Mystery

Proving Ground

Proving Ground

  • Downloads：7203
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-27 11:53:50
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Peter Blauner
  • ISBN：1250117461
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Summary

"A must read。 I couldn't put the sucker down。"--Stephen King

Nathaniel Dresden never really got along with his father， an infamous civil rights lawyer who defended criminals and spearheaded protest movements。 As an act of rebellion， Natty joined the U。S。 Army and served in Iraq， coming back with a chest full of commendations and a head full of disturbing memories。

But when his father is found murdered near the peaceful confines of Brooklyn's Prospect Park， Natty is forced to deal with the troubled legacy of their unresolved relationship。 He also has to fend off the growing suspicions of NYPD Detective Lourdes Robles， a brash Latina cop with something to prove， who thinks Natty might bear some responsibility for his father's death。 Though truth be told， the list of people--cops and criminals--who wanted David Dresden out of the way is long。 The search for answers leads Natty and Lourdes into an urban labyrinth where they must confront each other--and the brutal truths that could destroy them both。

Proving Ground， New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award winner Peter Blauner's first novel in more than a decade， is a sweeping crime novel， an intricate story about the quest for redemption， and a vibrant portrait of contemporary New York City， all told in Blauner's singular voice。

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Reviews

Anthony Dimarco ，

Really 2。5 stars。 The story was OK and the sections that focused on Nathaniel （Natty） I found very interesting， but the character of Robles was just not very well drawn and relied a bit too much on clichés。 In the end she was a character I didn't care about one way or the other and I find that disappointing since she will be the focus of this new series。 Not one that I will likely continue reading。 Really 2。5 stars。 The story was OK and the sections that focused on Nathaniel （Natty） I found very interesting， but the character of Robles was just not very well drawn and relied a bit too much on clichés。 In the end she was a character I didn't care about one way or the other and I find that disappointing since she will be the focus of this new series。 Not one that I will likely continue reading。 。。。more

Jessica （the naptime writer） ，

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 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。 。。。more

Jen ，

Natty’s father is murdered and the NYPD and the FBI investigations lead to more than he ever imagined

Steve ，

I really liked this book！ So many great descriptions that are different than your typical。 Really great writing。

Dave ，

Definitely intriguing story line with some unpredictable twists and turns。

Terry ，

Terrific descriptions of characters， creative and yet so real that I can see them in all their oddball ways and feel that they are very real。 Audible narrator does a fantastic job all the way through。

Jacob Dzik ，

Unbelievable book。 Can't wait to read the next one。 Unbelievable book。 Can't wait to read the next one。 。。。more

Cynthia ，

an enjoyable read - hard to put down at times

Zbegniew ，

I had never heard of this book or this author before my wife ran across it on some list of mysteries and had me get the audiobook for her。 I was ready for a new book， so I started listening to it too。 Although this was the first book by this author featuring a hispanic female NYPD detective， she is not the main POV character。 Rather it is a young man who returned from serving with the Army in Iraq with a double case of PTSD and guilt。 His father， a prominent left-wing do-gooder attorney has just I had never heard of this book or this author before my wife ran across it on some list of mysteries and had me get the audiobook for her。 I was ready for a new book， so I started listening to it too。 Although this was the first book by this author featuring a hispanic female NYPD detective， she is not the main POV character。 Rather it is a young man who returned from serving with the Army in Iraq with a double case of PTSD and guilt。 His father， a prominent left-wing do-gooder attorney has just been murdered on the eve of a momentous trial。 He is suing the government for deliberately renditioning an Iraqi man whom they knew to be innocent to be tortured in a black site。 The characters are vivid and the plot is involving。 There are several mysteries that need to be solved and the author blends them skillfully。 It was a page-turner for sure。 Heartily recommend。 。。。more

Antigone ，

Nathaniel Dresden is a veteran of the war in Iraq and has returned home with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder。 Misfortune has equipped him with anger issues and a propensity to black out during incidents of violence - so when his father， a famous New York civil rights attorney and Natty's rebellious reason for enlisting in the first place， winds up murdered on a street corner， his name launches to the top of the list of potential perpetrators。 Proving Ground sets to work unravelin Nathaniel Dresden is a veteran of the war in Iraq and has returned home with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder。 Misfortune has equipped him with anger issues and a propensity to black out during incidents of violence - so when his father， a famous New York civil rights attorney and Natty's rebellious reason for enlisting in the first place， winds up murdered on a street corner， his name launches to the top of the list of potential perpetrators。 Proving Ground sets to work unraveling the crime from two disparate perspectives， that of the prime suspect and the rogue detective assigned to the case， who finds herself in need of a win。Blauner has a good fix on the fundamentals of PTSD， which provides his protagonist with a core of undeniable authenticity。 In fact， Dresden has enough meat on the bone to have carried the entire enterprise， and I wish his author had trusted this。 He did not。 The introduction of Latina cop， Lourdes Robles， who failed to receive the same amount of research or analysis in the development phase， is nothing short of intrusive。 She enters the story as a caricature of all the tough-talking， hard-knocking yet internally panicked women found in the worst of modern-day procedural fare。 Hers is a tragic misread of the feminine mind， and sinks to its most egregious when touching on the sexual。 There are crime novelists who can depict the siren song of a woman of any class， culture or circumstance。 This is because attention has been paid。 Blauner， it seems， was content to wing it。And let's just double-down on the consternation here。 Turns out our author has decided to launch a series featuring the character of Lourdes Robles。 The second installment， Sunrise Highway， is his fresh release。 As foolishly optimistic as I am， I did make an attempt。Could not finish it。 。。。more

Bonnie ，

Not for me。 I read the whole thing but was really disgusted when the army vet killed his father's best friend who turned out to be his biological father， and then he gets away with it！ Not for me。 I read the whole thing but was really disgusted when the army vet killed his father's best friend who turned out to be his biological father， and then he gets away with it！ 。。。more

Dave ，

Blauner seemingly effortlessly weaves between several stories with exceedingly complex characters。 Proving Ground is far more than just another police procedural。 Shuffling back and forth in alternating chapters， we get the story of Natty Dread （aka Nathaniel Dresden）， Iraq War veteran who can't stop reliving the worst moments of the conflict， including an IED which took out his buddy's lower half and an innocent kid shot in the heat of battle。 The war has a grip on Natty， a veritable strangleho Blauner seemingly effortlessly weaves between several stories with exceedingly complex characters。 Proving Ground is far more than just another police procedural。 Shuffling back and forth in alternating chapters， we get the story of Natty Dread （aka Nathaniel Dresden）， Iraq War veteran who can't stop reliving the worst moments of the conflict， including an IED which took out his buddy's lower half and an innocent kid shot in the heat of battle。 The war has a grip on Natty， a veritable stranglehold which results in fits of anger and blackouts and an unending quest for penance。 His father， a famed hippie-era civil rights legal legend has been murdered late at night in a Brooklyn Park and Natty lets his rage carry him into a bar fight and a night in a cell with half the city's firefighters out for his scalp。The alternating chapters pick up with NYPD Detective Lourdes Robles， the first in her family to graduate college， whose family didn't really survive the projects unscarred or whole。 She has several strikes against her on the force and she's got to prove she belongs。 Robles catches the Dresden murder case with an aging partner whose skills are second to none， but who is rumored to go into parks at night off the clock and beat the hell out of drug dealers。Turns out the murder case though is a tough nut to crack given that Natty's dad was suing the FBI on behalf of a postman who was said to have been smuggling bomb parts。 And now the FBI wants to cut in on Robles' case and cut her out。With all these disparate stories of war， crime， and legal intrigue playing out， the book could either fail miserably or succeed astonishingly well。 It's a thriller that you just can't put down。 。。。more

Bonnie Brody ，

Second Lieutenant Natty Dresden returns to Brooklyn from Iraq only to find his father murdered shortly after his return。 Natty's father was a famous civil rights lawyer and there were many unresolved issues between father and son。 Natty， like his father， is a lawyer but he works as a prosecutor rather than a defender， and Natty's signing up for the army was in direct opposition to his father's wishes。Natty suffers from PTSD and is seeing a therapist with whom he is very guarded。 Seeing a therapi Second Lieutenant Natty Dresden returns to Brooklyn from Iraq only to find his father murdered shortly after his return。 Natty's father was a famous civil rights lawyer and there were many unresolved issues between father and son。 Natty， like his father， is a lawyer but he works as a prosecutor rather than a defender， and Natty's signing up for the army was in direct opposition to his father's wishes。Natty suffers from PTSD and is seeing a therapist with whom he is very guarded。 Seeing a therapist is part of his orders from the military so that he can deal with his alcohol and drug issues as well as his anger。 Natty also has panic attacks when triggered by events or situations that remind him of his painful past。At the time of his murder， Natty's father， along with his partner Ben， are involved in a big legal case。 They are suing the FBI for detaining and torturing an innocent man。 Natty decides to join forces with Ben on the case and also help search for his father's killer。The two police officers， Lourdes and Sully， are fighting the FBI for jurisdiction on the Dresden murder。 It seems that no one can settle whose bailiwick the murder belongs with。 Lourdes is a young woman who has come up through the ranks and was recently put on leave because of her ex-partner's behavior。 Now that she is partnered with Sully， she is nervous about keeping her active status。 The novel has complex aspects as it goes back and forth from the police， to the FBI and then to Natty and Ben。 The reader is never sure of who is hiding what and whose back is at risk。 The writing is good but some of the back story and complexities felt like red herrings。 The legal case is what holds this novel together and Natty "can see why his father fell in love with the case。 It has the Holy Grail elements he looked for but could so seldom find in one place: the innocent victim， the false accusation， the vast government conspiracy， and above all， the David and Goliath long odds。" Read and enjoy！！ 。。。more

Clint ，

Have enjoyed the previous books I’ve read by Peter Blauner， but this one started slowly and not much to my liking。 But it picked up with the author’s usual good character studies and a several-pronged story about a former soldier and his psyche， his father’s murder and the pursuit of that crime by a Latina policewoman and older policeman。 Found myself wanting to find out what would happen。

Iam120 ，

Fast paced。 Good story。 Enjoyable read。

Peggy ，

The word that sprung to my mind early on in listening to this audiobook was “pedestrian “。 Maybe that is a bit harsh， but I was turned off by the stereotypes。 A old cop named Sully。 A veteran with PTSD who can’t seem to hold on to one attitude。 A young Latina cop trying to make her way。 Natty， the vet， is the son of a famous ACLU type lawyer who defends the dregs of society。 Natty rebels against his hippie， bleeding heart parents by going to war after 9-11。 When his father is murdered Natty， who The word that sprung to my mind early on in listening to this audiobook was “pedestrian “。 Maybe that is a bit harsh， but I was turned off by the stereotypes。 A old cop named Sully。 A veteran with PTSD who can’t seem to hold on to one attitude。 A young Latina cop trying to make her way。 Natty， the vet， is the son of a famous ACLU type lawyer who defends the dregs of society。 Natty rebels against his hippie， bleeding heart parents by going to war after 9-11。 When his father is murdered Natty， who is also a lawyer， joins with his dad’s law partner to handle the last civil suit of his dad’s career。 Meanwhile young NYPD detective Lourdes Robles is partnered with old battle scarred detective Sullivan to look into the death。 But things get quickly complicated by the FBI who claim that there is more to the civil suit of a mailman accused of terrorism who was tortured at Gitmo。 Are drugs being dealt out of the law office？ Was Natty’s father informing on his law partner？ Did his long time partner and best friend have him killed？ Natty is dealing with his own demons and guilt over what he did overseas。 I didn’t enjoy the story， didn’t like the ending leaving so much unresolved。 。。。more

Jim A ，

Meh。

Peter Antonucci ，

This was a wonderfully gritty， earthy New York whodunnit。 Blauner struts his New York bonafides as he brings every element of the city to life。 His descriptions and accounts of the people， places， and moods of the city make one experience the heat of the pavement， the smell of the streets on a weekend morning， and the attitudes and persona of the characters he brings to life so well。 It is impossible to finish this book and not recall at least a few details surrounding his primary protagonists。 This was a wonderfully gritty， earthy New York whodunnit。 Blauner struts his New York bonafides as he brings every element of the city to life。 His descriptions and accounts of the people， places， and moods of the city make one experience the heat of the pavement， the smell of the streets on a weekend morning， and the attitudes and persona of the characters he brings to life so well。 It is impossible to finish this book and not recall at least a few details surrounding his primary protagonists。 A quintessential New York detective story。 。。。more

Carol ，

***DNF*** I read a novel by this author and then downloaded or bought a few others to read。 This one didn't get started after about 1/3 and I gave up。 ***DNF*** I read a novel by this author and then downloaded or bought a few others to read。 This one didn't get started after about 1/3 and I gave up。 。。。more

Judy ，

Gave up on this one。 Not my style。

Dave Delsigne ，

Good story that lends real insite to what the young people experience in war。 The after affects are horrible。 This alone is worth the read。

Angela ，

This is like a masterclass in dialogue-writing。 The writing is also so evocative that I couldn't stop imagining how every scene in this book would look as a movie。 There's a lot to jump up and down and holler about in dismay by the end of the book， but I can't say anything because it'd spoil things！ I'm glad the copyright page calls this a "Series: Lourdes Robles novels，" because I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the sequel。 This is like a masterclass in dialogue-writing。 The writing is also so evocative that I couldn't stop imagining how every scene in this book would look as a movie。 There's a lot to jump up and down and holler about in dismay by the end of the book， but I can't say anything because it'd spoil things！ I'm glad the copyright page calls this a "Series: Lourdes Robles novels，" because I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the sequel。 。。。more

Larry Schwartz ，

Took me longer to read than it should have。 Action was choppy and， thus， annoying。

Mary Campbell ，

Good book with a bit of surprised ending。 Man dealing with murder of his father will also trying to practice law all while experiencing PST post serving in Iraq。

CliffAnderson ，

What a surpriseI don't want to ruin the ending so I'll be vague， but I was surprised。 I thought that Lourdes would be the main character， but she wasn't。 Good book。 What a surpriseI don't want to ruin the ending so I'll be vague， but I was surprised。 I thought that Lourdes would be the main character， but she wasn't。 Good book。 。。。more

Yasmina Walker ，

David Dresden， a well known civil rights lawyer， is found murdered in NYC。 Lourdes Robles， a young Latina police officer is assigned the case。 The clues point to Dresden's son， Nathaniel。 A young man fighting his own demons。 He fought in Iraq， and has never come to peace with what he did there。 This is a fast moving novel with realistic dialogue and a resolution that is not a slam dunk。 Lourdes and Nathaniel are both well developed characters that don't follow the stereotypical path。 The only dr David Dresden， a well known civil rights lawyer， is found murdered in NYC。 Lourdes Robles， a young Latina police officer is assigned the case。 The clues point to Dresden's son， Nathaniel。 A young man fighting his own demons。 He fought in Iraq， and has never come to peace with what he did there。 This is a fast moving novel with realistic dialogue and a resolution that is not a slam dunk。 Lourdes and Nathaniel are both well developed characters that don't follow the stereotypical path。 The only drawback for me was that the chapters alternated between the point of views of Lourdes and Nathaniel。 。。。more

Marcella ，

An Elegant ReadThere are no words to express the beauty， the elegance with which this book is written。 Mr。 Blauner writes from the heart， exploring the fragility of humans; how one moment in time changes every moment there after。 Many years ago I read another Blauner book and told my husband it had the best opening sentence I had ever read。 I think it was Slow Motion Riot， but I have to this day never read a better opening。 The quality of writing in Proving Ground is what every writer should asp An Elegant ReadThere are no words to express the beauty， the elegance with which this book is written。 Mr。 Blauner writes from the heart， exploring the fragility of humans; how one moment in time changes every moment there after。 Many years ago I read another Blauner book and told my husband it had the best opening sentence I had ever read。 I think it was Slow Motion Riot， but I have to this day never read a better opening。 The quality of writing in Proving Ground is what every writer should aspire。 Thank you for sharing your talent with your readers。 。。。more

Randy ，

I loved it。Excellent drama dealing with very complex and emotional situations concerning the dynamics between a son and his father and the guilt each carried for their role in the others life。 Ali of this tied up in a murder mystery that keeps the reader burning through chapters， and racing to the discover who did it and why。 Good story。。。good book！

Mikey24 ，

I've really enjoyed Blauner's previous stories。 I love his writing style。 It's very urban-edge however this book was very hard to follow。 I found myself drifting from the story because the characters just meandered without any clear and concise goals。 I've really enjoyed Blauner's previous stories。 I love his writing style。 It's very urban-edge however this book was very hard to follow。 I found myself drifting from the story because the characters just meandered without any clear and concise goals。 。。。more

PottWab Regional Library ，

E

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Proving Ground

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Proving Ground&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Proving Ground&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0