Detective Isaac Bell faces an attack on the Federal Reserve in this all-new adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Clive Cussler.

1914: As America’s century of dominance dawns, the country’s greatest detective, Van Dorn agent Isaac Bell, is pitted against a master thief and his assassin accomplice. They’re plotting to pull off the greatest heist in America’s history: the theft of a billion dollars from the newly created Federal Reserve.

When an aerial attack is launched against Woodrow Wilson’s yacht during a meeting among the Federal Reserve’s branch leaders, Bell thwarts it, only to find that the strike was just the opening of an even deadlier gambit. It’s up to Bell to find the link between the attack, the mysterious death of a Newport heiress, and growing evidence of an unimaginably audacious heist.

Double-cross and betrayal are Bell’s stock and trade, but this time, the deeper he delves into the puzzle, the less he seems to understand. He is in a race against his most ruthless opponent yet, to prevent a financial panic that would bring the United States to its knees.

About the Author

Clive Cussler was the author of more than eighty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA® Files, Oregon® Files, Isaac Bell®, and Sam and Remi Fargo®. His life nearly paralleled that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers discovered and surveyed more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Civil War submarine Hunley, which was raised in 2000 with much publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collected classic automobiles. His collection featured more than one hundred examples of custom coachwork. Cussler passed away in February 2020.

Jack Du Brul is the author of Clive Cussler The Sea Wolves, the Philip Mercer series (most recently The Lightning Stones,) and is the coauthor with Cussler of the Oregon Files novels Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship, Corsair, The Silent Sea, and The Jungle, and the Isaac Bell novels The Saboteurs and The Titanic Secret. He lives in Virginia.

An exciting new adventure for Doubleday—introducing #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor Jack Du Brul, and his erudite geologist with a special taste for international intrigue, Philip Mercer.

Sinking thousands of feet below the surface of the earth in the Leister Deep copper mine in Minnesota, Philip Mercer rides a series of heavy-duty elevators to visit his old friend and mentor, Abraham Jacobs. Jacobs has led a research team to the deepest section of the mine for a groundbreaking study into climate change and cosmic rays. But as Mercer approaches the bottom, he is stunned to hear the unmistakable report of automatic gunfire in the massive underground chambers. He can't stop the inevitable: by the time Mercer finds his way to them, his dear friend, and the entire research team, have been efficiently executed. Mercer is left seeking answers... and revenge.

This sets in motion a propulsive thriller intertwined with intrigue, vengeance, and cutting-edge science. Mercer is thrust into an international hunt for the murderers—and the frightening secret of what they were looking for. The Lightning Stones is a smart rocket ride... and a franchise in the making.

Jack Du Brul became a #1 New York Times bestselling author with Clive Cussler, cowriting the Oregon series that has become a fan favorite. Du Brul's own backlist—featuring Philip Mercer—serves as a launching pad now for the reintroduction of Mercer on a much larger level.

From Kirkus Reviews

A debut thriller introducing Philip Mercermine engineer, geological consultant, and the only Bond clone who carries a Derringer strapped to his testicles. A study in triple crosses, Du Brul's story tells of a 40-year plot contrived by the Russians, who want to own a newly risen underwater volcano 200 miles off Hawaii. Geological physicist Pytor Borodin and an American physicist who's studying the oceanic Bikini A-bomb test have independently discovered the same fact: that enormous underwater thermal heat, when mixed with lava, can produce the hardest fuel known to manbikinium, which, once put to use, gives off more energy than is needed to burn it. Back in 1954, Borodin had also discovered that the thinnest part of the tectonic plate in the Pacific is just 200 miles past Hawaii. So the Reds secretly sink a ship carrying an A-bomb. The plan is to detonate it on the seafloor, creating a volcano whose lava can then be processed very cheaply for bikinium, leaving the Soviets as the most powerful people on earth. But during the 40- year wait for this secret volcano to break to the surface, at which point it can be claimed as Soviet territory, the USSR empire collapses and a KGB officer decides to sell the whole plan for Vulcan's Forge to North Korea for $100 million. Enter Philip Mercer, out to save the life of on old friend's daughter, a member of a geologic survey team lost near the volcano. Much bang-bang but little kiss-kiss ensues. Meanwhile, a superbillionaire Japanese racist plots the secession of Hawaii, and Mercer, empowered by the US President, finds himself in cliffhangers more wonderfully outrageous than you'll find in Clive Cussler or Ian Fleming. A finely tuned first installment in the Mercer series, buoyed by strong, fresh writing. Remember, Fleming could never top From Russia With Love, so come aboard now. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

"An exciting, well-honed thriller that will have Clive Cussler fans taking note of the new kid on the block."--William Hefferman, Edgar Ward Winner, author of_ The Dinosaur Club_ "Du Brul's well-calculated debts to Fleming, Cussler, Easterman, and Lustbader, his technological, political, and ecological research, and his natural gift for storytelling bode well."--_Publishers Weekly_