Combining meticulous research and his own expertise, Mr. Kublicki uses real life events as a springboard to construct an intriguing story about what might happen in a world where oil dependency is another tool for terrorism. A little judicious editing would have elevated the rating on this promising novel.
Patrick Carlton, a U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor, is taking a forced vacation from his job when we encounter him in Hollywood, California. Following a dispute with his superiors he faced the choice of suspension for insubordination or the holiday and he chose the latter. Unaccustomed to down time, Carlton makes the most of his situation. He innocently signs up for a sightseeing tour in Hollywood. The tour gets put on hold when a child is trapped in a crumbling building and Carlton rushes to the rescue. His heroics end with him finding a secret message on a piece of paper long hidden from view.
From there Carlton embarks on the trail of a decades-old mystery surrounding a formula for a new energy source developed by real-life inventor Nikola Tesla. In true Clancy/Grisham/Baldacci fashion, Carlton travels the globe to unravel a devious plot to destroy the United States economy by monopolizing the world’s oil supply, thus making access to Tesla’s formula for cheap energy all the more crucial.
The action shifts from California to Alaska to France, Poland, Venezuela and the Middle East as Carlton takes on the bad guys who want to bring America down. Every turn of the page introduces a new danger as Carlton unravels the scheme and finds it’s not just about the oil. He must outwit a maniacal Saudi prince who is in league with a greedy oil executive and a self-serving French diplomat, all operating with their own agendas. There’s no end of problems to solve—saving the U.S. economy, stopping Saudi funding for Middle Eastern terrorists and getting the energy formula into ethical hands.
Kublicki has incorporated little known bits of history into his story—notably Tesla’s ill-fated efforts and rumors of actor Cary Grant’s work for the British Intelligence Service during World War II. The action moves along at a dizzying pace with an over-abundance of details. The firm hand of a strong editor could have saved Carlton a lot of trouble.
Reviewed by Eveline Speedie for IndieReader