Writing
Petersen's first novel, The Terminal List, was published in 2018 by Simon & Schuster / Atria / Emily Bestler Books. The Terminal List was followed by True Believer, Savage Son, The Devil's Hand, In the Blood, Only the Dead, Red Sky Mourning, and Cry Havoc. Petersen's novels feature a former Navy SEAL sniper named James Reece who becomes embroiled in the world of conspiracies, international espionage, and revenge. The first few Terminal List books - The Terminal List, True Believer, Savage Son, and The Devil's Hand - were co-written by Peterson and Keith Wood, though subsequent books were written exclusively by Petersen.
In 2025, Carr expanded the Terminal List series with a prequel novel titled Cry Havoc. Cry Havoc is set in 1968 and is centered on James Reece's father, Navy SEAL Tom Reece, during the Vietnam War while attached to MACV-SOG. All Petersen's novels have been New York Times bestsellers. All Petersen's audio books are read by Ray Porter and have been New York Times Audiobook bestsellers. The first in a new thriller series titled The Fourth Option, co-written with M.P. Woodward, will publish in 2026.
In March 2023 it was announced that Petersen had signed a deal with Simon & Schuster / Atria / Emily Bestler Books for a series of terrorism focused non-fiction books. Targeted: The 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing is the first in a series of books exploring seminal terrorist events written by Petersen and Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott.
