Fallen Hero

**MASTER SERGEANT JACK STONE WAS A HERO.** Decorated Marine sniper. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. The finest soldier his commanding officer ever knew. **THEN AFGHANISTAN BROKE HIM.** Ambushed by the Taliban. Twenty-three days of torture. A violent escape that left him the sole survivor. His body healed, but his mind never came home. **THE VA GAVE HIM PILLS AND SENT HIM HOME.** When Jack warned them he was dangerous, they increased his dosage. When he begged for real help, they handed him a prescription and a phone number to call if things got worse. **THINGS GOT WORSE.** Trapped in flashbacks and haunted by hallucinations, Jack can no longer distinguish between war and home. What begins as a moment of confusion in a park becomes a cross-country manhunt as the FBI races to stop a decorated war hero turned serial killer. **THIS IS NOT A STORY ABOUT A MONSTER.** This is a story about what happens when we send our finest to war and forget them when they return. About a system that fails the very people who sacrificed everything to protect it. About the 22 veterans who take their own lives every single day because no one was listening. **FALLEN HERO is a heartbreaking salute to our veterans and a devastating cautionary tale we can no longer afford to ignore.** --- *"A powerful, gut-wrenching novel that forces us to confront our failures to those who serve."* *"Ronald Hajek has written a tragedy that is both intimate and national in scope-a story that will haunt you long after the final page."* --- **If you or a veteran you know is struggling:** **Veterans Crisis Line: 988 (Press 1)** **National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988** **You are not alone. Your life has value. Help is available.**