The Heist, Featuring Detective Isaac Bell, Arrives Just In Time for Summer Adventure

By

Scott D. Parker

Clive Cussler knew his readers.

The prolific author wrote over sixty books in his lifetime (he died in 2020 at age 88) spread across five main series: Dirk Pitt, Sam and Remi Fargo, the Oregon files, and Kurt Austin. But it is the Isaac Bell series that captured my attention from the jump.

The Isaac Bell series features the titular character, the lead detective of the Van Dorn detective agency. As ruggedly handsome as you can imagine, dogged in his determination to find the culprit, and devoted to justice, Bell is the kind of man you want on your side. 

All of the stories are set in the early 20th Century and that is what attracted me to them. Unlike, say, the Dirk Pitt novels—that often have a slightly alternative history quality to them—the Bell novels fit squarely into real history. I tend to think of them along the lines of “well, that certainly could have happened.”

The Cold Open in The Heist is Pretty Hot

Cussler’s novels are always good, reliable action/adventure mystery/thrillers guaranteed to be the summer blockbuster movie you see in your mind and The Heist is no different. 

The latest novel debuted last week and, just like any Bell novel, it opens with a bang. Literally. Bell finds himself on the presidential yacht of Woodrow Wilson. It’s 1914 and he’s invited the members of the federal reserve as they launch the organization. All seems to be going well until a rogue airplane launches an attack: incendiary bombs are dropped on the boat. Bell, naturally, saves the day, but that launches his new investigation.

Until he’s reassigned to another case. He’s called out to a mansion in Rhode Island where he is to serve as a “second opinion” for a rich guy who is accused of killing his wife. In a fascinating three-chapter sequence, author Jack Du Brul (now the primary author for the Bell series after Justin Scott wrote the nine of the first ten entries) delivers what is, in essence, a short story in the middle of the novel. The solution is ingenious and could easily stand on its own as a story.

The Actual Heist is Massive

But this is a novel and with its title, we need something big. And we got it. In our age of instant communications and cell phones and satellites, it can sometimes be difficult to remember how slow we used to talk with each other and just how much we didn’t know if it wasn’t published in the newspapers. The Isaac Bell novels are a nice reminder of this, and this lack of communications plays a big part in the heist.

It actually boggles the mind, which is a nifty trick to pull off in a book set more than a century before today. When you have a series character like Isaac Bell, it’s rare the hero loses. The joy comes in the locations, the devices the hero uses, and specifically the steps and daring do Bell takes to get his man.

The Narrator is Fantastic

I’ve written before how much I enjoy Scott Brick as an audiobook narrator. I cannot recall the first book I heard with Brick as a narrator, but he became an instant favorite. He has the ability to characterize the existing prose with different emphasis and nuances that make for a better listening experience. When I discovered the Bell series and learned Brick was the narrator, I actually latched onto Brick as Bell. I, of course, have “cast” Isaac Bell in my mind, but it’s Brick’s voice I hear. 

In fact, on Thursday night, strong storms blew through Houston and knocked the power out at my house. My wife and I turned to books to pass the time and I pulled up my ebook copy from the Libby app and started to read.

And “heard” Brick’s narration.

The Isaac Bell series is a wonderful historical thriller series I highly recommend, and Jack Du Brul’s The Heist carries on the tradition. If you need a good, old-fashioned cat-and-mouse story, this book fits the bill.

Year 5 of an Indie Writer: Week 9

by
Scott D. Parker

Welcome to Leap Day. It's an extra day for the year, and an extra day to prepare before the new month starts tomorrow.

I might have mentioned this before, but as consequential New Year's Resolutions can be, New Month Resolutions can also be helpful. I tend not to think of them as resolutions. Instead, the starts of new months are opportunities to begin a new project or, in my case, re-start a stalled book.

The Benefits of a Fallow Period 

I started the novel as part of NaNoWriMo and I made excellent progress. But I hit a snag in December and stopped writing. I didn't think much of it. December is a time for Christmas movies and books and TV specials and music. Besides, I told myself, I'd just pick up the tale on New Year's Day.

Didn't happen.

Again, I shrugged. I had just stared a new-to-me book--Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz--and I decided to read more than write. I'd get back to my own book soon enough.

That didn't happen either.

Then, I started to wonder why I didn't jump back on the book. I started to edge towards chastising myself for not writing. I stopped short. There was a reason I wasn't writing, and I decided to ride that wave.

When February started, I thought I'd get back to the book. Didn't. I kept reading, moving on to The Nowhere Man, the second Orphan X novel, and added the first few issues of the famous comic book series MASTER OF KUNG FU. I enjoyed reading and, frankly, enjoyed not writing.

But as late February took hold, I began to feel that pull. It felt good. To get myself back on track, I re-read my manuscript, and two things happened.

One, I read the story and enjoyed it. I saw the better writing, could see my progress as a writer from where I was five years ago. I actually smiled at more than one part.

The second thing was I saw what got me off track. I read and edited as I went. I made an outline on paper, keeping notes of things to fix. By the time I got to where I stopped, I knew exactly what I needed to do to course correct this book.

And I can't wait until tomorrow when I jump back on the book and move forward.

Clive Cussler

This week, the world lost a great writer.

I came to Clive Cussler late and via his Isaac Bell series. I knew about Dirk Pitt and his adventure series, but only read a book or two. Maybe only one. I think I've read one or two of the other series as well.

Isaac Bell, on the other hand, well, I'm literally listening to the latest book, Titanic Secret, when I learned of Cussler's passing. I love the Bell series and the historical settings.

I'm not the only one who loved Cussler's books. Millions of readers have loved the adventures Cussler pens. This week, as word of his passing spread over the internet, I enjoyed reading what Cussler meant to these readers. What really made me smile was reading how Cussler was the author lots of dads read.

As a writer, however, I grew to appreciate and study how Cussler structured his books. I listened to almost all of them--narrated by the excellent Scott Brick--but I would constantly take notes. I would realize how excited or tense I was during certain passages and then go back and study those passages to figure out why.

For me, reading a Cussler book was not only an adventure, it was an education.

Rest in peace, Mr. Cussler, and thanks for all the stories.

Sea of Greed by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown

by

Scott D. Parker

SEA OF GREED by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown is the latest entry in the NUMA Files series. Spearheaded by hero Kurt Austin and his right-hand man, Joe Zavala, the NUMA team tackles dire threats to America, usually of a nautical nature. Well, maybe that’s not entirely the case as I’ve only read one other NUMA story: THE PHARAOH'S SECRET. But if nautical-based adventure is what you want, then SEA OF GREED is the book for you.

As is typical of most Cussler modern-day thrillers, SEA OF GREED begins in the past, specifically 1968. It seems the French and the Israelis are working together to create something in a test tube. But things go south and whatever is being protected is lost at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea when a pair of submarines sink. Cut to the present day aboard an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Something goes wrong. Somehow, some way, the oil is igniting…underwater. Naturally this proves catastrophic. Nearby, however, are Kurt and Joe and they quickly race to the destruction and risk their lives rescuing some of the wildcatters and engineers. Only then do they all start to question what happened: how in the world could crude oil react to water? And what the devil was that strange saucer-shaped submersible coasting in and around the oil lines?

Quickly, Kurt and his team are tasked with finding out those answers, and just as quickly, they learn of the presence of Tessa Franco. Not only is she a billionaire seeking to create fuel-cell technology for a post-oil world [hint], she also invented the Monarch, a giant flying fortress that would have made Howard Hughes proud. Well, it doesn’t take that large a leap to conclude the lady is part of something nefarious, and Kurt must endure the hardships of champagne with the beautiful Tessa to learn more.

And fists fly and action ensues.

I could go on, but do not want to give away any major plot details. Sure, some of the plot is fairly easy to guess, but that does not disappoint the reading—or, in my case, the listening by the always excellent narration by Scott Brick. The story moves along at a pretty good clip. What’s fascinating about this story is how the disparate team members all work together without knowing what their partners are doing. Not knowing the entire series well, the characters of Kurt, Joe, and Prya really shine in this novel. They are believable, even when they’re performing death-defying acts of daring do. I rather enjoyed the smaller moments just as much as the over-the-top ones. Scott Brick is my favorite audiobook narrator. He reads all the Cussler series—including my favorite, Isaac Bell—and he does such a great job at bringing a taste of whimsy to the narration. It is like the old Superman TV show where Superman/Clark Kent and we, the viewers, were in on the secret, and he’d sometimes wink at the camera. Somehow, Brick does the same with his voice.

I really enjoyed SEA OF GREED. It was one of the more enjoyable books I've read this year. And I  will make a beeline back to Audible and start reading, er, listening to, the rest of the books in this series.

————

Well, 2018 is at an end for all of us at DoSomeDamage. On behalf of everyone here, we thank you for your continued support, reading, commenting, and the overall community.

Speaking of the community, 2019 marks the tenth anniversary of this little project! We will certainly have some celebratory posts come summer 2019.

And as for me, well, I plan a fun, interesting, and exciting 2019 with all of my projects. I will feature many of my activities here at DSD, so tune in the first Saturday of January to get the lowdown.

But until then, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a safe New Year’s.

See you in 2019!

The Gray Ghost by Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell

by
Scott D. Parker

Clive Cussler is one of those authors I admire. He cut his teeth on his Dirk Pitt novels before expanding his universe to include the NUMA series (Kurt Austin) and Oregon Files (Juan Cabrillo). These three series have numerous crossovers (if my paltry reading of the entire run is any indication). But it’s his Isaac Bell series, set in the early days of the 20th Century, that I really enjoy. The fourth series is the Fargo adventures, featuring Sam and Remi Fargo. They’re a charming pair of millionaires (thanks to Sam’s invention) and they travel the world, searching for treasure and doing good. I had only read one novel of theirs to date (THE TOMBS) but the latest novel, THE GRAY GHOST, features not only them, but Isaac Bell.

How, might you ask, can a story set in the present also include Bell? Well, it’s a very clever conceit. In 2018, someone steals the Gray Ghost, a Rolls-Royce car from 1906. In the course of the story, Sam and Remi get involved in the search for the priceless car. You see, there has always been a legend that treasure exists in the car, but no one has found it for over a century. As soon as the Fargos get involved, they have bad guys trying to stop them, even while they try to help the actual present-day owners locate the vehicle.

Where Isaac Bell comes in is through a journal. Back in 1906, Bell helped an ancestor of the present owner thwart another attempt to steal the Gray Ghost. That ancestor kept a journal of the exploits, but that volume of the journal is missing in the present day. Stolen. Cussler and co-author Robin Burcell keep the action going not only with the Fargo adventures but the Bell investigation as well, interspersing passages of the journal with the current action.

As with all Cussler novels, I listened to the brilliant Scott Brick narrate the story. It was interesting to hear slight variations between how Cussler and Burcell treat Bell versus Cussler and Justin Scott, the team who writes the Bell novels. Brick brings so much to his narration that it enlivens the story above the mere prose.

If I have one criticism of this series, it’s in the back-and-forth dialogue of the two main characters. Often times, you don’t get the spark of passion between husband and wife. I’m not calling for a bunch of intimate scenes, and I’m completely fine with them walking to a hotel room with the knowledge of what they’re about to do, but I would like to see a little more fire to their relationship. In one of the dire moments in this book, I got the sense of it, but I’d like to see if when they’re not fighting for their lives. It’s a little thing, but noticeable.

For a good summer beach read, THE GRAY GHOST is a humdinger, and it’s propelled me to my next Fargo adventure, THE MAYAN SECRETS.