The second book in a new Western series by Clive Cussler, “one of the greatest adventure novelists of our time” (imdb), The Wrecker represents the continuation of Cussler’s entry into the classic American genre of Wild West fiction. Who knows, maybe it will turn into his most popular series yet.
A detective by the name of Isaac Bell represents the main character in The Wrecker. Bell is as athletic and fearless as James Bond and as intellectually brilliant as Sherlock Holmes.
Conveniently, Isaac Bell is also independently wealthy, heir to a prominent Boston banking family. After disappointing his father by not following in his footsteps, Bell has pursued his detective work with a fervor that spells obsessive passion more than a way to make a living.
In The Wrecker, the Southern Pacific Railroad hires the Van Dorn detective agency and Isaac Bell to capture a saboteur that has been targeting their construction sites with devastating effects. Southern Pacific’s financing for a project to build a new line between the northern and southern portions of the American West coast is threatened. If any more sabotage ensues, it could potentially sink the entire mega-corporation.
Unbeknownst to all until the very end of the book, The Wrecker is a regular member of the inner circles of Southern Pacific Railroad president Osgood Hennessy, even courting the railroad baron’s “unspeakably beautiful” daughter Lillian. He’s a formidable adversary, perhaps as brilliant as Isaac Bell himself.
The agenda of the Wrecker is to seize control of the Southern Pacific Railroad through various dummy corporations he has put in place, which will help him capture the fallout from Southern Pacific’s impending bankruptcy. Not only that but it appears he plans to eventually to control the entire United States railroad system, the greatest source of billionaire wealth in America at the turn of the last century.
As a story taking place in the early 1900’s, this book also offers a perfect opportunity for avid car enthusiast Clive Cussler to present some classic automobiles from the era when the experimental variety of styles was the greatest because few standards had yet been established.
Featured in The Wrecker, we find the winner of the 1908 New York to Paris race, the 1907 Model 35 Thomas Flyer, as well as a Packard Grey Wolf, a turn of the century Rolls Royce, Isaac Bell’s Locomobile, and a Bugatti Type 41 Royale.
Best-selling author Clive Cussler nurtures a personal passion for the sea, and has previously created three successful action novel series that all revolve in and around water. However, residing in Colorado, just about as far from the sea as you can get, Cussler also appears to love the mountains and the rugged terrain of the American West.
Through The Wrecker, we get a glimpse of this other side of Cussler, the one that loves the arid mountainous landscapes of the American West. And it’s an enthusiasm that shines through with unmitigated contagiousness. The new Isaac Bell series may well help give birth to a whole new generation of Western enthusiasts, as well as spark great excitement in many old ones. With all due respect to the previous Clive Cussler series, his Isaac Bell stories may top them all.
Britt Hellman resides in Western North Carolina with her spouse and three sons, working as a copywriter. She writes book review as a hobby. Visit her site to order The Wrecker, or the latest Dirk Pitt adventure, Arctic Drift, Clive Cussler.