Isaac Bell
12 books in this series
Charismatic, handsome, and fiercely loyal, Isaac Bell is a no-nonsense private detective at the Von Dorn Detective Agency. Travelling all over early 20th century America in pursuit of justice for his clients, chasing down a steam train in a sports automobile is all in a day's work for Bell. And while he's on the trail of thieves, killers, and sometimes much worse, he'll have to use his every last wit to stay ahead of those he seeks, and to stay alive. . .
The Saboteurs
When the Van Dorn Agency's top detective, Isaac Bell, thwarts a plot to kill a US Senator, the race is on to uncover who was behind it and what they hoped to gain.
For Panama's Red Viper insurgency, the senator's death could have brought a welcome halt to the construction of the giant canal that threatens to divide their country.
With millions of dollars, the fates of two nations and the future of world trade at stake, Bell knows this is bigger than local trouble.
He just doesn't know yet how big . . .
For Panama's Red Viper insurgency, the senator's death could have brought a welcome halt to the construction of the giant canal that threatens to divide their country.
With millions of dollars, the fates of two nations and the future of world trade at stake, Bell knows this is bigger than local trouble.
He just doesn't know yet how big . . .
The Titanic Secret
The Titanic's greatest secret is finally revealed . . .
When Dirk Pitt raised the Titanic in search of a rare and valuable element he never learned the disturbing true story of its origins. But upon receiving secret testimony from private detective Isaac Bell he's taken back to the year 1911 and a tragedy at Colorado's Little Angel Mine.
There, Isaac Bell is tasked with explaining the deaths of nine miners. But all is not as it seems and soon Bell finds himself on his way to Europe hunting for clues concerning a rare element of incalculable value - and pursued by dangerous men who'll do anything to get their hands on it.
It's a journey that can only end with the fateful first and final voyage of the Titanic itself . . .
When Dirk Pitt raised the Titanic in search of a rare and valuable element he never learned the disturbing true story of its origins. But upon receiving secret testimony from private detective Isaac Bell he's taken back to the year 1911 and a tragedy at Colorado's Little Angel Mine.
There, Isaac Bell is tasked with explaining the deaths of nine miners. But all is not as it seems and soon Bell finds himself on his way to Europe hunting for clues concerning a rare element of incalculable value - and pursued by dangerous men who'll do anything to get their hands on it.
It's a journey that can only end with the fateful first and final voyage of the Titanic itself . . .
The Cutthroat
The year is 1911. Chief Investigator Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency has had many extraordinary cases before. But none quite like this.
Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away from home to become an actress, Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up instead. Vowing to bring the killer to justice, he begins a manhunt which leads him into increasingly more alarming territory. Anna Pape was not alone in her fate - petite young blonde women like Anna are being murdered in cities across America.
And the pattern goes beyond the physical resemblance of the victims - there are disturbing familiarities about the killings themselves that send a chill through even a man as experienced with evil as Bell. If he is right about his fears, then he is on the trail of one of the greatest monsters of his time.
Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away from home to become an actress, Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up instead. Vowing to bring the killer to justice, he begins a manhunt which leads him into increasingly more alarming territory. Anna Pape was not alone in her fate - petite young blonde women like Anna are being murdered in cities across America.
And the pattern goes beyond the physical resemblance of the victims - there are disturbing familiarities about the killings themselves that send a chill through even a man as experienced with evil as Bell. If he is right about his fears, then he is on the trail of one of the greatest monsters of his time.
The Gangster
It is 1906, and in New York City, the Italian crime group known as the Black Hand is on a spree: kidnapping, extortion, arson. Detective Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Agency is hired to form a special Black Hand Squad, but the gangsters appear to be everywhere so much so that Bell begins to wonder if there are imitators, criminals using the name for the terror effect. And then the murders begin, each one of a man more powerful than the last, and as Bell discovers, to his dismay, the ultimate target may be the most powerful man of all.
The Assassin
KANSAS, 1905
On a new well out on the plains an assassin's bullet kills oilman Spike Hopewell. Minutes later an explosion rips apart his refinery.
Death and destruction - just another bad day at the well?
Except Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency witnessed everything. He's trailing a murderer who has been targeting anyone brave enough to stand against the powerful interests of Standard Oil.
It's a cat and mouse chase which leads Bell to Texas and New York in pursuit of the sharpest shooter in the land.
Yet there's more to this assassin than meets the eye.
And they're creeping closer to Bell with each passing day . . .
On a new well out on the plains an assassin's bullet kills oilman Spike Hopewell. Minutes later an explosion rips apart his refinery.
Death and destruction - just another bad day at the well?
Except Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency witnessed everything. He's trailing a murderer who has been targeting anyone brave enough to stand against the powerful interests of Standard Oil.
It's a cat and mouse chase which leads Bell to Texas and New York in pursuit of the sharpest shooter in the land.
Yet there's more to this assassin than meets the eye.
And they're creeping closer to Bell with each passing day . . .
The Bootlegger
It is 1920. Prohibition and bootlegging are in full swing.
When Joseph Van Dorn is shot and nearly killed while in pursuit of a rum-running vessel, his friend and employee, Isaac Bell, swears to him that he will hunt down the lawbreakers. But Bell doesn't know what he is getting into. When a witness to the shooting is executed in a manner peculiar to the Russian secret police, it becomes clear that these were no ordinary bootleggers.
Bell is facing a team of Bolshevik assassins and saboteurs - and they are intent on overthrowing the government of the United States.
When Joseph Van Dorn is shot and nearly killed while in pursuit of a rum-running vessel, his friend and employee, Isaac Bell, swears to him that he will hunt down the lawbreakers. But Bell doesn't know what he is getting into. When a witness to the shooting is executed in a manner peculiar to the Russian secret police, it becomes clear that these were no ordinary bootleggers.
Bell is facing a team of Bolshevik assassins and saboteurs - and they are intent on overthrowing the government of the United States.
The Striker
It is 1902. Isaac Bell is a bright, inexperienced young detective. Hired to hunt for radical unionist saboteurs in the coal mines, he is witness to a terrible accident that makes him suspect that something else is going on - that provocateurs are at work and much bigger stakes are in play.
Given just one week to prove his suspicions to his employer, Bell finds himself pitted against two of the most ruthless opponents he has ever known, men of staggering ambition and cold-bloodedness . . . who are not about to let some wet-behind-the-ears detective stand in their way.
Given just one week to prove his suspicions to his employer, Bell finds himself pitted against two of the most ruthless opponents he has ever known, men of staggering ambition and cold-bloodedness . . . who are not about to let some wet-behind-the-ears detective stand in their way.
The Thief
Aboard the liner Mauretania, Isaac Bell, chief investigator at legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency, thwarts a kidnapping. The victims, who have fled Europe carrying a secret invention, fear a foreign power will steal it before they reach America.
Bell offers to protect them.
Soon, Bell is fighting skulduggery in the middle of the Atlantic. Heading for California, the chase is on. On their trail is the murderous 'Acrobat', instructed to steal this world-changing invention - and kill anyone in his way...
Bell offers to protect them.
Soon, Bell is fighting skulduggery in the middle of the Atlantic. Heading for California, the chase is on. On their trail is the murderous 'Acrobat', instructed to steal this world-changing invention - and kill anyone in his way...
The Race
1910, and America's first ever cross-country flying race has been sabotaged . . .
Newspaper magnate Preston Whiteway is offering a big prize for the first aviator to cross America in under fifty days. He wants Josephine Frost - the country's leading as well as most glamorous pilot - to win. Which is why he's hired Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency.
Josephine saw her husband Harry Frost kill a man. Now he wants her dead. And with underworld contacts ready to help in every city en route, he'll do anything, go after anyone who gets in his way - including Whiteway and Bell.
Packed with brilliant twists and turns, The Race sees the intrepid Private Investigator locked in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a killer whose resources are only matched by his willingness to cause mayhem during the race of a life time . . .
Clive Cussler is the author or co-author of a great number of international bestsellers, including the famous Dirk Pitt® adventures, such as Crescent Dawn; the NUMA® Files adventures, the Oregon Files, such as The Jungle; and the Isaac Bell historical thrillers, which began with The Chase. He lives in Arizona. www.clivecussler.co.uk
Justin Scott's twenty six novels include The Shipkiller and Normandie Triangle; the Ben Abbot detective series; and five modern sea thrillers published under his pen name Paul Garrison. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, the filmmaker Amber Edwards.
Newspaper magnate Preston Whiteway is offering a big prize for the first aviator to cross America in under fifty days. He wants Josephine Frost - the country's leading as well as most glamorous pilot - to win. Which is why he's hired Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency.
Josephine saw her husband Harry Frost kill a man. Now he wants her dead. And with underworld contacts ready to help in every city en route, he'll do anything, go after anyone who gets in his way - including Whiteway and Bell.
Packed with brilliant twists and turns, The Race sees the intrepid Private Investigator locked in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a killer whose resources are only matched by his willingness to cause mayhem during the race of a life time . . .
Clive Cussler is the author or co-author of a great number of international bestsellers, including the famous Dirk Pitt® adventures, such as Crescent Dawn; the NUMA® Files adventures, the Oregon Files, such as The Jungle; and the Isaac Bell historical thrillers, which began with The Chase. He lives in Arizona. www.clivecussler.co.uk
Justin Scott's twenty six novels include The Shipkiller and Normandie Triangle; the Ben Abbot detective series; and five modern sea thrillers published under his pen name Paul Garrison. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, the filmmaker Amber Edwards.
The Spy
Isaac Bell is on the hunt for the killer of some of America's finest minds . . .
1908. When a brilliant American battleship gun designer kills himself, his grief-stricken daughter is deeply suspicious. She turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency where chief investigator Isaac Bell finds clues that indicate murder.
Uncovering more suspicious deaths, Bell realises that someone - an elusive spy - is orchestrating the destruction of America's brightest technological minds. And the murders all connect to a top-secret project known as Hull 44.
As Bell gets closer to the truth and the spy himself he is pitted against German, Japanese, and British agents. More than the future of his country is at stake - it's the fate of the world.
1908. When a brilliant American battleship gun designer kills himself, his grief-stricken daughter is deeply suspicious. She turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency where chief investigator Isaac Bell finds clues that indicate murder.
Uncovering more suspicious deaths, Bell realises that someone - an elusive spy - is orchestrating the destruction of America's brightest technological minds. And the murders all connect to a top-secret project known as Hull 44.
As Bell gets closer to the truth and the spy himself he is pitted against German, Japanese, and British agents. More than the future of his country is at stake - it's the fate of the world.
The Chase
In April 1950, the rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the waters of a Montana lake, revealing the remains of three men who died forty-four years before - astonishing all those who look on.
Back to 1906 - the American West has been suffering a two-year crime spree: a string of bank robberies by one man who murders all witnesses, and then vanishes without a trace. The US government brings in the best man they can find - a no-nonsense detective named Isaac Bell who has caught thieves and killers from coast to coast.
But he has never had a challenge like this one. From Arizona to Colorado to the streets of San Francisco, he pursues the best criminal mind he has ever encountered. Soon, it will take all of Bell's skills not to prevail . . . but merely to survive.
Back to 1906 - the American West has been suffering a two-year crime spree: a string of bank robberies by one man who murders all witnesses, and then vanishes without a trace. The US government brings in the best man they can find - a no-nonsense detective named Isaac Bell who has caught thieves and killers from coast to coast.
But he has never had a challenge like this one. From Arizona to Colorado to the streets of San Francisco, he pursues the best criminal mind he has ever encountered. Soon, it will take all of Bell's skills not to prevail . . . but merely to survive.
The Wrecker
1907: train wrecks, fires, and explosions sabotage the Southern Pacific Railroad's new express line . . .
The desperate railroad hires the fabled Van Dorn Detective Agency, who send their best man, Isaac Bell. He quickly discovers that a saboteur calling himself the Wrecker is attacking the Southern Pacific with accomplices recruited from down-and-outs - who are killed afterward. The Wrecker strikes wherever he pleases, causing untold damage and loss of human life. Who is he? What does he want? Is he an anarchist? A revolutionary? A criminal mastermind?
Whoever he is, whatever his motives, the Wrecker knows how to create havoc. And Bell is convinced he is building up to a grand act unlike anything he has committed before.
If the Wrecker isn't stopped in time, more than a railroad is at risk - the future of the entire country is on the line . . .
The desperate railroad hires the fabled Van Dorn Detective Agency, who send their best man, Isaac Bell. He quickly discovers that a saboteur calling himself the Wrecker is attacking the Southern Pacific with accomplices recruited from down-and-outs - who are killed afterward. The Wrecker strikes wherever he pleases, causing untold damage and loss of human life. Who is he? What does he want? Is he an anarchist? A revolutionary? A criminal mastermind?
Whoever he is, whatever his motives, the Wrecker knows how to create havoc. And Bell is convinced he is building up to a grand act unlike anything he has committed before.
If the Wrecker isn't stopped in time, more than a railroad is at risk - the future of the entire country is on the line . . .