The Bootlegger opening line: Two men in expensive clothes, a bootlegger and his bodyguard, dangled a bellboy upside down from the Hotel Gotham’s parapet.
The Bootlegger
It is 1920. Prohibition and bootlegging are in full swing.When Joseph Van Dorn is shot and nearly killed while in pursuit of a rum-running vessel, his friend and employee, Isaac Bell, swears to him that he will hunt down the lawbreakers. But Bell doesn’t know what he is getting into. When a witness to the shooting is executed in a manner peculiar to the Russian secret police, it becomes clear that these were no ordinary bootleggers.Bell is facing a team of Bolshevik assassins and saboteurs – and they are intent on overthrowing the government of the United States.This collaboration with Justin Scott has not been my favourite Clive Cussler book. I am not sure if this had something to do with the topic of the Prohibition in America, or if it was the actual writing. Dave also did not enjoy this book so I am not going to recommend it unless you have an obsession with the period of time.
My verdict:
The book is about Prohibition and the lengths people would take to get alcohol into the country. Coupled with that is the secondary plot of the Russians trying to destroy capitalism and instil communism into the country. Of course, the way they see to do this is to become rum runners themselves.
About the author:
Clive Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt®, in 1973. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997.
Cussler is an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history, searching for lost ships of historic significance. Cussler is the author or coauthor of more than fifty previous books in five best-selling series, including Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files, Isaac Bell, and Fargo. His nonfiction works include Built for Adventure: The Classic Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt, plus The Sea Hunters and The Sea Hunters II; these describe the true adventures of the real NUMA. Cussler’s books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. Clive Cussler passed away in 2020.
Publishing information:
Disclosure: I was sent the book to review by Penguin Books South Africa. I was not required to write a positive review. This post is in line with my blogging policy.
What I blogged:
- one year ago – Paneer
- two years ago – Herbal Rose And Rosehips
- three years ago – In My Kitchen
- four years ago – Crayfish Pasta With Brandy
I don’t think I’ve read many books where authors have collaborated (excluding memoirs) but it doesn’t sound like both you and Dave liked it!
This was not a good collaboration sadly.
Oh, what a pity – I am generally not a fan of dual authorship – I think its often confusing.
I think that the second author does most of the writing of his books Rachel 🙂
I have never read any Clive Cussler books, but I am looking for a new author to read. So thank you for writing about this book. I will have to go to my local library and check out some of his books.
At least if they are from the library you can see if you like his books without having to pay anything 🙂
Usually when two authors get together, I lose interest due to their different styles – shame this didn’t work out!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
It is a pity that the book was not as good as I expected!