Date first published	01/11/2007
ISBN Number	978 0718 15279 6
Page Count	408 p/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

The Butcher Bandit has been on a spree, robbing local banks around the country and killing all who have the misfortune to see him in action. The government growing increasingly alarmed about a bandit that vanishes into thin employ the Van Dorne Agency to hunt the bandit down.

However the year is 1906 and without modern policing methods the task is enormous, however one man is willing to take the job on - Isaac Bell. However even he finds that he is up against a criminal with an incredible intellect - and ego to match.

Review

For the last 30 odd years Cussler has written about high adventure on and around the sea, this story is somewhat different, being set firmly on land for the most part. Like a number of other people I approached the book with some trepidation, not knowing what to expect. Perhaps not having any expectations the book has come as a bit of a revelation, it is exciting, detailed, (a little bit too detailed in places), but has all the hallmarks of a great adventure.

The book is basically a crime caper with a goody chasing a very bad baddie, someone that regards other human beings as a lesser species, and who doesn't care whether they live or die, man woman or child. The period chosen is also very intriguing, when the wild west has calmed down, but not quite been pacified. A time when the local posse is raised, when cars are a rich mans novelty. It is a period of American history I know very little about, yet the images evoked are clear, helping you settle into the story and the period.

The characters are interesting, and like most of Cussler's character never fully fleshed out apart from a very brief pen outline. Bell is seen as solid and God fearing, Cromwell as uncaring cold and calculating, and somewhere in between Cromwells sister, a girl on the very edge who enjoys the privilege of wealth but revels in the knowledge of how it has been accumulated. Jacob Cromwell is obviously a sociopath, his sister, I'm not so sure about -she may well be as well, however in the brief periods we meet her, and see her over the top behaviour it is difficult to judge.

Bell has a small group of helpers, unfortunately none of them make it to the end of the book. Cromwell shoots one and the other is presumed killed in the earthquake. This would be unthinkable in the Pitt series of books, and possibly in the NUMA File stories. It does add an edge to the story.

The leap from Dirk Pitt adventurer to crime caper is not that big a leap if you think about it. Pitt usually becomes entangled in some sort of political or other form of intrigue, and sometimes you wonder how and why he is involved. In this book you have a professional investigator chasing down the criminal, with the full weight of the law. although quite the Van Dorne Agency's official position is, is not absolutely clear, it seems to border on the edge of a private investigation service much like the real life Pinkerton Agency.

The book is very much like Cusslers early NUMA novels, fast paced, with some violence, various chases, and cars. Now add to the collection locomotives. Released from the baggage and expectancy of the later novels Cussler is able to roam freely with his ideas, and try new ideas knowing that he will not upset the loyal Pitt fans. The result a very different, but very enjoyable book.

The book also gains from being released from the politically correct world in which we now live, it is also free of environmental issues, and benefits, as it doesn't get side tracked, about how we must save the planet. Instead we have a novel focused on one issue the capture of the Butcher Bandit.

It is nice to see a plan being formulated by the Bell, only for it to fall apart because they don't expect the Bandit to turn up dressed as a woman! Far to many books these days have everything falling happily into place. If life were that simple.

I enjoyed the book immensely, and read it in probably just a little over 4 hours over several days. When I wasn't reading I was itching to get back and be able to read it, a really good sign.

So why hasn't it got 5 'bookies'? Well I thought the final confrontation between Bell and Cromwell was a bit of a let down, with no great final battle. I can see why it was done, to give a reason for the first and last chapters, but a final fight would have been a fitting end for the book. However it is a minor quibble in what is a very good book. certainly the story is as good as Treasure or Inca Gold. I think Inca was the last top notch Dirk Pitt story. Later books have not quite had the same impact.

Is this the start of a new franchise? It is difficult to tell. The story and the main character have all been wrapped up nicely, so it could be a one off, but there is a big gap - 20-30 years I would say between the book and Bell retiring, which gives plenty of scope for Cussler to return to him and fill in a few more of his cases.

The book may be Cussler testing the water to see how it fares, if it isn't popular then he could walk away from the series, but likewise if it gets a reasonable reception we may see more in the offing. Certainly I would rate this above the Dirk Pitt Junior stories, which seem to be ( a reasonable) rehash of the Dirk Pitt stories.

To finish, a really different Cussler book, but well plotted, and exciting. Lets hope there's more.

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