Cussler writes adventure/mystery books featuring Dirk Pitt, the Special Projects Director of the National Underwater and Marine Administration (NUMA), a fictional government agency. I like his Dirk Pitt books. Totally ridiculous plots, but a lot of fun to read.
The Chase, to my surprise, is NOT a Dirk Pitt book. I didn’t realize that until I was about a quarter of the way through the book. Cussler’s Dirk Pitt books always start with a strange scene from the past and then jump forward in time to the present day. Or at least to the day when the book was written. This one starts in 1950, then jumps back to 1906. Only when I realized that it was going to stay in 1906 did I deduce that Dirk Pitt was not going to appear.
The protagonist in The Chase is Isaac Bell, detective par excellence for the Van Dorn Detective Agency which, I am sure, is modeled after Pinkerton. He is the lead detective of a team tasked with tracking down the Butcher Bandit, a notorious serial bank robber in the west who robs banks and kills all the witnesses – over 30 murders in all. Certain clues collected by Bell lead him to San Francisco where he captures the bandit. He turns out to be a prominent citizen and wealthy banker. I am not revealing too much telling you that because it is revealed to the reader less than a third of the way into the book.
A mass murdering bank owner. Yes, that is a typical outrageous Cussler plot.
From the time the identity of the culprit is revealed it becomes a how-will-he-be-taken-down book. There is a romantic subplot and cameo appearances by Enrico Caruso, John Barrymore and a few other famous people, for no apparent reason. And you get a front-row seat for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Never a dull moment in a Cussler book.
Anyway, the Butcher Bandit, after being captured by Bell, escapes from San Quentin and Bell has to go after him a second time. It is a railroad chase this time – hence the title.
After finishing the book I learned that The Chase is #1 in a series of 15 books by Cussler featuring Isaac Bell. He has some of the same superhuman qualities as Dirk, but I still missed Dirk Pitt.
7 out of 10.