The Tesla Formula is the second book in the Patrick Carlton adventure series. In this installment, Department of Justice prosecutor Carlton stumbles on a seventy-year old murder mystery while on vacation in Hollywood. In quick order, he becomes enmeshed with Islamic terrorists, global intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and, perhaps most dangerous of all, lawyers. He discovers radical Islamasists and European bureaucrats are conspiring to bring America to its knees by destroying its economy and cornering the world oil market. Only one thing stands in their way: a secret formula to produce limitless electricity, invented over half a century ago by famous inventor Nikola Tesla.

Not far into The Tesla Formula I found myself humming the Warren Zevon tune Lawyers, Guns and Money. Tesla’s unique blend of lawyers, guns and money are what supercharge this novel and set it apart from other action thrillers.

First, let’s talk about the guns. Bullets fly from beginning to end, but action is the least-powerful element of this otherwise strong book. Kublicki is faithful to the action genre, almost too faithful. While the action keeps readers on their toes, in several places it feels slightly overdone. The good news is this book has a lot more going for it besides action.

Tesla’s hero, Patrick Carlton, is a former Navy combat veteran, wears cowboy boots and is deadly with a Glock, but is a lawyer at his core. However, his underlying respect for the law makes him a different kind of action hero and gives this novel a depth lacking in most thrillers. Carlton is repeatedly frustrated by the barriers the law throws at him, but he always finds a way to get the job done legally. For example, in one of the book’s best scenes Carleton convinces a reluctant federal judge to issue a search warrant using an ingenious twist on eminent domain. Carlton is the thinking man’s action hero.

But Carleton isn’t the only lawyer making Tesla hum along. The most terrifying weapon in this thriller is a contract wielded by a very nasty law firm employed by the terrorists. While this book starts with a race to find Tesla’s formula, the climax is Carlton’s race to keep this contract, the legal equivalent to an atomic bomb, from being signed. Tesla is like Law and Order meets Sum of all Fears.

Where there are lawyers, there is money. While Carlton combats the bad guys with military and law enforcement, his allies do battle behind the scenes with computers, phones and dollars. Kublicki vaults the reader on a journey through international banking and finance behind the world’s turbulent energy markets.

With his masterful blend of lawyers, guns and money Kublicki reminds us the War on Terror is fought not only on the battlefield, but by dedicated law enforcement, legal and financial experts working with little fanfare. This thoughtful balance gives The Tesla Formula its element of realism. I also like that Tesla paints these professionals as they should be – as heroes. Nicolas Kublicki convincingly weaves law and economics into the modern action thriller and makes it work. For that, The Tesla Formula earns an electrifying 90 out of 99 cents.  

You can find The Tesla Formula here. 

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