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Isaac Bell #10
The Cutthroat
The year is 1911. Chief Investigator Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency has had many extraordinary cases before. But none quite like this.
Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away from home to become an actress, Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up instead. Vowing to bring the killer to justice, he begins a manhunt which leads him into increasingly more alarming territory. Anna Pape was not alone in her fate petite young blond women like Anna are being murdered in cities across America.
Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away from home to become an actress, Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up instead. Vowing to bring the killer to justice, he begins a manhunt which leads him into increasingly more alarming territory. Anna Pape was not alone in her fate petite young blond women like Anna are being murdered in cities across America.
And the pattern goes beyond the physical resemblance of the victims there are disturbing familiarities about the killings themselves that send a chill through even a man as experienced with evil as Bell. If he is right about his fears, then he is on the trail of one of the greatest monsters of his time."
Audible Audio
First published March 14, 2017
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About the author
Clive Cussler
655 books8,582 followersCussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt, in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. 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. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed.
Cussler was an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.
In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler was also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He was honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration.
Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey and Black Wind (this last with his son, Dirk Cussler); the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed; the NUMA® Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death and Lost City (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch (written with Jack Du Brul).
Clive Cussler died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 24, 2020.
Cussler was an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.
In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler was also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He was honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration.
Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey and Black Wind (this last with his son, Dirk Cussler); the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed; the NUMA® Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death and Lost City (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch (written with Jack Du Brul).
Clive Cussler died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 24, 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 442 reviews
November 14, 2023
Unlike some prolific bestselling authors, Clive Cussler is a truly amazing author; his plots are engaging, his writing crisp, his heroes likable, and his villains utterly despicable. If you've never read one of his books...what are you waiting for? Go find one at your local library or bookstore, NOW!
January 8, 2025
4.5 Stars for The Cutthroat: Isaac Bell, Book 10 (audiobook) by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott read by Scott Brick.
Isaac Bell is on the hunt for a young woman who has dreams of becoming an actress. But sadly he finds her too late, she’s been killed. And then he realizes that she’s not the only one, there’s many more women that have been killed in the same manner across the country. He’s looking for a serial killer, and not just any killer but possibly the infamous Jack the Ripper.
Isaac Bell is on the hunt for a young woman who has dreams of becoming an actress. But sadly he finds her too late, she’s been killed. And then he realizes that she’s not the only one, there’s many more women that have been killed in the same manner across the country. He’s looking for a serial killer, and not just any killer but possibly the infamous Jack the Ripper.
January 4, 2022
The positives: Love the cover! One gets a great sense of the time period and the mystic of the subject Also enjoyed the narration for the audio book version Narrator read with appropriate stress in suspense scenes.
The story did drag on a bit for me. It portrayed a fictional tie between the play running at this time period, "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde". and the real monster and murderer, Jack the Ripper, with Isaac Bell's soul purpose of identifying and capturing the killer.
The story did drag on a bit for me. It portrayed a fictional tie between the play running at this time period, "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde". and the real monster and murderer, Jack the Ripper, with Isaac Bell's soul purpose of identifying and capturing the killer.
May 21, 2018
2 1/2 stars
While I love a good story about Jack the Ripper I found the plot dull and predictable, maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for this sort of story?
However the ending was jam packed and I really enjoyed it despite not liking most of the novel!
Maybe one day I’ll pick this up again and will have a different view.
While I love a good story about Jack the Ripper I found the plot dull and predictable, maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for this sort of story?
However the ending was jam packed and I really enjoyed it despite not liking most of the novel!
Maybe one day I’ll pick this up again and will have a different view.
October 1, 2021
4.5 The Isaac Bell series is my personal favourite from Cussler. This book is superb. A trail of bodies is slowly revealed. Starting with 3 that misadventure has exposed. Bell, noticing a victim similarity, then draws the Van Dorn agency into a search for similar missing persons/murders.
A big plus is Cussler providing a CAST OF CHARACTERS for the various locations/agencies.
Unputdownable.
A big plus is Cussler providing a CAST OF CHARACTERS for the various locations/agencies.
Unputdownable.
March 20, 2017
Another solid Issac Bell Adventure. I always enjoy a new Clive Cussler read. The plot was well done the mixture with history (Jack the Ripper) was fun. A good read
October 15, 2025
Excellent story as always! Especially excellent with Scott Brick narrating!
March 21, 2018
Isaac Bell meets Jack the ripper, I really enjoy the Isaac Bell books I've read they are fun fast reads. I think the part I enjoy most is the setting of the series, the early 20th century. This was a great read.
May 28, 2019
A decent Isaac Bell tale with a interesting spin on Jack the Ripper. There was too much traveling around for my tastes in this book (ocean voyages, train rides). Not as gripping as some of the books but better than others.
January 5, 2020
This is my first Clive Cussler book. I've enjoyed my copy of "Isaac Bell, #10 a lot, and it gives me the interest that a lot of you already have in the Clive Cussler books. Have some catching up to do.
Isaac Bell may be on the hunt for the greatest monster of all time in the newest action-adventure novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author The year is 1911. Chief Investigator Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency has had many extraordinary cases before. But none quite like this. Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away from home to become an actress, Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up instead. Vowing to bring the killer to justice, he begins a manhunt which leads him into increasingly more alarming territory. Anna Pape was not alone in her fate-petite young blond women like Anna are being murdered in cities across America. And the pattern goes beyond the physical resemblance of the victims-there are disturbing familiarities about the killings themselves that send a chill through even a man as experienced with evil as Bell. If he is right about his fears, then he is on the trail of one of the greatest monsters of his time.
Isaac Bell may be on the hunt for the greatest monster of all time in the newest action-adventure novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author The year is 1911. Chief Investigator Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency has had many extraordinary cases before. But none quite like this. Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away from home to become an actress, Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up instead. Vowing to bring the killer to justice, he begins a manhunt which leads him into increasingly more alarming territory. Anna Pape was not alone in her fate-petite young blond women like Anna are being murdered in cities across America. And the pattern goes beyond the physical resemblance of the victims-there are disturbing familiarities about the killings themselves that send a chill through even a man as experienced with evil as Bell. If he is right about his fears, then he is on the trail of one of the greatest monsters of his time.
April 19, 2017
This is not one of my favorite Issac Bell stories. I can't exactly say why but it just did not hold my attention. I listened to the book and I had to repeat some of the sections. No I did not figure it out before the end. I did expect the ending to wrap things up with Issac going back to the father of the murdered girl and tell him what happened. So I found the actual ending strange and disappointing.
August 9, 2017
Isaac Bell is a detective in 1911. He has been hired to find Anna Pape. She's a woman who ran away from home for the bright lights and fame,wanting to be an actress. Things get strange when Bell finds Anna has been murdered. A Clive Cussler book is always a great adventure.
April 5, 2017
The Isaac Bell series is returning to form with the tenth book.
There's a travelling Broadway show, and somebody is killing young girls in horrific ways. Isaac Bell is hired to find a missing girl, and finds her body. Because the motto of his detective agency is 'We Never Give Up,' he begins to trail the killer.
A bit different than the usual books in the series, where Bell is forever rushing about from place to place and saying "On the Jump" constantly. This book is more deliberate. Bell is still peripatetic, but it doesn't get in the way of the rest of the story.
Fairly good, and lacking some of the histrionics of the earlier books.
There's a travelling Broadway show, and somebody is killing young girls in horrific ways. Isaac Bell is hired to find a missing girl, and finds her body. Because the motto of his detective agency is 'We Never Give Up,' he begins to trail the killer.
A bit different than the usual books in the series, where Bell is forever rushing about from place to place and saying "On the Jump" constantly. This book is more deliberate. Bell is still peripatetic, but it doesn't get in the way of the rest of the story.
Fairly good, and lacking some of the histrionics of the earlier books.
April 16, 2017
This is first novel I've read by Clive Cussler. The tenth in the Isaac Bell series co-authored by Jusin Scott who is the son of prolific pulp western pulp author Leslie Scott. The writing has a pulp feel to it. The storyline moves at a fast pace and the tension builds. Isaac Bell is the lead detective for the Van Dorn Detective Agency. Hired to find a young lady who has run away to New York for a career in the theatre, Bell discovers that she has been murdered. Further investigation reveals other murders. A trip to London leads Bell to believe that these murders are the work of Jack the Ripper.
The pace builds to a dramatic conclusion .
The pace builds to a dramatic conclusion .
April 8, 2017
The Isaac Bell stories are quickly becoming my favorite Cussler series. This is an interesting look at the Story of Jack the Ripper and what actually happened to him. At least in Bell's universe.
This is one of the better mysteries in the series.
This is one of the better mysteries in the series.
April 6, 2024
What if.....?? What if Jack the Ripper didn't drown in the Thames river in 1891? What if instead he continued his murder spree in North America? What if Isaac Bell is forced to get to the bottom of this theory? This was a book I scored for $1 at a friends of the library event. Definitely worth every penny it cost!! Seriously, folks, I couldn't put it down once I got into it. A very enjoyable read!!!
September 27, 2018
Detective Isaac Bell is one of my favorite Clive Cussler fictional characters.
Truth to tell, Cussler is one of my favorite authors, not because he is someday going to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature but because he knows how to develop engaging characters and put them in interesting situations.
"The Cutthroat," however, doesn't rise to his usual standards, at least in my opinion. It rambles at times, gets more than a little preachy at others, and - in the main - just doesn't hold together well.
I won't go deeply into the plot, but I will say that Bell and other members of the detective agency for which he and they work are on the trail of a serial killer who may have been murdering young women for more than 20 years. The narrative takes the reader across the United States and to England and it can be quite breathless at times (a consistent feature of Cussler's novels.)
The problem is, at least for me, two-fold: The killer seems to have passed unnoticed by police (Bell has a theory for why that is) for two decades despite the fact he racks up an enormous body count, and no one in his inner circle ever seems to suspect him. That second issue is the one I find hardest to accept because, as a retired journalist, I covered the careers of more than one serial killer and there were always hints about their darker sides. In some cases those hints were revealed in their conversations and their actions toward others, in others they revolved around unexplained absences. The fact is, there was - and is - always something a little bit "off" about these predators who can indiscriminately take the lives of their victims.
There are a few other issues I have with the portrayal of this mass murderer but those are the main ones. Suffice it to say I just didn't find this Cussler villain to be as well drawn as most of the author's other antagonists. That was disappointing because Cussler's villains are almost always at least as interesting as his heroic figures.
An okay read but not one of Cussler's best.
Truth to tell, Cussler is one of my favorite authors, not because he is someday going to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature but because he knows how to develop engaging characters and put them in interesting situations.
"The Cutthroat," however, doesn't rise to his usual standards, at least in my opinion. It rambles at times, gets more than a little preachy at others, and - in the main - just doesn't hold together well.
I won't go deeply into the plot, but I will say that Bell and other members of the detective agency for which he and they work are on the trail of a serial killer who may have been murdering young women for more than 20 years. The narrative takes the reader across the United States and to England and it can be quite breathless at times (a consistent feature of Cussler's novels.)
The problem is, at least for me, two-fold: The killer seems to have passed unnoticed by police (Bell has a theory for why that is) for two decades despite the fact he racks up an enormous body count, and no one in his inner circle ever seems to suspect him. That second issue is the one I find hardest to accept because, as a retired journalist, I covered the careers of more than one serial killer and there were always hints about their darker sides. In some cases those hints were revealed in their conversations and their actions toward others, in others they revolved around unexplained absences. The fact is, there was - and is - always something a little bit "off" about these predators who can indiscriminately take the lives of their victims.
There are a few other issues I have with the portrayal of this mass murderer but those are the main ones. Suffice it to say I just didn't find this Cussler villain to be as well drawn as most of the author's other antagonists. That was disappointing because Cussler's villains are almost always at least as interesting as his heroic figures.
An okay read but not one of Cussler's best.
June 6, 2017
There's a couple of things you know about a Clive Cussler book: one is that the good guys are always going to win and the other is that it will be a fun read. So it is with the 10th installment of his Isaac Bell series.......about 400 pages of fun reading (and isn't that why people usually pick up a novel to read - for fun?) because even though the good guys are going to win, the fun is seeing how they do it, how the crime is solved, and there are always enough plot twists and turns that even Sherlock Holmes would be kept guessing. Not a thing wrong with that.
This is actually one of the better novels in the series because of whom the erstwhile Isaac Bell is chasing across early 20th Century America - how about Jack The Ripper? It seems old Jack may have gotten tired of carving up women in England and relocated to America, or did he? Is it really Jack or a copycat? There's only one way to find out and that's to read the book because I'm not telling.
Get it - read it - you'll enjoy it.
This is actually one of the better novels in the series because of whom the erstwhile Isaac Bell is chasing across early 20th Century America - how about Jack The Ripper? It seems old Jack may have gotten tired of carving up women in England and relocated to America, or did he? Is it really Jack or a copycat? There's only one way to find out and that's to read the book because I'm not telling.
Get it - read it - you'll enjoy it.
August 24, 2017
Not my favorite Cussler book. I do like the Isaac Bell series. The historical background is very interesting, but not so much this time. The author overdid the traveling by train many portions. The story line was weak and the end was predictable, but I still enjoyed it..
May 26, 2017
This was one of the best Isaac Bell books. Don't know how Clive Cussler keeps coming up with much great books.
April 12, 2017
Started out good after about 6th cd, I had a hard time keeping interest. I am a fan of the author's other series but this is my least favorite.
January 27, 2021
The Cutthroat is the 10th entry in Clive Cussler’s Isaac Bell series. I believe this is now the third book I have read in that series.
Like all the Cussler books I have read so far, it doesn’t seem to matter if you read the series in order or not. This makes it easy to jump in and read a book as when you want or whichever one has the intriguing storyline.
Set in 1911 we follow Isaac Bell on a murder mystery tour that starts in America, before jumping over to the UK and back again. The UK section being a particular highlight. Is Bell really on the trail of Jack the Ripper?
Tied with the main murder mystery storyline we have a backdrop of theatre and stagecraft. With a Jekyll and Hyde play forming a second plot thread. This is also reflected in the structure of the book, with the cast of characters laid out at the start with their role, plus the book being broken up into separate acts.
Compared with other Cussler books, this has a slower pace I felt throughout. Slowly building up the mystery. However it doesn’t lack action. There are some memorable moments throughout that lead to an epic final confrontation.
If you have read Cussler before and enjoyed it, I’d recommend this. As stated earlier it’s a slightly different pace due to the murder mystery, rather the full tilt action of some of his other books.
Like all the Cussler books I have read so far, it doesn’t seem to matter if you read the series in order or not. This makes it easy to jump in and read a book as when you want or whichever one has the intriguing storyline.
Set in 1911 we follow Isaac Bell on a murder mystery tour that starts in America, before jumping over to the UK and back again. The UK section being a particular highlight. Is Bell really on the trail of Jack the Ripper?
Tied with the main murder mystery storyline we have a backdrop of theatre and stagecraft. With a Jekyll and Hyde play forming a second plot thread. This is also reflected in the structure of the book, with the cast of characters laid out at the start with their role, plus the book being broken up into separate acts.
Compared with other Cussler books, this has a slower pace I felt throughout. Slowly building up the mystery. However it doesn’t lack action. There are some memorable moments throughout that lead to an epic final confrontation.
If you have read Cussler before and enjoyed it, I’d recommend this. As stated earlier it’s a slightly different pace due to the murder mystery, rather the full tilt action of some of his other books.
September 2, 2017
Women are being murdered all over America, the year is 1911 and Chief Investigator
Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency has had many extraordinary cases but none
quite like this. Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away to become
an actress Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up. He begins a manhunt
which leads him to believe that Anna was not alone in her fate. Woman like Anna are being
murdered all across America. The pattern goes beyond their physical resemblances . There
are disturbing simularities about the killings themselves that send a chill through even a
man as experienced with evil as Bell. If he is right he is on the trail of one of the greatest
monsters of all times. Even though this story stretches the imagination a little bit I found
it readable and gave it a 3.75.
Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency has had many extraordinary cases but none
quite like this. Hired to find a young woman named Anna Pape who ran away to become
an actress Bell gets a shock when her murdered body turns up. He begins a manhunt
which leads him to believe that Anna was not alone in her fate. Woman like Anna are being
murdered all across America. The pattern goes beyond their physical resemblances . There
are disturbing simularities about the killings themselves that send a chill through even a
man as experienced with evil as Bell. If he is right he is on the trail of one of the greatest
monsters of all times. Even though this story stretches the imagination a little bit I found
it readable and gave it a 3.75.
November 22, 2017
Clive Cussler definitely delivers in this Audiobook. Hard boiled private eye pursuing a villain that was thought long going. Jack the Ripper is back. or is he?
December 7, 2019
I am saddened because I am so close to being caught up in this series. I did really enjoy this book, and the Jack the Ripper angle was pretty cool.
May 24, 2022
The first Cussler I've read & will say that it was enjoyable. Spent most of the book trying to figure out who did it ;-) so full points at all the misdirections, etc.
August 13, 2023
Did not enjoy this book at all. Maybe due to the historical setting, can’t put my finger on why. Just did not hold my interest.
December 14, 2025
Good book, really enjoyed it!!!
June 24, 2017
Jack the Ripper copy cat who kills aspiring actresses in 1911.
December 18, 2017
If you like historical fiction surrounding Jack the Ripper this is the book for you. Engaging characters with an outstanding plot makes this read loads of fun.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 442 reviews