Not a Cussler fan, but read this because it's setting is near my home. I like Isaac Bell better then most of the rest of Cussler I've read, but still not a fan. The big problem with this book for me, was despite all the research on trains in the early 1900's, and all the work at setting a scene on the railroad in 1907 America, I never got a sense of actually being there. A train ride across the country and back, ends up feeling just like a flight and back. Also, Bell, our hero, has a picture of the bad guy that's good enough that 2 of his helpers ID him and chase him, but the world's greatest detective can't figure out who the bad guy is for 450 pages...