The Striker

 The Striker(Issac Bell,#6)
By Clive Cussler

Summery courtesy of goodreads.com
Detective Isaac Bell returns in the remarkable new adventure in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series.

It is 1902, and a bright, inexperienced young man named Isaac Bell, only two years out of his apprenticeship at the Van Dorn Detective Agency, has an urgent message for his boss. Hired to hunt for radical unionist saboteurs in the coal mines, he is witness to a terrible accident that makes him think that something else is going on, that provocateurs are at work and bigger stakes are in play.

Little does he know just how big they are. Given exactly one week to prove his case, Bell quickly finds himself pitted against two of the most ruthless opponents he has ever known, men of staggering ambition and cold-bloodedness . . . who are not about to let some wet-behind-the-ears detective stand in their way.

Review

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.
3 Stars