Book 5, The Thief: An Isaac Bell Adventure

The first three Isaac Bell books were terrific, lots of detail, colorful side stories. Amazing how Cussler has managed to turn this series completely mediocre, a real shame. In quality, The Race was about a third of the book of any of the first three, The Thief is about a fourth. Double spaced text, 1 3/4" bottom margin per page, if they had single spaced the text and used more of each page, this could have been a 120 page short story and CC could have saved a LOT of paper!! Since CC thinks this mediocre production is more important than reader loyalty, I'll give him a 2 out of 10 for this latest effort!

The highlight is the book - Bell getting married. Other than that, the book is about early attempt at talking pictures and propaganda movies and crazy Germans wanting to dominate the world. The book has some interesting characters, Akrobat and Pauline, a bit of killing, a lot of contrived story lines, but overall a good read. I figure Bell can be written in one more book before he gets too old and has to retire, which would be good.

A lot of typos in my Kindle version -- a bit annoying.

I consider Clive Cussler the Louis L'Amour of the 21 century:a historically accurate excellent descriptive writer of light fiction.Fans of Isaac Bell & company will enjoy this book & look for more of a new character(sorry:no spoilers from this ole boy).Cussler & Scott balance action & deductive reasoning quite well & are to date doing a good job of continuing a series:no easy tasks!
I recommend 'The Thief' for an evening's relaxation to stimulate the mind enough to forget the daily grind without requiring intense concentration. Well worth reading.

Many books of this nature are set in current times or in the future and use very high tech equipment. Even things that are not yet in use, or at least to the knowledge of most of us. So stories that go back in time to points before many of us were born or at least aware of life are very refreshing since it uses both history and the excitement of the chase and good vs. evil.

Good job Clive!

Clive Cussler has added a new action-figure to his stable of adventurers like Juan Cabrillo and Dirk Pitt. Isaac Bell is a turn-of-the-20th Century private detective who gets your attention from the first page of "The Thief." The book is well-written, full of surprises, great character development and shows that Cussler can weave a tale around new inventions and creators like the auto, the telephone, talking pictures and folks like Thomas Edison. If you haven't decided on a book to while away the hours, pick this one! Clive Cussler's genre in the past has been tales woven around the sea but Isaac Bell novels are a departure from the norm for Cussler. The book is exciting, the characters well-developed and Cussler shows he can write about anything and still be at the forefront of action and adventure stories. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it for your personal enjoyment.

This latest of the Issac Bell series by Clive Cussler is the first one taking place on a steamship -- a passenger liner no less. It's fast-paced and is reminicent of his first 2 in the series -- The Chase and The Wrecker. I couldn't put it down, and often it was the first thing I read in the morning. The story takes place in 1910 after the royal funeral of King Edward VII of Great Britain. Issac and his associates are traveling back to the U.S, Issac is planning to marry his fiance Marion and one night while alone on deck, breaks up an attempted abduction of two men. He discovers that they have an invention that will impact the entertainment industry and that someone else wants to steal it for his own nefarious purposes. Suffice it to say this involves Issac's leading an investigation that takes him from coast to coast and involves a heinous and ruthless plot by a foreign power. The action is exciting, and many of the characters are those from Cussler's previous Issac Bell novels. I highly recommend this book.

The Thief is another in a series of Clive Cussler books dealing with exciting events shortly after the turn into the 20th century. This book starts on the Mauritania as it sails to America from Europe. A German spy is trying to steal a very valuable machine that would create talking movies. The story moves on to Los Angeles and the early movie industry. As in the other books in this series Issac Bell is the hero again.
The author obviously does lots of research in each book to give the reader a feeling about what life was like at the time. I feel I learn something in each of the Cussler books of this series. I also really enjoy these stories. I hope he keeps these coming.

At last a worthy return to the action and writing of The Wrecker. Way better than the last few attempts to tell the story of Isaac Bell. However, would you not think that in the hands of large publishing houses they could figure out how to proofread the digital copies. Again...errors. Not that many but a few.

This book isn't worth reading. I have read allmost all of Cussler's books and own 12 or so in hardback. If it didn't have Cussler's name on it I wouldn't have finished it, but I did just to see how bad it was. This is far and away the worst of the lot!

Cussler & his collaborator have delivered another rousing tale of the dashing private detective with plenty of early 20th Century flavor. Though the time setting is not given, mention is made of the "Titanic" construction being well along, so I interpreted the action as occuring during 1911. However, in the next book of the series, "The Striker," mention is made of an event described in "The Thief" as occurring in 1910. So the mention of the "Titanic" as "nearing completion" is slightly anachonistic.

As usual, the villain is a sociopathc killer who murders readily to achieve his "master" plan. I don't want to give away the plot, so I'll just say I ebjoyed this book as a good read. But in the interest of full disclosure, I'm a long-time fan of Mr. Cussler's work, so am probably biased in this regard.

I enjoy Clive Cussler's books for many reasons...backstory, characters, authenticity, etc. His character Isaac Bell is a less "gadgets" James Bond...yes, he does have many pistols and knives. Since I enjoy James Bonds stories, I naturally gravitated to the stories of detective Isaac Bell and his lovely girlfriend to wife. This story takes you from Europe to America and back again. The villain is smart and dangerous and a challenge for Isaac. The backstory is interesting in how the villain plans to use movies with sound as propaganda for the German army.

The story kept me interested and when I put the book down for the evening, I was ready to pick it up again the next day. I enjoy Isaac Bell adventures and look forward to the next read

Isaac is still not married with his fair fiancee, Marion. He wants to be married, however they both have been busy with their work, and have not had time. Now, that Isaac is returning from Europe (bringing back a criminal to face the justice) he has time on board a cruise ship. He has asked the captain to marry them. His best friend Archie is also there and ready to be a best man.
However, things get complicated quite early on their fare...
The war is soon to start, and a ruthless espionage agent has spotted a priceless opportunity to give the Germans an edge: to steal a precious invention. It is up to Isaac Bell to figure out who he is, what he is up to, and stop him. The scientist dies, but now it is the task for the van Dorn agency to save the day.
The thief is actually a German "spy" creating a network of Germans around the world (remember that this describes the time before the I World War...) and the thief is also a high ranking officer in the German army.

What was kind of interesting in this book is how the development of the telephones, telegrams/marconigrams, and movies were described... how the inventions got better and better, and how the inventors had to protect their inventions - even with brutal force...

My Kindle has lines on its display making reading impossible. I could not finish the book. Kindle is just over a year old. the store won't do anything about it. My wife's did the same a month ago. Don't buy kindle.

I always enjoy a Clive Cussler novel. This was no exception. I did enjoy it. But it fell a bit flat for me. It didn't seem to have the same depth and detail that other Issac Bell novels have had. I've come to enjoy the detail of railroads or early airplanes. So I thought that this book wold delve into either the ocean liner detail or maybe the depth of detail of the motion picture industry. But neither of those were developed well.

Also the protagonist was not as developed as other Bell novels. The villain in this novel was dull, not very present at times and just didn't deliver the dazzle of the villains in the other novels.

Maybe it was just me, but this book was flat.

I have grown to love Issac Bell and his lovely lady Marion. So the redeeming factor was to finally have them get married. To have it done on a ship was marvelous. The ships captain was a great character and worth the price of the book, to bad he wasn't more involved in the story. Archie Abbott is a great character as well, but his overall lack of involvement was a detriment to the story.

Also Pauline, a young detective intern starts out with good detail and good involvement, but then just disappears from the story. She could have done so much more.

The story line is fine, the development mediocre, and the finality lacking some punch.

I know, usually I'm a big fan, but for once I was underwhelmed.

Still, I will look forward to the next installment and hope for a return to a page burner.

bought this book as i enjoy reading clive cussler. i find his books generally technically accurate and very readable. this one i found not quite up to his normal standard but still very readable and enjoyable.

I enjoy Clive Cussler's books for many reasons...backstory, characters, authenticity, etc. His character Isaac Bell is a less "gadgets" James Bond...yes, he does have many pistols and knives. Since I enjoy James Bonds stories, I naturally gravitated to the stories of detective Isaac Bell and his lovely girlfriend to wife. This story takes you from Europe to America and back again. The villain is smart and dangerous and a challenge for Isaac. The backstory is interesting in how the villain plans to use movies with sound as propaganda for the German army.

The story kept me interested and when I put the book down for the evening, I was ready to pick it up again the next day. I enjoy Isaac Bell adventures and look forward to the next read

As always his books are action packed and suspenseful. I really enjoy the Isaac Bell books, but I haven't read a Clive Cussler book that I haven't enjoyed. I think I've read at least seven of his books so far and trade them with my sister when I am through reading them.

I've read several of the Isaac Bell adventures, and my wife even gave me one for Christmas. However, I was disappointed in this one. While the others were page turners, I put this one down for several days at a time fairly bored with it. The book starts off strong with the journey on a ship. However, the characters and story come across as somewhat flat and not compelling after the start. Usually, the books are off on two or three different very interesting tangents and sub-plots. This one had a very predictable and forgettable sub-story. Also, the entire premise of the book seemed to be somewhat of a reach. I'll read another, but I could have easily skipped this one as it was somewhat of a disappointment.

A very good read. The story is typically "Isaac Bell" style and the characters are developed and interesting. The plot is good and current to the time the story is set.. It really could have happened.

This novel was an enjoyable escape from reality. As with all the Cussler books there is action and adventure, knowing full well that our hero, Isaac Bell, will not be killed. It is obvious that these novels are written by Cussler's "co-author" and reviewed by Cussler who then puts his name on them. But still and all it is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

I purchased this for my husband as a birthday gift. Once he started listening to it, nothing else got done around the house!! If we had to leave the house, the disk went into the car. When we got home, it was back in the CD player immediately. I can't say I blame him; having read the book before I gave him the CD, I knew it was fantastic. Of all Clive Cussler books and CD's, we've decided that the Isaac Bell stories are our favorite.

I have read every one of the Isaac Bell adventures, but the first three were better than the last two. I did not even finish reading The Race, because it just did not hold my interest. The Thief is worth reading in its entirety, but the book is not as exciting as I expected it to be. It does put forth an aspect of the lead-up to World War I that I had never considered (and I doubt anyone else will have, either).

The thief is an Isaac Bell adventure brought to us by Clive Cussler et al. A :techno thriller set in the early 20th century is no less enjoyable then other Cussler adventures! If you like history and Cussler adventures with a great plot and characters, then this book and series is for you!

I can't say enough about Isaac Bell....."super sluth to the highest degree...". The world is a better place to live thanks to Isaac Bell, and it is so much fun and enjoyment getting there. Along with his side-kick Archie Abbott, and the beautiful Marion Morgan, Isaac dispatches the minions of evil quite handily, with excitement at the punch, scuffle, and shot.....you are there.
I remain an undying fan of Isaac Bell, and Clive Cussler.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, the IsaacBell character is interesting as the book is set in the 19 century during a technology explosion with the results interesting. The other book in this series "The Wrecker" was also a good book.
These books are a refreshing change to the normal Clive Cussler format of writing.
Try out the Isaac Bell books well worth reading on a wet weekend