The second book in a new Western series by Clive Cussler, “one of the greatest adventure novelists of our time” (imdb), The Wrecker represents the continuation of Cussler’s entry into the classic American genre of Wild West fiction. Who knows, maybe it will turn into his most popular series yet.
A detective by the name of Isaac Bell represents the main character in The Wrecker. Bell is as athletic and fearless as James Bond and as intellectually brilliant as Sherlock Holmes.
Conveniently, Isaac Bell is also independently wealthy, heir to a prominent Boston banking family. After disappointing his father by not following in his footsteps, Bell has pursued his detective work with a fervor that spells obsessive passion more than a way to make a living.
In The Wrecker, Isaac Bell gets hired to stop a saboteur targeting the Southern Pacific Railroad, threatening to financially “derail” the mega-corporation as they push to build a new and expensive cutoff track that will greatly decrease traveling time between the northern and southern portions of the American West Coast.
Unbeknownst to all until the very end of the book, The Wrecker is a regular member of the inner circles of Southern Pacific Railroad president Osgood Hennessy, even courting the railroad baron’s “unspeakably beautiful” daughter Lillian. He’s a formidable adversary, perhaps as brilliant as Isaac Bell himself.
The goal of the Wrecker is to gain control of the entire United States railroad system, at a time in history when railroad barons such as Harriman and Vanderbilt were the wealthiest men in America, beginning with the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Set in the early twentieth century, the novel of course presents a golden opportunity for automobile enthusiast Clive Cussler to have fun with several classic automobiles from the age when the invention of the car was in its infancy and the experimental variety in styles was greater than ever in history.
Featured in The Wrecker, we find the winner of the 1908 New York to Paris race, the 1907 Model 35 Thomas Flyer, as well as a Packard Grey Wolf, a turn of the century Rolls Royce, Isaac Bell’s Locomobile, and a Bugatti Type 41 Royale.
Clive Cussler is a man of many passions, one of the best known and most obvious being his love of the ocean, as evidenced by his countless action novels revolving in and around water. But the fact that he has chosen to live in Colorado, far from the any great body of water, suggests that he also loves the rugged, arid and mountainous landscapes of the American West.
This “second” love of Clive Cussler shines through in his new Isaac Bell series in a way that will likely reinvigorate many old Wild West enthusiasts as well as give birth to a whole new generation of Western lovers. The book is a highly recommended read.
Britt Hellman lives in North Carolina with her husband and three sons, working as a professional copywriter. She writes book review as a hobby. Visit her site to order The Wrecker by Clive Cussler, or the latest Dirk Pitt adventure, Arctic Drift, Clive Cussler.
