The Controllers

by Chad Lehrmann

How does one identify the threat when a threat is possibly someone you trust?


On a hot summer day, a fleet of drones unleash a horrific attack on American institutions, political leaders, and the public.

Even the President is targeted.

A group called the Controllers takes credit for the devastating hack, and promises more to come.

Secret Service Agent Josie Morales is tasked with investigating the attack, and is partnered with FBI Cyber Crimes investigator Sayid Mansour. As they dive into the case, they begin to find more questions than answers.

Sayid's friend, reporter Ryder Pendleton is also chasing the Controllers. His questions lead him to a group called the Liberators and a man named Oren Franklin- a former government official who has taken to decrying the use of technology by the government. But are these people patriots- or the Controllers themselves?


As the government response becomes more aggressive, Navy SEAL Captain Cane McCallister begins to wonder if his mission is truly in the best interest of his nation. And what's more, is he breaking his oath to protect his country in the pursuit of his mission?


In this timely and modern story about the consequences of technology and government marrying their power, you never know who to trust. And you are left with one burning


How do you tell the truth when the truth can’t be trusted?

184 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2025

About the author

The only child of a family that lived on a ranch in the Central Texas Countryside, Chad Lehrmann learned early on to use his imagination to entertain himself. Creating stories in his head and acting them out eventually led to him entertaining the idea to write stories. He began this process in his teens, but life got in the way. After eleven years in ministry, Chad became a public school teacher in College Station, Texas. Working with teenagers (and raising two of his own), he began to read young adult fiction like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. Combined with his love of the works of Stephen King, Chad began to recall those stories and ideas from his youth, but with a new perspective. Tired of explaining to his students that if he was not a teacher, he would be a writer, but doing nothing to validate that- he penned his first novel, The Sawyer Shepherd Chronicles: Rites of Passage. It would be the culmination of characters and story beats that had been germinating in his head for over twenty years. He hopes you will join him on this journey!

Chad still teaches at College Station High School, where he is currently the Psychology, Sociology, and Debate teacher. He is married and has two teenage daughters and as a family they love vacationing in the mountains (which are a strong inspiration for the stories he writes). He also has hobbies of woodworking and collecting action figures.