. He doesn't go looking for people to rescue. Trouble simply wanders into his path, waves hello, and hands him a detailed itinerary.
Nick Petrie does a terrific job of keeping both parts of the story moving while gradually pulling everything together. There is plenty of action, plenty of danger, and enough unanswered questions to make "one more chapter" a very bad decision. Peter's white static is still there, adding another layer to a character who is already much more interesting than your standard tough-guy hero. He's smart, capable, damaged, decent, and occasionally terrifying to people who richly deserve it. My kind of guy.
Five stars for Tear It Down. Peter Ash went to Tennessee to help a friend of a friend. A dump truck went through a house, his own truck got stolen, and everything went downhill from there.
Seriously, Peter. Next time, stay in the truck.
