Two things profoundly affected Lynden Hoover as a child—his father abandoning the family and being abducted by a train-riding hobo for three weeks before the man let him go. Now twenty-six, and believing he can’t go on with his life until he confronts the man who had kidnapped him, he quits his prestigious Silicon Valley tech job, packs a backpack with what he thinks he’ll need for the excursion, and hops a train in pursuit of his train-riding kidnapper. Lynden’s journey takes a fortuitous turn when he meets The Duke, a man with fifty years of experience riding the rails. During their weeks together, The Duke teaches Lynden all there is to know about the art of riding trains and a little about life itself. Their comradery, what they encounter on their risky undertaking, and the insights they share with each other make THE LAST PROFESSIONAL an engaging and exceptional read.

Author Ed Davis is a master at descriptive writing in this book and his skillful portrayal of the characters, the challenging life of a train hobo, and the dramatic scenery flying by as the train advances to its next destination is highly engaging and effective. The vivid details and figurative language are sure to evoke readers’ senses and create images that are easy to conceptualize. Davis’s writing style is well-structured and easy to follow as he weaves together the story elements by integrating a felicitous vocabulary and a high degree of sentence fluency. He keeps the story moving forward by including an appropriate amount of conflict, drama, tension, and crises. His skill in using imagery creates a sensational and emotional reading experience, and the right balance between action, description, dialogue, and backstory keeps the narrative flowing evenly.

Davis does an exemplary job with the two main characters playing off one another with their differences and synergies–their interactions serving to make each one more interesting and pull readers deeper into their stories. Layered in personality, backstory, attitude and contrasting perspectives, their different levels of intellect showcase each one’s uniqueness. Powerful and evocative scenes—full of action and artfully separated by breather scenes where characters reflect on what happened and decide on subsequent moves—raise the stakes in a compelling story line. This proficient use of description, coupled with effective word choice and arrangement, helps to set the tone and mood for the story.

Fully fleshed-out characters, dynamic relationships, and a strong plot make THE LAST PROFESSIONAL by Ed Davis a compelling and memorable read.

~Florence Osmund for IndieReader