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A review by thenaptimewriter
Proving Ground by Peter Blauner
3.0
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
3.5 ⭐️
Nathaniel “Natty” Dresden, a veteran of the Iraq War who experiences PTSD over what he did & what happened to him there, has returned to the US unwilling/unable to connect with his father, a defense attorney who didn’t approve of his choice to enlist in the first place.
After his father’s murdered in the midst of a case involving suing the FBI, Natty learns more about his life than he probably wanted to. Natty wants to figure out what happened to his dad, & why, & a certain important person in his life begins to look more & more suspicious.
Also investigating the case is Detective Lourdes Robles who has something to prove after she was recently sidelined for a former partner’s behavior. She wants this win.
Peter Blauner’s Proving Ground offers a solid mystery told in an intriguing voice. My favorite moments are the character-driven ones, when Blauner shares the secrets & memories each holds close behind their respective defensive armor.
While I enjoyed this read, I found myself disappointed by the end, which feels somewhat odd to me. After everything that Natty shares, everything he’s been through, I didn’t understand why he responded to the final events the way he did, & there’s one storyline throughout that I just didn’t 100% get.
Proving Ground is an interesting thriller & I was glad to uncover the mysteries at the heart of it but I also have some quibbles.
3.5 ⭐️
Nathaniel “Natty” Dresden, a veteran of the Iraq War who experiences PTSD over what he did & what happened to him there, has returned to the US unwilling/unable to connect with his father, a defense attorney who didn’t approve of his choice to enlist in the first place.
After his father’s murdered in the midst of a case involving suing the FBI, Natty learns more about his life than he probably wanted to. Natty wants to figure out what happened to his dad, & why, & a certain important person in his life begins to look more & more suspicious.
Also investigating the case is Detective Lourdes Robles who has something to prove after she was recently sidelined for a former partner’s behavior. She wants this win.
Peter Blauner’s Proving Ground offers a solid mystery told in an intriguing voice. My favorite moments are the character-driven ones, when Blauner shares the secrets & memories each holds close behind their respective defensive armor.
While I enjoyed this read, I found myself disappointed by the end, which feels somewhat odd to me. After everything that Natty shares, everything he’s been through, I didn’t understand why he responded to the final events the way he did, & there’s one storyline throughout that I just didn’t 100% get.
Proving Ground is an interesting thriller & I was glad to uncover the mysteries at the heart of it but I also have some quibbles.