After sitting out all of 2018 (sans for a quick mention in Cussler’s The Gray Ghost, co-authored with Robin Burcell) investigator Isaac Bell is set to return in 2019 in what’s being called a prequel and a sequel of sorts.
Bell, who last starred in The Cutthroat (2017), will now team up with Cussler’s most popular series character, Dirk Pitt, even though the two live a century apart. As for the delay in publication, I’m told from a source that the year off for Bell was due to Cussler needing to find a new co-author after Justin Scott departed the franchise.
Other than the first book in the series, The Chase (2007), Scott has received a co-author credit for all the Bell novels, so his absence is a huge blow. To replace him, Cussler, 87, has turned to Jack Du Brul, 50, who previously co-authored seven titles in the Oregon Files series, though the two haven’t worked together since 2013’s Mirage. (Boyd Morrison replaced Dubrul, having co-written the last four Oregon books.)
Though still untitled, the 11th Issac Bell adventure is set to come out on September 10th. Check out the official plot details below.
A century apart, Dirk Pitt and Isaac Bell team up to unlock the truth about the most famous maritime disaster of all time.
In the present day, Dirk Pitt is must make a daring rescue from inside an antiquated submersible in the waters around New York City. His reward afterwards is a document left behind a century earlier by legendary detective Isaac Bell–a document that re-opens a historical mystery…
In 1911 Colorado, Isaac Bell is asked to look into an unexplained tragedy at Little Angel Mine, a disaster in which nine people died. His dangerous quest to answer that riddle leads to a larger one centered on a rare element with extraordinary powers and of virtually incalculable value. As he discovers that there are people who will do anything to control the substance, Isaac Bell will find out how far he’ll go to stop them.
Clive Cussler is the author of more than fifty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files, Isaac Bell, and Fargo. His life nearly parallels that of his hero, Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers have discovered more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Confederate submarine, Hunley, which was raised in 2000 with much press publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collects classic automobiles. His collection features more than eighty examples of custom coachwork. Cussler lives in Arizona and Colorado.
Jack Du Brul is the author of the Philip Mercer series, most recently The Lightning Stones, and is the coauthor with Cussler of the Oregon Files novels Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship, Corsair, The Silent Sea, and The Jungle. He lives in Vermont.
We’ll have more info on this release soon, including an official title announcement and cover reveal, so make sure to check back for updates. In the meantime, you can pre-order the next Issac Bell novel here.
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). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.