The Thief (An Isaac Bell Adventure) [Hardcover]

Clive Cussler (Author), Justin Scott (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 6, 2012 | Series: An Isaac Bell Adventure (Book 5)

On the ocean liner Mauretania, two European scientists with a dramatic new invention are barely rescued from abduction by the Van Dorn Detective Agency's intrepid chief investigator, Isaac Bell. Unfortunately, they are not so lucky the second time. The thugs attack again-and this time one of the scientists dies. What are they holding that is so precious? Only something that will revolutionize business and popular culture-and perhaps something more.

For war clouds are looming, and a ruthless espionage agent has spotted a priceless opportunity to give the Germans an edge. It is up to Isaac Bell to figure out who he is, what he is up to, and stop him. But he may already be too late . . . and the future of the world may just hang in the balance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bell just keeps getting more interesting. Cussler is turning out some of his best work.” —Booklist
 
“Clive the Incredible.”—Kirkus Reviews

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author

Clive Cussler is the author of many New York Times bestsellers, most recently The Race and Devil's Gate. He lives in Arizona.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; Book Club edition (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399158618
• ISBN-13: 978-0399158612
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clive Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt(R), in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed.
Cussler is an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.
In September, 1998, NUMA - which turns over all artifacts to state and Federal authorities, or donates them to museums and universities - launched its own web site for those wishing more information about maritime history or wishing to make donations to the organization.
In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler is also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He has been honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration.
Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey, Black Wind, Treasure of Kahn and Arctic Drift (the last three with his son, Dirk Cussler) as well as The Chase; the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt (R) Revealed; the NUMA(R) Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death, Lost City, Polar Shift, The Navigator and Medusa (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship and Corsair (written with Jack Du Brul).
Clive Cussler lives in Arizona.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#76 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#3 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#12 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#20 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#23 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#3 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#12 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#20 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#23 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 59 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It takes a thief March 7, 2012

By Marcus A. Lewis VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Van Dorn detective Isaac Bell returns for his fifth adventure in "The Thief." Readers last saw him in the whimsical "The Race" (9/11). That book was not one of the better ones in the series. However, Clive Cussler and Justin Scott have raised the bar to the standards they set in "The Wrecker (11/09). The authors have already taken us for journeys on planes, trains, and automobiles so it seems only fitting that this one is set onboard a ship.

Breaking with tradition, the story begins without a given date, but sometime before war breaks out in Europe. Isaac Bell and his associate Archie Abbott are returning to the States on board the RMS Mauretania. Bell makes an astute observation (very Holmes-like) about something he hears in the water near the ship. After Abbott goes below, Bell is accosted by three intruders who come aboard in an attempt to kidnap two of its passengers. A fight ensues, the would-be kidnappers are dispatched, and the plot begins to play itself out.

There are some similarites here to the "The Spy" (6/10) but rest assured this is an all-new mystery. I miss the frame format that was used so effectively in "The Chase" (11/07) and again in "The Wrecker." I really like the idea of Isaac Bell taking us back in time to recount his many adventures. There are allusions here to situations in the previous stories, but that should not deter first-time Isaac Bell readers from picking up this book. Will Isaac Bell and Marion finally wed? Read on to find out.

I overlooked one point in my initial review. Every once and again an author will create a minor character that seems to come to life right off the page. Pauline Grandzau is that character in "The Thief." She is the feisty "assistant" to Arthur Curtis in Van Dorn's Berlin office. She's a keeper, and you'll see why.

A hat tip to Roland Dahlquist for his illustrations.

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars The Thief March 9, 2012

By Joe Boudreault

Format:Hardcover

I have never read a Clive Cussler novel before; I bought this one as a contribution to our public library so I got first dibs on it. With so many novels from so many series under his belt, Cussler comes out once more with this latest adventure to date featuring detective Isaac Bell.

Set approximately in 1910, the story follows the exploits of a fearsome undercover agent for the German Imperial Army, who longs to get his hands on a special device being carried by steamship from England to the USA. The agent is known as the Acrobat and what he wants is the newest invention by a pair of entrepreneurs named Clyde Lynds and Franz Bismark Beiderbecke, who are on board the Cunard liner Mauretania. Bell is also on board with his fiance, Marion Morgan, and he thwarts an attempt by the Acrobat to kidnap Lynds and Beiderbecke. The thing they are protecting turns out to be a new process for synchronizing sound to film, a revolution about to break into the burgeoning movie industry. The two inventors obviously need protection, which is offered by Bell and his Van Dorn Detective Agency.

They are stalked all the way to New York City, then across the country to California, then back to New York, by the end of the story. Cussler has a fast moving style of narrative, and he puts the reader into interesting scenes of cat-and-mouse and the intelligence games of detective work. Bell is a veritable dynamo in every respect, a swashbuckler with the smarts of Sherlock Holmes and the grace and honor of a gentleman. The Acrobat - General Major Christian Semmler - is a cross between 'Jaws' of James Bond fame and Rambo. The point of view switches quite often, and not in any awkward fashion; but I found myself wanting to see things more often from Semmler's viewpoint - he is an intimidating antagonist; and sometimes from the viewpoint of novice detective Pauline Grandzau, just for extra color to the adventure, or even from the perspective of the inventor Lynds. But the storyline is never lost, and the complications of the actions are never above the reader's head. We even get some chance encounters with real people from this era: a hard-nosed Thomas Edison, and an ebullient D.W. Griffith, to name two. Semmler puts up a ferocious battle for his object of desire: with war brewing, the Germans are desperate for an opportunity to start making real 'talkie' movies as a propaganda tool - to persuade the Americans to side with them in the conflict.

Personally, I have no grounds for comparison for this novel; whether it is a fine Bell mystery or a bland one, I can't say, having not read the other Bell stories. It is not exactly my cup of tea for an adventure story either. But neither can I condemn it, because it is also not an example of the offensive, vulgar, blood-dripping mainstay of more modern-era thrillers out there. It is a fairly easy read and nice escapism. One has to wonder, however, why this novel was not called The Akrobat. Oh well...

I did come across a lot of typos, an unusual thing in an otherwise pleasing presentation of hardcover publishing. And there is, for example, this (on p.157): "'Frisco's only five hours on the train." An observation from Bell as the scenery is about to change from New York to the west coast. Five hours by train from New Jersey? Or Chicago? Or Deming, New Mexico? With a few obvious slips getting past the editors, it comes to my mind that the proofreaders for G.P. Putnam's Sons may be hard put to get work with the Van Dorn agency. If it's due to fatigue from the pen of Cussler himself, all is understandable - he seems to be pumping out two novels a year recently.
Would I recommend this to other readers? By all means, go for it; you could do a lot worse. For those like me who are new to Cussler - he's written about 48 novels since 1973 - and for those wanting more recent adventures, they might want to go for one of his Dirk Pitt books (there are 21 of them), or the NUMA or Oregon series. With excellent credentials as a marine explorer, Cussler has an eye for detail but he doesn't load the reader down with them. Nearing the age of 81 and still prolific, Cussler could keep you reading for many years to come.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing March 28, 2012

By Foolishcfo

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am a big Clive Cussler fan and have read most of his books. I liked the Issac Bell series until this book. The writing is choppy and doesn't flow like the others in this series. If Justin Scott's name wasn't on the cover I would swear that someone else had written it. Definitely not the same quality as past books.