The Spy by Clive Cussler

"The Spy" by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott. This book is published by Penguin books in 2011 and has 472 pages. This is the 3rd novel of Isaac Bell series.

The year is 1908. A number if murders take place. They are made to look like accidents. The men who are murdered are brilliant minds of US ship building. Men who specialized in ship design, armor design , gun design, turbine design etc. All of them are related to 'The great white fleet' of USA.

Van Dorn detective agency is requested to investigate and determine if these are murders. Their star investigator Isaac Bell is roped in. Isaac Bell's investigation leads to 'The spy' whose identity is a mystery.

What is 'Hull 44'? What does he want? How are American gangsters and Chinese gangs related? What are they after? Who is 'The Spy'?

Isaac Bell adventures are period adventures. It's the time when cables were used for fast communication, telephones were rarity and mobiles were not invented. Aeroplanes did not exist. Trains were fastest mode of transport and fast cars were called locomobil. Creating an atmosphere of 1908 in a thriller is not easy. Author does it easily.

Clive Cussler has delivered another thriller. I particularly like Isaac Bell thrillers because it is more difficult to write a thriller without gizmos and HiFi weapons. Although reader is used to modern day gadgets, he does not find them lacking in these books. Reader is transported to 1908.

The story has a constant pace. The suspense is maintained. Although you know who the spy is in later part of the book you don't understand why he is doing it. Time leap of ten years at the end of book seemed unnecessary. All the ingredients of thriller are present in this book. There are train and car chases, boat and submarine chases, beautiful ladies, suspense and fights. All in all its a good thriller.

It's a  good book. Read for a change if you are a first timer. Read it if you are an Isaac Bell fan.

The Navigator by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos

"The Navigator" by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos. The book is published by Penguin in 2008 and has 552 pages. This is the 7th book in 'NUMA files' series.

Carina Mechada, a beautiful lady, works for UNESCO. Her job is to retrieve stolen historical artifacts. She retrieves number of pieces stolen from an Iraqi museum with funding from a foundation run by billionaire Victor Baltazar. While she is transporting them to America on a ship, the ship is taken over by mercenaries and set for a collision with an oil platform. The mercenaries are interested in an ancient statue called 'The Navigator'. Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala happen to  tow icebergs in the vicinity. Kurt's heroics save the ship, The Navigator and damsel in distress. Kurt and Carina are chased by goons then on.

A file written by former American President Thomas Jefferson is found in American Philosophical Society. It talks about artichoke farming, but in reality is a coded document. Librarian of the philosophical society is murdered.

What's in this statue? What can it tell of a period more than 2000 years ago? Who is trying to kill Kurt and Carina? How does Thomas Jefferson and his friend Meriwether Lewis come into picture? Is this related to Phoenicia and the Phoenicians? Who is the villain?

Cussler has based the story on the possibility that a boat from Phoenicia (Modern day Lebanon and Syria) had reached the shores of North America more than 2000 years ago, much before Christopher Columbus. Though there is no record of Phoenicians having navigational skills to cross the Atlantic, in reality. Story states that the Phoenicians (Particularly sons of King Solomon) had hidden the Ark of Covenant in King Solomon's gold mines, somewhere in North America. Ark of Covenant is a chest containing tablets of gold on which the ten commandments were inscribed. It is said that the ark was built at the command of God, in accordance with instructions given to Moses.

The story takes us from Iraq to Atlantic ocean to America to Turkey and back to America. Kurt lands in life threatening situations and comes out unscathed in each of them and wins Carina over.

Dynasties of King Solomon with queen of Sheba and her handmaid continues for 2300 years and meets in this book. A little far fetched but acceptable for a fiction.

Authors seem to have concentrated more on action than story. The action scenes are written superbly. Historical background and research lends credibility to the story. The reason given by author to keep the Ark of Covenant hidden is not convincing. There are some loose ends that are not tied in properly like who kills Meriwether Lewis? Who opposes Thomas Jefferson? Etc. It's a typical Cussler pot boiler that keeps you interested but it is not one of his better ones.

It's not a WOW book, but you don't get bored. Cussler fans would enjoy it.