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Bestselling thriller author Nick Petrie will celebrate the launch of his newest novel, The Dark Time (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, March 10), with an appearance at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Main Library on Thursday, April 2 at 7pm. The event is part of the library’s ticketed Author! Series and each ticket includes a copy of the new book.
The ninth installment in Petrie’s acclaimed Peter Ash series, The Dark Time opens with a chilling threat. Investigative journalist Katelyn Thorsen—known as KT—has just dropped her teenage daughter off at school when a death threat slips through her mail slot. The message is explicit. Back off the story she’s pursuing or her daughter will pay the price.
KT shares the note with a trusted friend—June Cassidy, girlfriend of series hero Peter Ash. Before long, Peter is pulled into a violent spiral as he works to protect KT and her daughter from a threat that feels both personal and politically explosive.
“I’ve been told that what I write is a thriller with a mystery in the middle,” Petrie says. “You may know who the bad guy is—but it’s about the hero stopping the thing. There’s always that element of figuring out what already happened, and then Peter stepping in to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Set against a backdrop of political extremism and cultural division, The Dark Time continues the emotional evolution of Peter Ash, a Marine veteran grappling with post-traumatic stress while navigating a dangerous civilian world.
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Building Peter Ash — and a career
Petrie introduced Peter Ash in 2016’s The Drifter, a debut that won the ITW Thriller Award and the Barry Award and earned nominations for the Edgar, Anthony and Hammett awards. But the road to that success was anything but easy.
“I did not self-publish any books,” Petrie says. “But I did not immediately find a publisher either. It took me three books before the fourth one got picked up. It’s a hard thing to learn to do.”
That perseverance became the foundation of his career.
“The trick is to start early. Finish your book—that gives you confidence to rework it and send it out. Then start the next thing. Just keep moving. Having a life as a writer is to not give up.”
Before becoming a full-time novelist, Petrie worked as a carpenter, remodeling contractor and later as a freelance home inspector. Those years shaped the emotional core of Peter Ash.
“When I was a home inspector, I helped a lot of veterans with their homes. They always had things to talk about and I was the person for them,” he recalls. “A lot of them had served in combat. Sometimes I was just a safe person to talk to. I fell in love with their stories.”
Though Petrie did not serve in the military, those conversations informed Peter Ash’s character: a patriot who signed up after 9/11 wanting to be useful, now wrestling with the cost of service.
“I hear from vets all the time that they find my books heartfelt. Like they were actually being heard,” Petrie says. “The first book touched a nerve. It started conversations about what coming home is really like. I’m not trying to preach. They’re thrillers—action, humor—but at the core there’s something human happening.”
His publishing journey required resilience. After early manuscripts received many no’s, the industry shifted.
“Publishing kind of crashed at the time. My heart was broken,” he says. “But I told myself a story I wanted to read. At a certain point my wife told me, ‘Stop talking about it or put it in the mail.’ So I did.”
Now, nine books in with book ten already finished Petrie is still pushing himself creatively.
“My goal is not to lose interest in my own work,” he says. “Do not be the writer who starts boring people. If I can make every book as good as I can make it, then people will be interested in reading them.”
On Writing: Thick Skin and Forward Motion
Petrie is candid about the realities of publishing.
“It took me four books to get to the point where I could make a living. The third contract was where I made enough money to support myself. Save a lot. Learn to function within a day job—most people don’t get to quit right away.”
For aspiring writers, his advice is practical.
“Good skill to have? Thick skin,” he says. “Ignore publishing until the book is done. Then research agents. Find someone who represents books you love. Query them. When I sent my first book out, I did it in batches of ten. Before I heard back, I sent more.”
Rejection is part of the process.
“People would ask for the first fifty pages. Then it was, ‘What’s the next book?’ So I wrote the next book. Keep going.”
Petrie doesn’t outline extensively. His approach is instinctual.
“I just kind of start at the beginning and write toward the end. I’m not an outliner. The story is what it is. I didn’t even know what category this book was when I started. I just knew I wanted to write about someone who was broken but had a great heart.”
He encourages writers to focus on the work rather than the marketplace.
“Don’t get too invested in publishing. Read a lot. That’s how you learn to write. Keep showing up and putting words on the page. That’s the only secret.”
Writing, he admits, is uncomfortable.
“You’re building a world and putting yourself out there. I’m still trying to learn how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you can handle that, you can handle anything.”
As for sustaining a long-running series?
“The first few books, you’ve been living with those stories a long time. After ten books, it’s easy for a series to narrow down. The challenge is to open the world up again—to show new sides of the characters, change relationships, push the envelope. I designed this series to be flexible. Now I can take a hard left if I want.”
And if Peter Ash walked into the Toledo event?
“He’d probably say I’m still putting him through the ringer,” Petrie says.
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Meet Nick Petrie in Toledo
Petrie’s April 2 appearance promises conversation about The Dark Time, the evolution of Peter Ash and the craft of thriller writing. Audience Q&A is a favorite part of his events—especially when aspiring writers are in the crowd.
“I love getting to meet readers,” he says. “Stories are a way to spend time with characters—and with each other.”
Event Details
Nick Petrie
Thursday, April 2, 7 pm
Main Library—Toledo Lucas County Public Library, 325 N Michigan St.
Ticket includes a copy of The Dark Time and are found here.
Stay connected with Nick Petrie. Instagram. Facebook. Website.
