From BooklistThe sixth Isaac Bell adventure takes us back to the beginning of Bells career as an operative for the Van Dorn Detective Agency. Its 1902, and Bell is a raw young detective, his keen intellect and jump-in-with-both-feet attitude untempered by experience. When he manages to convince his boss to let him prove that a run of sabotage in coal mines is more than the actions of some union activists, Bell soon finds himself with some very powerful and determined enemies. Fans of the Isaac Bell series will note the same exciting storytelling and vivid early-twentieth-century setting, but theyll also note something different: even though its set only four years earlier than the first Bell novel (2007s The Chase), the book features a much different Isaac: younger, more impetuous, less calmly analytical. The Isaac Bell series is by far the most interesting and enjoyable of Cusslers current output, and this origin story (every hero needs one) will give Bells fans a fresh look at their favorite private investigator. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Cussler has done better than many at employing coathors to help carry the load of multiple series demanding new installments. The Bell novels continue to show the Cussler industry at its best, commercially and literarily. --David Pitt James Bond style flair with sabotage and villainya great action thriller.The Associated PressThis origin story (every hero needs one) will give Bells fans a fresh look at their favorite private investigator.Booklist The action flows swiftly, and the authors do a good job depicting the work conditions and the class warfare of the time.Publishers Weekly About the AuthorClive Cussleris the author of more than fifty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files, Isaac Bell, and Fargo. His life nearly parallels that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers have discovered more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Confederate submarineHunley, which was raised in 2000 with much press publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collects classic automobiles. His collection features more than eighty examples of custom coachwork. Cussler lives in Arizona and Colorado.Justin Scottis the author of thirty-one novels, includingThe ShipkillerandNormandie Triangle; the Ben Abbott detective series; six thrillers under his pen name Paul Garrison; and his coauthorship with Cussler ofThe Wrecker,The Spy,The Race,The Thief,The Striker,The Bootlegger,The Assassin,The Gangster,andThe Cutthroat. Scott lives in Connecticut. what is the best genre of books The Striker (An Isaac Bell Adventure)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Isaac Bell strikes againBy M. R. RandazzoThis sixth book of series gives us a view of Mr Bell at the start of his detective career being given his first assignment, which was to find the people behind the coal miners strikes. What he finds instead, is an alternative story, which introduces him to the first woman who touches his heart,Mary Higgins, sister to head of miners union. Based on what he discovered in the coal mine, after an explosion he barely escaped from, he realizes that there is an alternative force provoking the miners and the coal miner owners against each other, a provocateur. As I am writing this review in 2017, when the idea of revitalizing the coal mines is being discussed, makes this story more interesting. What I especially liked about this book, was the setting story at the beginning of Mr Bell's career and the story behind the formation of the Van Dorn's detective agency. Also all the historical references, to the changing landscape in 1902 to what we take for granted, e.g. why the skyscrapers in NYC are in a certain area of Manhattan. Cussler may take literary chances in making the story plot but the landscape is historically correct as is his timing of events.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. The Striker by Cussler ScottBy J. W. MathewsClive Cussler his co-author Justin Scott have created another adventure (#5 in the series) for detective Isaac Bell. As with the previous books, Putnam also publishes this one, but it is smaller. The earlier books measure approx 6-3/8" x 9-3/16" and have over 400 pages. This book measures approx 5-3/4" x 8-1/2" with 375 pages, and is thus a shorter novel.Most of the action in this story is set in 1902 and includes much flavor of the early 20th Century as one expects from this series. The characters are interesting the story moves rapidly. When writing fiction set in a historical context, I think authors ahould not "revise history" in the process. In this book, a fictional character is credited with forming the US Steel Corporation. Actually, a real person, J P Morgan, purchased Andrew Carnegie's business and put together U S Steel. I think it might have been better had the fictional character created a fictional steel conglomerate in this story.Also I wish the authors had done a bit more research in certain technical aspects of the story. I caught one error in describing action aboard a steamboat, when the captain is described as using the engine room "telegram"--a totally incorrect term. A telegram is the paper with the message that is delivered to the recipient. The communication device between a ship's bridge and engine room is a "telegraph."Certain railroad terms are also misused. Mention is made of the "20th Century Limited" arriving at Chicago is five "consists." The proper term is "sections," to describe a specific train that requires so many cars that it is split into two or more separate trains, spaced at ten-minute intervals. In that time, the primary mode of intercity travel was by rail, and people who rode trains often would know that term.At one point, an Atlantic type steam locomotive is described as being a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. An Atlantic is a 4-4-2 type, used correctly earlier in this book and in previous books in this series. The 4-4-0 is called an "American" type, because it was very widely used and most common for both freight and passenger service in the early days of American railroads from the 1840s to the 1890s. (This may have been just a typo.)Mention is made of a special train going from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati in four hours. The Pennsylvania RR line distance between those two cities was 316 miles and was not a high-speed route. No way would a train do that run in much less than seven hours' time, especially in 1902, considering both the need to stop for coal and water to refill the small tenders used with locomotives of that era and track conditions not suited for speeds much above 60 mph..I don't let such errors spoil my enjoyment of a story, though, and I don't think fans of this series will be disappointed.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Some Surprises HereBy Kindle CustomerWhen I first discovered the Isaac Bell Series, I enjoyed them so much that I decided to read the series in proper order. I was surprised when this book provided a flashback to Bell's early days as a detective. This had its good points and it's bad points. The historical background was fascinating, and most readers with an interest in the turn of the century will be familiar with the turmoil as labor fought to organize. One problem was that a reader would know from the beginning that a specific character would die, almost from the moment she entered the narrative.