The Bootlegger (An Isaac Bell Adventure)
In the seventh Isaac Bell novel, it looks like Bell’s life is about to fall into chaos. His boss, Joseph Van Dorn—head of the Van Dorn Detective Agency, a fictionalized version of the Pinkerton operation—has been shot and could die. There was a witness, but he is killed before Bell, one of Van Dorn’s key operatives, can interview him. Prohibition is the law of the land, but, thanks to corruption in the country’s police forces (not to mention in the Van Dorn agency itself), the criminal element is perhaps more powerful than ever before. Can Isaac find out who’s responsible for nearly killing Van Dorn and bring down an organization that has nothing less than anarchy in America as its goal? As always in this series, the novel is very exciting, with excellent pacing and some very well drawn characters. With his combination of mental and physical prowess, Isaac Bell could easily become a sort of superhero (imagine a blending of Sherlock Holmes and Doc Savage), but the authors do a nice job of keeping him from crossing that line. Another fine entry in a strong series.      HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Cussler is a perennial A-lister, popularity-wise, and his Isaac Bell novels are the pick of his prodigious litter. --David Pitt