Isaac Bell
The Isaac Bell series by Clive Cussler has 15 known books (15 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with The Chase (2007). The Iron Storm is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 15 known books (15 novels)
- Published
- 15
- First published
- 2007
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Historical Fiction , Adventure
Reading order
- Book 1:
The Chase
The Chase is the book that opens Clive Cussler's Isaac Bell series, a historical adventure published in 2007 at 448 pages. It's followed by The Wrecker, where Justin Scott joins as co-author, in a series that has run to fifteen books. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Chase - Book 2:
The Wrecker
The Wrecker is the second book in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2009 at 470 pages. It follows The Chase and precedes The Spy. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wrecker - Book 3:
The Spy
The Spy is the third entry in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2010 at 457 pages. It follows The Wrecker and precedes The Race. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Spy - Book 4:
The Race
The Race is the fourth book in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2011 at 404 pages. It follows The Spy and precedes The Thief. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Race - Book 5:
The Thief
The Thief is the fifth entry in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2012 at 510 pages. It follows The Race and precedes The Striker. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Thief - Book 6:
The Striker
The Striker is the sixth book in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2013 at 495 pages. It follows The Thief and precedes The Bootlegger. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Striker - Book 7:
The Bootlegger
The Bootlegger is the seventh entry in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2014 at 443 pages. It follows The Striker and precedes The Assassin. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Bootlegger - Book 8:
The Assassin
The Assassin is the eighth book in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2015 at 416 pages. It follows The Bootlegger and precedes The Gangster. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Assassin - Book 9:
The Gangster
The Gangster is the ninth entry in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2016 at 416 pages. It follows The Assassin and precedes The Cutthroat. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Gangster - Book 10:
The Cutthroat
The Cutthroat is the tenth book in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott and published in 2017 at 487 pages. It follows The Gangster and precedes The Titanic Secret, where Jack Du Brul takes over as Cussler's co-author. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Cutthroat - Book 11:
The Titanic Secret
The Titanic Secret is the eleventh entry in the Isaac Bell series, the point where Jack Du Brul joins Clive Cussler as co-author, published in 2019 at 416 pages. It follows The Cutthroat and precedes The Saboteurs. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Titanic Secret - Book 12:
The Saboteurs
The Saboteurs is the twelfth book in the Isaac Bell series, co-written by Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul and published in 2021 at 400 pages. It follows The Titanic Secret and precedes The Sea Wolves. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Saboteurs - Book 13:
The Sea Wolves
The Sea Wolves is the thirteenth entry in the Isaac Bell series, credited to Jack Du Brul alone, published in 2022 at 400 pages. It follows The Saboteurs and precedes The Heist. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sea Wolves - Book 14:
The Heist
The Heist is the fourteenth book in the Isaac Bell series, written by Jack Du Brul, published in 2024. It follows The Sea Wolves and precedes The Iron Storm. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Heist - Book 15:
The Iron Storm
The Iron Storm is, as of this catalogue, the fifteenth and most recent entry in the Isaac Bell series, written by Jack Du Brul and published in 2025. It follows The Heist in a series that has run continuously since 2007. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Iron Storm
Key facts about the Isaac Bell series
The Isaac Bell series has 15 books on our list. Since all 15 are out now, you can read the whole list today.
Start with The Chase, since it opens the publication order in 2007. The Wrecker is book 2, from 2009. The Spy is book 3, from 2010.
The Race is book 4, from 2011. The Thief is book 5, from 2012. The Striker is book 6, from 2013.
The Bootlegger is book 7, from 2014, while The Assassin is book 8, from 2015. The Gangster is book 9, from 2016.
The Cutthroat is book 10, from 2017, while The Titanic Secret is book 11, from 2019. The Saboteurs is book 12, from 2021. Since the list above shows all 15, you can find the rest there.
Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
The Iron Storm is the latest book with a full release date, out on 1 January 2025. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.
The books came out between 2007 and 2025, while their length runs from 400 to 510 pages. That is a run of 18 years.
Clive Cussler has 82 books on our list. Additionally, they write Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files and Oregon Files, plus 1 more series. We shelve the books under historical adventure.
About the Isaac Bell series
Isaac Bell is the chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency in early-twentieth-century America, a Yale-educated, ivory-cane-wielding operative who chases saboteurs, robber-baron conspiracies and serial killers across a country still being built by railroads, oil derricks and Model Ts. Clive Cussler launched the series in 2007 as a period cousin to Dirk Pitt: the same appetite for elaborate action set pieces and a hero who is unbeatable at everything he attempts, but transplanted into a Gilded Age/Progressive Era setting rich with real history — the birth of American aviation, the rise of organized crime during Prohibition, the robber-baron industrial titans — that gives each case a distinctive backdrop the contemporary-set Cussler series can't offer.
Justin Scott co-wrote the bulk of the series through the 2010s, grounding Bell's adventures in meticulously researched period detail, before Jack Du Brul (who also writes the Oregon Files) took over starting with The Titanic Secret in 2019 and has continued the series solo since Cussler's 2020 death. Readers who enjoy Dirk Pitt's globe-trotting problem-solving but want it filtered through a Prohibition-and-railroads period setting — closer in spirit to a hardboiled pulp serial than a modern techno-thriller — are the natural audience for Isaac Bell.
Frequently asked questions
How many Isaac Bell books are there?
There are 15 Isaac Bell novels as of The Iron Storm (2025), starting with The Chase in 2007.
What order should I read the Isaac Bell books in?
Publication order, beginning with The Chase, is the recommended default. Each investigation is self-contained, though the series moves in rough historical sequence through the early twentieth century.
Who writes Isaac Bell now that Clive Cussler has died?
Jack Du Brul has written the series since The Titanic Secret (2019) and has continued it solo since Cussler's 2020 death. Justin Scott wrote the series through most of the 2010s before that.
Is Isaac Bell connected to Dirk Pitt or the other Cussler series?
No shared characters or plotlines — Isaac Bell is set decades earlier (early 1900s) and can be read entirely independently of Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, the Oregon Files or the Fargo Adventures.
Is there a new Isaac Bell book coming?
No confirmed next title or date has been announced beyond The Iron Storm (2025) as of this writing.