The Spy

April 19, 2010
Set in 1908, bestseller Cussler and Scott's action-packed third adventure featuring Isaac Bell, head operative of the Van Dorn Detective Agency, leaves behind the railroad theme of the first two books (The Chase
and The Wrecker
), focusing instead on the espionage-riddled world of warship and armament manufacturing in the buildup to WWI. Someone is murdering the leading lights of America's naval research and development. When the indefatigable Bell looks into the supposed suicide of chief gun designer Arthur Langner, he uncovers a succession of possible international suspects, all of whom are attempting to disrupt America's development of a fleet of dreadnought battleships. Bell clashes with old enemies and new until the climactic battle, where he must stop a massive submarine attempting to sink the navy's newest battleship. The expanded area of interest will attract new readers to this exciting series in the Cussler franchise.

Narrator Scott Brick has a remarkable talent. When he reads adventure texts, he draws listeners in without overdoing it. We sit on the edge of our seats as he dramatizes scenes, characters, and dialogue, and we're mesmerized. It is a "can't-put-it-down" quality that is somehow built into Brick and his middle-American voice. In this book Cussler presents the third adventure of Isaac Bell and the Van Horn Detective Agency. Around 1908, just prior to the WWI, a vicious spy and his cohorts are working on ruining the relations of several nations; the Van Horn folks are sucked in. And listeners luck out. D.R.W. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine