Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The World Beneath | 2013 | Rebecca Cantrell | Buy |
| 2 | The Tesla Legacy | 2015 | Rebecca Cantrell | Buy |
| 3 | The Chemistry of Death | 2015 | Rebecca Cantrell | Buy |
| 4 | The Steel Shark | 2017 | Rebecca Cantrell | Buy |
The Joe Tesla series has one of the more distinctive premises in modern thriller fiction. Joe is a wealthy tech entrepreneur who, after a traumatic incident, becomes unable to leave enclosed spaces. He sets up a home in the tunnels beneath Grand Central Terminal and, with the help of a service dog named Edison, investigates crimes that take place in the underground labyrinth of New York City.
Cantrell uses the setting well. The tunnels and hidden spaces beneath Manhattan are real, and she weaves factual details about the underground infrastructure into her plots. The World Beneath, The Tesla Legacy, The Chemistry of Death, and The Steel Shark each bring new threats into Joe’s subterranean world. His agoraphobia is not just a quirk but a genuine limitation that shapes how he can investigate and interact with the world above.