Blunt Force Trauma Audiobook Review

 

 

Blunt Force Trauma Audiobook Review

Writer: Jeff Kerr

Narrator: Ric Chetter

 

Adam Cash is a man deeply in love. He wants to rekindle his relationship with Edie James, the High School sweetheart he left behind to join the Army. He hopes to capitalize on his bachelor’s degree in criminology and his Police Academy training by gaining a job in law enforcement. Adam yearns to spend more time with his infant daughter Emma, even if Bernadette Fenster keeps pushing him away after burdening her with responsibility from their drunken one-night stand. But most of all, he loves his hometown of Pinyon, Texas. Adam wants to spend the rest of his life there and safeguard the small town's future. So why does Adam feel like he is on the outside looking in? Let's leap into Blunt Force Trauma and find out!

 

Story

Adam Cash returned home after serving two tours in Afghanistan and getting a degree at Sam Houston State University. At least, he returned to the house he grew up in. But his parents have traded Pinyon for a better life in Austin. Adam managed to talk them out of selling the house that generations of his family called home. He hopes to restore the surrounding acreage to encourage native wildlife. But all that takes money. And after a year in Pinyon, he's still stringing barbed wire for a pittance.

 

Jeff based the Pinyon courthouse on this one in Blanco, Texas.

 

 

Opportunity beckons when the Pinyon Police advertise a vacancy on their website. Adam’s hopes rise when he gets an interview. But Sheriff Griff Turner harbors ill will toward Cash from their High School days. The interview in the police station at the Pinyon Courthouse escalates into a confrontation, with neither man believing he can work with the other. With his hopes in ruins, Adam sees little hope of remaining in Pinyon and pursuing his desired career. As he discusses his dilemma with his childhood friend Steve Jenkins, who runs Packsaddle Brewing, Adam gets an idea. The local elections are approaching. If he can't serve Pinyon as a police deputy, perhaps he could protect it as the town's Sheriff?

Texas Cannon in Blanco was Jeff's inspiration for Packsaddle Brewing.

 

Taking the spotlight doesn’t come easy for Adam. While he made it through college, he wishes his organizational skills were better. He knows someone who can help him. But will Edie James agree to organize his electoral campaign?

 

Steve started Packsaddle Brewing after graduating from Pinyon High.

 

 

While Adam seeks to establish a foothold on his future, forces align against him. They bear him no malice. It's just business. And it's a dirty business, one the foulest ever conceived by man. Adam Cash makes an easy target. After fighting to win his dream job, Adam flees his home. Sure, Adam could run to his parents' house in Austin. They would doubtless hire lawyers to protect him. His father's HVAC business could fund his defense. But someone murdered Griff Turner, and the acting Sheriff of the Pinyon Police, Clovis Ward, is eager to arrest him. Adam has friends like Steve and Edie, who can help him. But there is only one person sufficiently driven to clear his name before the good people of Pinyon: Adam Cash.

 

Jeff modeled the Firewheel Cafe where Edie works on Blanco's Redbud Cafe.

 

As Adam investigates Sheriff Turner’s murder, he uncovers other reasons why Griff wouldn't want to hire him. Adam learns why a local frozen yogurt shop only opens two days each week. He discovers public servants who abuse their positions for personal gain. He even uncovers skeletons in his own family's closet. After his novel Refuge, Jeff Kerr once again shines a spotlight on the dangers facing those who hope for a better life by immigrating illegally to the United States. Jeff Kerr enhances Adam Cash's story by showing how Human Traffickers seize upon their prey and bend them to their will. It's a despicable business made possible by good people who, like Adam, need a little extra income and those who refuse to report the evildoers for fear of retaliation.

 

Adam gives a speech at the Firewheel Cafe while campaigning for Sheriff.

 

 

While Blunt Force Trauma makes for an enjoyable read, Ric Chetter’s narration advances the audiobook to the next level. Ric Chetter’s hard-bitten bass voice evokes an old cowboy sitting around a campfire, spinning a yarn for his fellow Texans after a long, hot day in the saddle. His voice handles male and female voices equally well and enthralled me from beginning to end. While I prefer music, I occasionally listen to audiobooks or podcasts when I walk. I must admit that when I faced high temperatures, low energy, or a bad mood, I had to trade Chetter's narration for music to power through my walk. But when temperatures fell, and I felt happy and energetic, I returned to Blunt Force Trauma.

 

Final Thoughts

Jeff Kerr discusses weighty issues as he spins an entertaining story and brings all his storylines to a satisfying conclusion, leaving me happy that I listened to the audiobook of Blunt Force Trauma. 

 

Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)

 

Check out the ebook, paperback, and audiobook at Amazon.com

Learn more about his books and subscribe to his email at Jeff Kerr's website.