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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.

As with the first novel in the series, The Chase, the hero of The Wrecker is a detective named Isaac Bell who combines the sleuthing brilliance of Sherlock Holmes with the physical prowess and fearlessness of James Bond.

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.

As a story taking place in the early 1900′s, this book also offers a perfect opportunity for avid car enthusiast Clive Cussler to present some classic automobiles from the era when the experimental variety of styles was the greatest because few standards had yet been established.

Automobiles featured in The Wrecker include a Packard Grey Wolf, the 1907 Model 35 Thomas Flyer, winner of the New York to Paris race of 1908, Isaac Bell’s classic 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.

The Wrecker gives a glimpse into this other side of Cussler, his love of the mountains and the still-not-entirely-tamed American West, a contagious passion that is likely to rub off on a whole new generation of Wild West enthusiasts and reinvigorate many old ones. The new Isaac Bell series may well be Clive Cussler’s best work yet.

Britt Hellman resides in North Carolina with her spouse and three children, where she works as a professional copywriter. She writes book review as a hobby. Visit her site to order The Wrecker, or the latest Dirk Pitt adventure, Arctic Drift, Clive Cussler.