In the late 1960s, a joint Israeli and French research mission ended in disaster when submarines from both sides went missing. Now, thirty years later, the original findings, which were thought to have been lost forever, threaten to forever change the world as we know it.
Oil wells around the globe are drying up. Even the best-producing wells are no longer delivering the goods, and after a massive explosion in the Gulf of Mexico destroys several rigs that were trying to jumpstart production, the President of the United States tasks Kurt Austin and his NUMA team with finding out what’s going on before any more damage is done.
Kurt follows the clues, which all seem to point towards billionaire environmental activist Tessa Franco, who has invested heavily into developing an alternative energy device that’s suddenly in high demand. As it turns out, she’s working alongside Arat Buran, a shadowy genetic engineer who helped her obtain the extremely rare bacteria needed to poison the world’s oil supply by unleashing the bacteria, allowing it to feed on oil wells, consuming everything before it can be pumped from the ground. As their plan gets underway, panic erupts around the world, causing oil prices to shoot through the roof and the stock market to crash. NUMA knows who is responsible, but getting to her won’t be easy . . . and if they can’t find a way to stop Franco fast, the damage will be too severe to ever undo.
With the point of no return rapidly approaching, it is once again up to Kurt and his gang to do the impossible and save the world before it’s too late.
By now, readers know what they’re getting with this series and Clive Cussler’s other franchises. Cussler isn’t going to reinvent the wheel, and that’s fine because the beloved author still knows how to get things moving downhill and thrill readers in the process. The linear plotline is right on par with past books, which rely more on entertaining readers than trying to catch them off-guard with twists and turns. And really, the biggest question of all isn’t whether or not the bad guys’ plans will be thwarted, but how Kurt will win the day when it’s all said and done.
Sea of Greed is another well-written, fun, fast read from Cussler and Graham, full of the kind of action and over-the-top scenarios that fans of the series have come to expect.
Book Details
Author: Clive Cussler and Graham Brown
Series: NUMA #14
Pages: 416 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0735219028
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Book Spy Rating: 6.5/10
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.