The Instructor

A Derek Harrington Novel

By: T. R. Hendricks

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Dive into The Instructor, former Army intelligence officer T. R. Hendricks' fast paced, action-packed debut thriller that's Jack Reacher meets Survivorman, the first novel in the Derek Harrington series!

“Packed with action, tension, and humanity, The Instructor delivers.”—Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Burner, a Gray Man Novel

Derek Harrington, retired Marine Force Recon and SERE instructor, is barely scraping by teaching the basics of wilderness survival. His fledgling bushcraft school is on the cusp of going out of business and expenses are piling up fast. His only true mission these days? To get his ailing father into a full care facility and to support his ex-wife and their son.

When one of his students presents him with an opportunity too good to be true—$20,000 to instruct a private group for 30 days in upstate New York—Derek reluctantly takes the job, despite his reservations about the group's insistence on anonymity. But it isn't long before the training takes an unexpected turn—and a new offer is made.

Reaching out to an FBI contact to sound his concerns, Derek soon finds himself in deep cover, deep in the woods, embroiled with a fringe group led by a charismatic leader who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. When what he wants becomes Derek's head, the teacher is pitted against his students as Derek races against time to stop what could very well be the first attack of a domestic terrorist cell.

“A pulse-pounding thriller. . . Hendricks delivers on all cylinders!”—Simon Gervais, former RCMP counterterrorism officer and bestselling author of The Last Protector

A Macmillan Audio production from Forge Books.

©2023 T. R. Hendricks (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“A brilliant debut by an author who obviously knows his stuff! Derek Harrington is a terrific new hero, a former Marine and wilderness survival expert who finds himself in a battle of wits against both a determined enemy and nature itself. Packed with action, tension, and humanity, The Instructor delivers.” —Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Burner, a Gray Man Novel

“The Instructor is an unexpected pleasure, crackling with intensity, vivid with authenticity and emotion. T.R. Hendricks writes like a knife fight on a moonless night—fast, brutal, and bloody.” —Nick Petrie, bestselling author of The Breaker and other Peter Ash novels

“Gritty, timely, and packed with action, The Instructor is a pulse-pounding thriller and a fabulous start to the Derek Harrington series. T.R. Hendricks delivers on all cylinders!” —Simon Gervais, former RCMP counterterrorism officer and bestselling author of The Last Protector

Extremely Well Researched

I generally like to spend my credits on longer books but this one was well worth the credit!

If there is one thing that I cannot stand about the Crime/Thriller/Action/Apocalypse genres of books is the authors' lack of research and utter lack of realism. This issue is practically non-existent in this book, which is super rare. The author did a great job researching SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) Training as well as his references to firearms, gear, and tactics.

There were a minimal number times that the author refers to firearms magazines as "clips" but those almost sounded as though the author was intentionally including that terminology not out of ignorance but rather in an effort to make the book more relatable to the pop-culture readers rather than just "gun-nuts" like me. The only other slightly questionable portions for me were the emergency medical care that the main character provides but, realistically, I think that, again, he just didn't want to nerd out too hard & alienate his potential readers with references to tourniquets and hemostatic gauze and the like. Regardless, these are extremely minor nit-picks on my part and really no nothing to detract from the overall story.

The narrator, Jay Snider, executes a phenomenal performance with his storytelling. He injects just the right amount of realism, tension, drama, and intensity to the dialogue of his characters. He is incredibly consistent with the manner in which he voices the various characters (a much rarer ability than one would assume from a professional narrator). His voice is clear and precise. He obviously also took the time to research the proper pronunciation of the very specific terms that are spread throughout the story. Just a wonderful performance.

I am so excited for the series to continue and, I have to say that, overall, I am extremely impressed with T.R. Hendricks' debut story! Keep them coming, Sir!

Exciting Debut!!!

I really enjoyed this story. It was well written, and Jay Snyder did a great job narrating.

Great Book!

I don’t often leave reviews but this book was different. It compelled me to write

Was a great listen.

Honestly I search for Jay Snyder. Anything he narrates makes my decision. His craft is truly an art. Can’t wait for the second book of this series.

New spec ops hero

Another Pike Logan, John Dempsey, Scott Harvath and Jason Trapp. I was running out of books, and now comes Derrick

Loved it

I like the gray man series and Jay Snider is one of the best narrators out there. I saw he did this book and gave it a listen and it was awesome.

The protagonist and Jay Snyder

I bought this book on sale because it sounded a little different but a lot like "the operator" books I enjoy. What a great surprise. Derrick is the walking embodiment of "Badass," and the story just got better and better. Fantastic conclusion. I feel like I have heard Jay before but his narration really brought the characters to life. He was just as important as the author. Really like another Dick Hill only different. I can't wait for the next one! Bravo!

Excellent start to my new favorite series!

Loved the characters, I liked the level of technical detail, not so much that is sounds like a subliminal ad for a company, and not so high level that it sounds elementary- it has just the level needed for a great story!
Outstanding job again by Jay Snyder!! My favorite narrator.
Please get book 2 done - can’t wait for its release.
And thank you for the awesome entertainment!

Seriously GOOD!!

Wow! This was an amazing story with an even better lead in to a blockbuster series to come and my only negative statement would relate to having to wait for more!

Narration was fantastic and Jay Snyder is a narrator I follow and that’s how I found this book. Keep up the good work and don’t late too long for books 2,3,4,5,6,7, 8, 9 etc etc etc!

This was a great book!

Jay Snider is one of my favorite narrators . While I was searching for a new book. I am glad I came across this series.