The Spy (An Isaac Bell Adventure)

by Clive Cussler

2011

Status

Available

Publication

G.P. Putnam's Sons (2011), Edition: Reprint, 560 pages

Description

In 1908, a brilliant American battleship gun designer dies in a sensational apparent suicide. The man's grief-stricken daughter turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency to clear her father's name. Van Dorn puts his chief investigator on the case, and Isaac Bell soon realizes that the clues point not to suicide but to murder.

User reviews

LibraryThing member dswaddell

Isaac Bell thought he was investigating the suicide of a brilliant gun maker for the US Navy but this leads him and the Van Dorne Agency into international espionage and an attempt to cripple the US dreadnought program. An enjoyable read. As usual Clive Cussler does an excellent job researching

what he is writing about and embellishing the story with details of the time in which he is writing.

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LibraryThing member ASBiskey

This is the best of Clive Cussler’s series featuring detective Isaac Bell.
In the previous books, The Chase and The Wrecker, the reader becomes aware of the identity of the villain fairly early. In The Spy, the suspense is maintained longer.
The plot is more complex than the other books. With

this book, the series has been vaulted to a new level.

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LibraryThing member bushard

Fun reading, Van Dorn Detectives staring Issac Bell. Got book from Blazil.

LibraryThing member Kingray

Excellent capture of true conditions of the time period in which this story takes place.

LibraryThing member readafew

The Spy is Isaac Bells 3rd mystery where we follow him while he's working for the van Dorn Detective Agency. This time a woman employs them to look into the death of her father, which the Navy is calling a suicide. She disagrees. Bell believes her and soon discovers all is not as it appears. 4 men

who are important to the Dreadnought construction are killed in seemingly unrelated accidents. It's too much of a coincidence for Bell and he digs deeper.

Overall a fun fast-paced story with some excellent mystery thrown in. The story was well written and Cussler seems to like to add in details about transportation at the time and I found it quit interesting. In this book he focuses most heavily on ships and boats. A good thriller.

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LibraryThing member TomWheaton

This is the 3rd book in the Isaac Bell series. I have become less & less fond of this series as I have read them. Maybe it's the style of the co-author but, they seem to drag at times and some of the references to the history at that time seem unimportant to the story. The storylines are not as

exciting to me as other Cussler sreies'. I don't know if I will read any more books in this series.

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LibraryThing member dekan

It is 1908, and international tensions are mounting as the world plunges toward war. When a brilliant American battleship gun designer dies in a sensational apparent suicide, the man's grief-stricken daughter turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency to clear her father's name. Van Dorn puts

his chief investigator on the case, and Isaac Bell soon realizes that the clues point not to suicide but to murder. And when more suspicious deaths follow, it becomes clear that someone-an elusive spy-is orchestrating the destruction of America's brightest technological minds... and the murders all connect to a top- secret project called Hull 44.

But that is just the beginning. As the intrigue deepens, Bell will find himself pitted against German, Japanese, and British spies, in a mission that encompasses dreadnought battleships, Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet, Chinatown, Hell's Kitchen, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Isaac Bell has certainly faced perilous situations before, but this time it is more than the future of his country that's at stake- it's the fate of the world.

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LibraryThing member walkernot

Private Eye, Isaac Bell, digs deeper into an open and shut case, the suicide of a naval architect. He discovers a ring of spies out to steal the USA’s secrets and one of them is set on sabotaging the whole dreadnought program, striking at its roots by killing the brain trust of naval archest and

engineers. Bell chases down leads from New York’s Hell Kitchen through the naval yards of the east and across the country to the San Francisco Bay.
The Spy develops in the same manner as The Wrecker although it deviates from that pattern at the end. I found The Wrecker to be more enjoyable, but I would not miss out on reading The Spy.

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LibraryThing member DavidLErickson

In 1908 America's greatest naval gun designer dies in an apparent suicide. The Navy covers it up as the killer does a nearly flawless job of setting the scene and motivation. His daughter, a lady of society, doesn't buy it and ask the Van Doren Agency to take a look. In the course of the

investigation other men important to America's battle ship development die in apparent accidents.

It becomes clear to Isaac Bell that this is no coincidence and there is a much larger conspiracy at work that includes a diverse collection of characters, from the gangs of Hell's Kitchen in New York to the pinnacle of international society.

Of all the Cussler novels, I've enjoyed the Isaac Bell series the most. The turn of the century is such a interesting period with it's limited technology and ostentatious clothing. Clive blends in the period details so seamlessly that it builds scene depth without becoming intrusive.

Unlike a few of his novels, this one is just the right length for a great read without becoming tedious.

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LibraryThing member cathymoore

Having read the first Isaac Bell book and really enjoyed it, but then given up on the second one having found it really boring, this was last chance saloon for this series. I really enjoyed it. It started off a bit slow but really picked up after the first hundred pages. Some suspension of

disbelief is required as I am beginning to think Isaac Bell is utterly invincible! On the whole though, this was a nice easy read that didn't get too bogged down in the details and delivered plenty of punches per page.

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LibraryThing member piersanti

A pretty good book. Good enough for me to go back and read the first two in the series.

LibraryThing member pennsylady

Notes from BN

"Set in 1908, bestseller Cussler and Scott's action-packed third adventure featuring Isaac Bell, head operative of the Van Dorn Detective Agency, leaves behind the railroad theme of the first two books (The Chase and The Wrecker), focusing instead on the espionage-riddled world of

warship and armament manufacturing in the buildup to WWI"

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LibraryThing member drawoh2014

I've read many of Clive Cussler's books and have come to respect his plot development and characters to build into a story both interesting and exciting to read. When I picked up "The Spy" I was somewhat concerned that the use of Justin Scott as a co-author might mean the consistent quality of

Cussler's books might be affected. I'm assuming Cussler develops the plot and characters and then brings in the co-author to put meat on the bones of the story, and in this case I think I'm correct. The book describes a plot involving Issac Bell the well known detective of the Van Dorn Agency and his involvement into a situation involving the earliest version of spies on U.S. Naval operations and ship building. The book drags through over 500 pages to bring the story to a climax where Issac Bell saves the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but, it's slow moving and needlessly detailed. The writing is not as precise and directed as in other Cussler novels and there's times where you wonder why it was necessary to involve a character in a certain scene, or chapter. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Cussler fan and have been since I read "Raise The Titanic" but hope he doesn't fall into using co-authors that do nothing but bring him further away from his readers. Issac Bell comes across as a hero whose dialogue has changed into corny statements of high meaning, but, totally misplaced in the action of a spy story. Read the book and tell me if you agree or disagree. I was obviously disappointed and when these over successful authors begin co-authoring with others it takes something away from the final product.

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LibraryThing member Carol420

I love Clive Cussler’s books in the other three series, (Dirk Pitt, Steve Austin, The Oregon Files), but I just can’t get into these Isaac Bell books. This is the second one I have tried. The book was not one of his best. I found it to be very slow reading at times with more detail than anyone

ever needed. Not a bad book, I just prefer the other series to this one.

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LibraryThing member sjh4255

not his best.... but a continuation of the Isaac Bell tales in the early 20th Century. This story shifts from the railroads to the early development of battleships. I felt the story never really intrigued you, there were only a couple "hmmm" moments in this one... as compared to the earlier Isaac

stories.. a required read if you've read the previous Isaac books, but definitely don't start with this one...

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