Hard Trauma

A Ty Stone Thriller, Book 1

By: Franklin Horton

Narrated by: Chris Abell

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ty Stone never wanted to be anything but a soldier. 

While in Afghanistan, an operation under his command goes horribly wrong, ending his military career. Ty is thrust back into civilian life, stuck working as a security guard at a truck stop. To make matters worse, he struggles every day with the demons that followed him home from the war.

His new job is routine, even boring, until a young girl is abducted while he’s on duty. Ty can’t let the case go, even when law enforcement insists he leave the investigation to the professionals.

Ty doesn’t listen. He cannot listen.

His gut tells him that the investigators are going down the wrong road, and with every minute they waste, the girl slips farther away. Unable to accept that outcome, Ty risks it all for this new mission. He knows that, somehow, their fates are inextricably bound. If he can save her, then he might just be able to save himself.

©2020 Franklin Horton (P)2020 Franklin Horton

Expectations blown, hook is set.

I'll start of by clarifying I own every book Horton wrote and have YET to find one I didn't enjoy and most importantly learn from. I'll have to be honest here, I live for Post Apocalyptic Fiction and I read a minimum of two of them per month. When I read online that Franklin was delving into the the Thriller category my heart sank. I was afraid that my primary dealer for SHTF crack was going to be a bit more scarce now. Boy was I wrong! Not only has the regular SHTF novels continued on track (or faster) as one would expect, but the real nugget here is two things. Fist off is how good this book is, and second is I now have two forms of crack instead of one for a backup!! All humor aside this was such an excellent book. The way Franklin weaved the real life experiences of a flawed human being into a very believable and actual modern crisis story line was masterfully crafted. I mean this with all sincerity, if you would have handed me this book and told me it was a Brad Thor thriller I wouldn't have known, Franklin has some real talent in this genre. Please keep them coming, can't wait for book two.

I wanted to like these books....

I got the first 2 books in this series to try out. I waited until I was into the 2nd book before I wrote this. I don’t think there are any spoilers….I like the author and have read other things of his, in the apocalypse area, that I liked.
The subject of these books is very timely and important, human trafficking is beyond a problem and needs to be fought harder. PTSD and the related issues are killing vets in staggering numbers. So when the author addressed both in a thriller I was very interested.
The narrator was ok in the first but I think they changed narrators for the second book and it was worse.
As for the characters, I couldn’t buy into them. There really was nothing to them other than the surface problems/issues. EVERY interaction was started off with something to do with his PTSD. Understanding it can be devastating with some vets, it was everywhere. Almost every vet in the books was a “combat” vet and had “demons”. The main character was very arrogant in dealing with others “he knows best”.
The dialogue between characters seemed forced and artificial. I don’t think there was one conversation that seemed to flow correctly. Lengthy recaps of events happened in every chapter. A character would go through something, then when asked would give a blow by blow to another character(s). a simple, "I recounted the events" type of statement would be good."
I really wanted to be able to get into these books back couldn’t. I stopped listening halfway through the second

Nearly a Home Run

Good character development and likable. The story line sometimes was a bit over the top and the villain, well she is a good example of over the top. Face paced, well told and read. Good story and worth a listen. Some tough subject matter handled fairly well (PTSD, human trafficking).

As Always a winner

I don't know that I have read anything from Franklin Horton that I haven't loved. This was a different type of book than I usually get from this author but I thouroughly enjoyed it.

I couldn't listen to it

I have every other book written by Franklin Horton and love them all. Honestly I could not listen to this book and the ratings are assumed for the story based on previous experiences by this author. The reason I could not listen to this book was entirely the narrator. He sounded like he was constipated and looking urgently for a bathroom! His efforts at differentiating characters was not good either. I laughingly compare him to my husband's efforts of talking with other accents, they are all Irish :) They all just sound the same.

Good Book!

Thought the story was great! Excited to see how the Series develops. First time with this narrator, good, not great.

Put yourself in their shoes...

Another amazingly well written book my Franklin Horton. The character development is great in this book looking forward to book number two Great storylines and Franklin really did his homework and understands PTSD...

Amazing!

This is a different kind of book than others I’ve read by Franklin Horton; however, he wrote it amazingly well. I’m actually kind of surprised that he was able to describe PTSD so well and the symptoms associated with it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, not really being one to read book synopses. The main character plagued with PTSD, after being back in civilian life, has a child go missing during his shift. Her abduction becomes an obsession that he can’t ignore. This book is full of action, and hooked me from the get go! I actually listened to the entire book in one sitting (even though I wasn’t sitting through it all). It is definitely another hit from Franklin Horton!

Great book as always

Franklins writing is spectacular as always. Chris Abell did the character spot on although at first it he was rushed at but he settled down and did a great job. I highly recommend this book and all others by Franklin Horton

Great Read

Loved this beginning of a new series. Very different from the Borrowed World series. Great new character and story. Just the right amount of action balanced with great storytelling. I would definitely recommend this book.