'Bootlegger' is latest in Cussler detective series

Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency finds himself in charge in “The Bootlegger,” by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott, the latest in the adventure series.

It's 1921, and both Prohibition and bootlegging are in full swing. Joseph Van Dorn and some of his men are aboard a ship that's chasing a rumrunning vessel. Bullets start to fly, and Van Dorn is critically injured. Bell must save the detective agency. He quickly gets to work finding colleagues who are looking the other way when it involves booze — and money in their pockets. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them.

Bell must also stop the mastermind behind most of the bootlegging, a Russian criminal who has a bold plan to take out the United States.

The Isaac Bell series continues to tell compelling stories. Tidbits of history are sprinkled throughout the narrative, and it's fun to filter out fictional characters and events from historical facts.