bell, isaac (fictitious character)

"On the ocean liner Mauretania, two European scientists with a dramatic new invention are barely rescued from abduction by the Van Dorn Detective Agency's intrepid chief investigator, Isaac Bell. Unfortunately, they are not so lucky the second time. The thugs attack again -- and this time one of the scientists dies. What are they holding that is so precious? Only something that will revolutionize business and popular culture -- and perhaps something more. War clouds are looming, and a ruthless espionage agent has spotted a priceless opportunity to give the Germans an edge. It is up to Isaac Bell to figure out who he is, what he is up to, and stop him. But he may already be too late, and the future of the world may just hang in the balance."--provided by the publisher.

"It is 1909, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than fifty days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates -- an intrepid woman named Josephine Frost -- and that's where Isaac Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in. Frost's violent-tempered husband has just killed her lover and tried to kill her, and he is bound to make another attempt. Bell has tangled with Harry Frost before; he knows that the man has made millions leading gangs of thieves, murderers, and thugs in every city across the country. He also knows that Frost won't be only after his wife, but after Whiteway as well. And if Bell takes the case, harry Frost will be after him, too."--front page.

Detective Isaac Bell, working for the Van Dorn Detective Agency in 1907, is sent to stop a man known only as the Wrecker, a criminal who traverses the American West, sabotaging railroads and causing death while building up to what Bell guesses will be a grandiose and devastating act.