The Striker

By Clive Cussler

Isaac Bell is a handsome young investigator who is investigating his first case for the Van Dorn Detective Agency.

The year is 1902, and Bell is undercover in West Virginia investigating sabotage in a mine owned by ruthless John "Black Jack" Gleason, owner of the Gleason Consolidated Coal & Coke Company.

Rumors of unionist saboteurs in the coal mines send Bell on a clandestine mission to keep the peace while maintaining the coal output.
He soon discovers a foe that seems to know his every move — and every trick he's learned from his apprenticeship at the detective agency.

What Bell doesn't realize is the enemy was also trained by Van Dorn but went rogue. How do you outwit someone who can anticipate your every action? And who is financing him?
The situation deteriorates when Bell unable to prove the innocence of a fellow worker accused of blowing up the mine, stages a jailbreak.

The history of the unions in early 20th-century America along with the hazardous working conditions of the coal mines is fascinating reading. But the addition of a character who is  part James Bond  part Sherlock Holmes provides readers with an action packed thriller.