Train Man is a crime thriller by former naval captain PT Deutermann. This book was the first one by the author, which doesn't feature a navy veteran protagonist. In fact, military involvement in the main plot is severely reduced. Has no relation to the otaku franchise.
Someone is blowing up bridges and destroying freight trains in the process. As more and more trains plunge into gorges, the FBI allocates two agents - Assistant Director Hush Hansen and ASAC Carolyn Leonard, to find the bomber. They enlist the help of a retired US Army Corps of Engineers colonel as a bridge expert to predict the next target. However, they may be running out of time to catch the bomber, as the US Army is preparing to ship some captured Soviet era nuclear weapons west. And the bomber just might target this train, ignorant of its payload.
Tropes in Train Man:
- Bleed 'Em and Weep: Hush Hansen had this reaction after gunning down some armed drug dealers during a raid, a little too mechanically. He took himself out of field work and climbed the ladder as a Desk Jockey.
- Freudian Excuse: The bomber lost his wife to a car crash involving a freight train. He is therefore looking to cause so much property damage, that a particular train company goes bankrupt.
- Sleeping Their Way to the Top: Agent Leonard has this kind of reputation.
- Technical Pacifist: For all the destruction the bomber causes, he is extremely careful to not cause even a single human fatality.
- Verbal Tic: The colonel supervising the nuclear weapons transport says "Goddamned" almost in every sentence. He earns the sobriquet "Colonel Goddamn" from his subordinates.
