The Cutthroat by Clive Cussler

Title: The Cuttroat
Authors: Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
Series: Isaac Bell #10
Pages: 416 (Hardcover)
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: March 14, 2017
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Action
Audiobook, Crime, Historical, Mystery Thriller

My Review

‘He is an amazing writer, no doubt.  His plots are engaging, his writing crisp, his heroes likeable, and his villains utterly despicable.’

Read more: The Cutthroat by Clive Cussler

About the Author

Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have been listed on The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times. Cussler was the founder and chairman of the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), which has discovered more than 60 shipwreck sites and numerous other notable underwater wrecks. He was the sole author or main author of more than 80 books. He often placed himself into his books as himself.

His novels have inspired various other works of fiction.

My Thought

Isaac Bell Story

Private Detective Isaac Bell takes on his most dangerous adversary yet in Clive Cussler’s The Cutthroat.

Set in 1911, Bell is hired by William Pape, a wealthy businessman whose daughter went missing. Bell finds the missing eighteen-year-old rather quickly, but unfortunately, she was dead by the time he located her.

Someone brutally murdered Anna Pape, who’d left her father’s home to travel to New York where she dreamed of becoming an actress and enjoying life in the big city. Bell’s job was done the moment he found Anna’s body, but he didn’t stop there.

Instead, he sets out to find the girl’s killer, not realising at the time what, exactly, he was getting himself into.

Though Pape’s money ran out, Bell stays on the case and makes a startling discovery. Anna was one of many blonde, teenage-something-year-olds who’d been murdered in Manhattan. And each girl, it turned out, was killed the same way. Realising this was far beyond just a coincidence, Bell sets his sights on taking down the serial killer terrorising New York.

As his team from the Van Dorn Detective Agency compiles any relevant information that might be connected to the serial killer, who is dubbed “Cutthroat” for his throat-slashing tendencies, they uncover a trail of bodies that stretches far beyond just Manhattan.

That breadcrumb leads to the revelation that the killer’s trail of victims seems to coincide with the schedule of a travelling theatre that has toured everywhere from London to Los Angeles and, of course, New York.

While Bell and his team search for the Cutthroat killer, readers may recognise the villain by another name… Jack the Ripper!

While Dirk Pitt is still Clive Cussler’s most popular character, Isaac Bell isn’t far behind. This series, except last year’s offering, has been spectacular from start to finish.

This time around, though, Cussler packs more action, intrigue, and suspense than ever before, topping it off with a fascinating villain worthy of squaring off with Bell.

There are a lot of moving parts to this novel, but it all comes together nicely and, while certain chapters get a little wordy, the pacing is surprisingly fast.

Bell entertains readers by shooting, fighting, and stabbing his way through the most dangerous case of his career.

About the Novel

Isaac Bell, a top detective at the Van Dorn Detective Agency, is dealing with a routine case. Anna Pape, a young woman who aspires to become a successful actress, has run away from home, perhaps to pursue her dream.

It doesn’t take Bell long to find her, but the case ends: the girl is dead. Murdered brutally. For the private investigator, an investigation far more complex than it seemed begins, attempting to shed light on the motive and the twisted mind behind this atrocious crime.

But the killer seems to have disappeared. Anna, in fact, is not the only victim. Like her, many other young women are slaughtered in the dark corners of various cities across the United States, and a disturbing detail unites them all. Isaac Bell may be on the trail of one of the greatest monsters of his time.

And he will do everything in his power to stop him.

Happy Reading!!!

Recommended Reading:

Tell me your Dreams – Sidney Sheldon
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
Sandman Act -1 – Neil Gaiman
The Sandman Act – II By Neil Gaiman
Nancy Drew – The Clue of the Leaning Chimney- Carolyn Keene
Hardy Boys – The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon
The Shining – Stephen King
Nancy Drew -1 The Secret of the Old Clock – Carolyn Keene
An Unforgettable Holiday – Nisha Mohan
Lethal Seduction – Jackie Collins
Hardy Boys – The Tower Treasure
If Tomorrow Comes – Sidney Sheldon