The Drifter / Nicholas Petrie / 371 pages

Peter Ash is an ex-marine who served eight years in multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.  His tours of duty and white static made it difficult to resume a normal life stateside.  Being indoors caused intense discomfort and spawned his decision to live in the wilderness.  When his second-in-command, Jimmy Johnson, commits suicide, Peter returns to Milwaukee to aid his widow and two kids.  The first order of business is to repair a rotten front porch.  The job is made more difficult by an evil-tempered mad dog who has reputedly eaten all the neighborhood cats and dogs and is soon to start on the children.  Peter is able to subdue the dog and begins clearing garbage that has accumulated under the deck.  When he finds an old suitcase with four hundred thousand dollars and some explosives, he knows they will lead to no good.  Well developed characters people this suspense filled tale of a true American hero.