The Last Entry

Tucker Trivette is in a bind. He joined the Navy straight out of high school. Without many options, it seemed like the right thing to do. Now he's heading home. To what, he's not sure, but he's hoping things are better. They're not. Set upon by hard times and a nemesis from his youth, Tucker seeks redemption and reward hidden deep in the forest, to reclaim a legacy hinted at within his grandfather's cryptic journal. Tucker understands the value of friendship and family--and paying his debts. Determined to play the hand he's been dealt to start over and succeed, he'll have to bend the rules to get there. The Last Entry is painted in the woodland tones of western North Carolina's rural mountains--a cultural crossroads of post-modern Appalachia where old time traditions clash with a rapidly changing world. Jim Hamilton weaves his expertise in natural history and the underground world of ginseng into a story and characters that reflect the region's struggles with poverty and a black market-economy still tied to its land and forests. The novel was nominated in 2020 for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.