The Bootlegger

This story finds us in 1919 just prior to the roaring twenties, when the stock market was rising rapidly and the Volested Act was in place making it illegal to sell liquor. For the life of me, I never understood why this law was put in place because all it did was encourage bootleggers to run liquor into the USA from Canada and the Caribbean islands like Nassau where it was still legal. Also at this time period was the start of the Communist party, first in Russia and spreading from there. Eventually some arrived here, disguises as nobleman looking to invest money, while also terrorizing the local gangsters and taking over bootlegging in various areas. The Van Dorn agency gets involved in chasing these Russians when a mysterious black boat with 3 engines,2 big guns and a blinding light attacks the Coast Guard cutter with Joe Van Dorn on it and injuries him. Isaac Bell starts a manhunt for clues which lead him on a trail from a river in Long Island ,to Buffalo,on to Detroit,down to Nassau island and back to New York. Lots of interesting details about these locations makes one wonder. There is a mention of a hurricane,also. This was a fast paced novel .

I have had this on my To Read List for some time but just never seemed to get around to actually downloading and reading this adventure. Although I had downloaded the Sample, and that probably got me to go back and download and read it.

This read was put together like a novel and read like one. I really did like it although where are probably some that will find a bit longish, slow at times (?really) and etc… etc… I read a book for enjoyment and as a break from life.

I liked the way the story was broken up into segments of stories within stories and reconnected with their characters in the segments with each segment an individual story. I don’t think this book ever really slowed down too much except to move you onto the next series of events.

This book also leaned heavily on a lot of historical facts, all interesting, along with the fictional story line. Although while reading this, Mr Cussler passed away so I will probably remember this story for quite sometime. RIP Mr. Cussler. You have all the time you want to write your best works.

Take your time in reading the story, and enjoy the book. Don’t look for it to be smooth, disjointed or some other literary fault, just the story. Enjoy it. I did.

I loved the Isaac Bell series when it first came out. The settings on the trains was new and different and Cussler did a great job with it. Then we had the airplane race across America.

Now we have The Bootlegger. The story is good, but it drags. It doesn’t seem to have the same exhilarating detail and tension of the previous Isaac Bell novels. BUT, the writing is good, the story is good and, well it’s Clive Cussler.

The story is going to involve several items. The Communist Party, Prohibition, Bootlegged alcohol, fast speed boats and lots of gun play. All in all that is a Cussler novel.

Isaac will need to do a lot of the work on his own this time because Mr. Van Dorn is wounded in the opening of the book. His injuries are grave and the whole agency is thrown into turmoil. Isaac will rally the troops and they will set on a quest to find the rum runners who gunned down the boss. They will also do their best to stop the bootlegging business altogether.

Along with this they will uncover a communist plot to take over America, as well as a terrorist plot to deploy bombs in the U.S.

The action is fast paced, the scenes change quickly and travel from New York to Detroit to Canada to Florida and the Caribbean and back again. Much of this is done with a couple of speed boats with armor plating and plenty of firepower.

The story will capture you and move you along. I just didn’t think it was quite as interesting as past novels, otherwise I would have given it a five.

Enjoy! Oh, and enjoy a new character, Asa Sommers, let’s hope he survives this trial by fire!

What a great adventure penned by Cussler and Scott. If you haven’t read any of Cussler’s Isaac Bell Series, you’ve missed some great writing and even better reading. This is a set on the edge of your chair adventure featuring Isaac Bell and all of his side kicks from the Van Dorn Detective Agency fighting against racketeers, bootleggers, Russian Bolsheviks, in New York, Detroit, Miami, Germany, and the Caribbean, during prohibition. The Russians want to cause a revolution in the United States and use everything within their power to cause America to fall.
If you don’t enjoy reading this little adventure, you don’t like to read historical fiction at its best. Put your seat belt on and try to keep pace as Cussler and Scott weave this story of intrigue.

Full disclosure: I am a long time Clive Cussler fan. I have all of his books.

This is an easy reading book. I finished it over a weekend. Each Issac Bell adventure seems to become more complex and this book takes the complexity several steps forward. The usual characters are all present although I wish Cussler would make more use of Marion Bell. I feel the books and The Bootlegger especially are becoming complex for the sake of complexity.

The Bootlegger spent more time on some of the back stories. I’m undecided of this was good or bad for the reader’s enjoyment. It is probably for the firs time reader of an Issac Bell adventure. For fans like me, I don’t think it added too much.

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