Joe DeMarco

In House Rules, two foiled terrorist attacks and a law targeting Muslim Americans send Joe DeMarco on a dangerous mission among mobsters, meth dealers, and the Washington political elite. First there was the bomb meant for the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel; then a private plane headed straight for the White House is shot down. An atmosphere of fear and panic overruns the country, and when a senator proposes to run extensive background checks on all Muslims and deport any who aren't citizens, his bill gains surprising traction. John Mahoney, the larger-than-life Speaker of the House, is not pleased. But Mahoney has a connection to one of the attackers, one he wants kept a secret. So he calls DeMarco, who attempts to get to the bottom of the attacks and to pacify his difficult yet charismatic boss in this riveting installment in the series.

Mike Lawson's previous novels starring Joe DeMarco, fixer for the Speaker of the House, have earned him a loyal following from thriller aficionados and a place among the most talented and captivating thriller writers focusing on the dangerous games of our nation's capital. In House Secrets, DeMarco is sent to investigate the death of a reporter, the son of one of his boss' old colleagues, even though it appears to be nothing more than an unfortunate accident. He soon learns that the reporter was on the trail of Senator Paul Morelli, a rising star considered a shoo-in for his party's presidential nomination. Some politicians are lucky, and Morelli has been luckier than most, but his past has already been thoroughly scrutinized and he looks clean. But then, why is DeMarco being followed by a pair of rogue agents who freelance for the CIA? Dirty secrets, beltway politics, and divided loyalties threaten as DeMarco's investigation spirals dangerously out of control. Filled with surprising twists, a captivating plot, and excellent characters both old and new, House Secrets is Lawson's best book yet.

When an American defense contractor goes to Iran to sell missile technology, the CIA knows all about it, thanks to a spy in Tehran. But when the story is leaked to an ambitious journalist, the spy is burned, brutally tortured, and executed. The director of the CIA isn't about to let the callous sacrifice of his valuable spy go unpunished. Joe DeMarco's boss, Speaker of the House John Fitzpatrick Mahoney, has his own reasons to get to the bottom of the leak. He once had a fling with the journalist, and now that she's in jail for refusing to reveal her source, she is threatening to tell all unless he helps get her out. DeMarco and the CIA aren't the only ones looking for the source of the leak, either. Someone else wants to avenge the spy's death, and is tailing DeMarco, hoping he'll lead him to his prey. This latest Joe DeMarco thriller is classic Mike Lawson, featuring fascinating characters, inside-the-beltway intrigue, and a gripping plot packed with surprises.

House Divided is inspired and compelling, a strong addition to this celebrated series. When the National Security Agency is caught wiretapping US citizens without the proper warrants, a political scandal erupts, and the secret program comes to a screeching halt. But Dillon Crane, the NSA genius who spearheaded the most sophisticated eavesdropping operation in history, isn't about to sit idly by while spineless politicians sleepwalk the country into another 9/11—and Crane cleverly moves his illegal eavesdropping program into the shadows. But operating in the shadows can cause complications. When the NSA illegally records what appears to be a rogue military group killing two American citizens, Crane can't simply walk over to the Pentagon and ask what's going on—and before long, the largest intelligence agency in the country is locked into a deadly battle with a four-star army general who is just as capable and just as committed as Dillon Crane. Caught in the middle of all this is Joe DeMarco. One of the civilians killed was his cousin, and all DeMarco is trying to do is bury the poor guy and settle his estate—but DeMarco soon finds himself being used as a sacrificial pawn in a lethal game between a master spy and a powerful general. Although a man with many flaws, DeMarco ultimately decides that he's not going to be anyone's pawn, no matter how powerful his opponents may be.

With his series of thrillers starring congressional fixer Joe DeMarco, Mike Lawson has earned a reputation as a master of political intrigue and one of the best writers focusing on the behind-the-scenes action of our nation's capital. In House Blood, Lawson introduces us to Orson Mulray, CEO of Mulray Pharma, a cold and calculating man obsessed with profit and prestige. Mulray believes he has discovered a drug that could prevent a previously incurable disease. It could be the salvation of millions of people and earn him billions of dollars. But the drug needs to be tested on human subjects, and Mulray needs more than blood samples-he needs autopsy results. When DeMarco is asked to look into the murder conviction of a lobbyist, he has other worries on his mind: his boss is no longer Speaker, his girlfriend has left him, and his friend Emma may be dying. DeMarco doesn't expect to free the lobbyist-much less become the target of two of the most callous killers he and Emma have ever encountered. The seventh book in this celebrated series is a rollicking ride to Uganda, Peru, and beyond. Lawson expertly commands Washington politics, mercenaries, and the pharmaceutical industry for a juicy story full of lifelike characters and thrilling action.

Washington fixer Joe DeMarco has been asked to handle a lot of difficult situations over the years for his boss, Congressman John Mahoney. But nothing has ever been quite so politically sensitive, or has hit so close to home, as the task Mahoney hands DeMarco in House Odds, the latest novel from critically acclaimed thriller writer Mike Lawson. Mahoney's daughter, Molly, has been arrested and charged with insider trading. An engineer with a high-flying technology firm, she allegedly placed a half-million-dollar bet on one of the firm's clients. DeMarco's job is to clear Molly's name and keep his boss clean. But how did Molly get her hands on so much money to invest in the first place? Before long, DeMarco discovers that there's far more to Molly's case than meets the eye, and the risk to Mahoney is more than just a little political embarrassment. Featuring an extensive cast of mobsters and politicians, House Odds is a gripping tale of high-stakes scheming from one of today's best political thriller writers.

The ninth installment in Mike Lawson's Washington, DC, political thriller series takes listeners back into Joe DeMarco's past-to the murder of his father, which was never investigated, let alone solved.DeMarco always knew that his father Gino had a shady job for a local mafioso, but he didn't understand that Gino had been a hit man until he was murdered. Now, nearly twenty years later, one of Gino's former mob associates is dying of lung cancer, and he wants to get something off his chest before retiring to his grave: the truth about Gino's killer. The shocking information, and the powerful position the killer now occupies, sends DeMarco on a mission of revenge with terrible consequences. Now that the secret has been kept for so long, DeMarco has to rush to do something about it because the killer is on the brink of taking a job in Washington, DC, that will leave him untouchable.With his job, his morals, and his very life on the line, DeMarco must ask himself: How far will he go for revenge?

From bestselling author Mike Lawson comes the latest installment in the award-winning Joe DeMarco series. As a fixer for influential congressman John Mahoney in Washington, DC, Joe DeMarco has found himself in plenty of unexpected and dangerous situations. In House Rivals, DeMarco is taken further out of his element than ever before, sent to North Dakota to protect a passionate but naïve twenty-two-year-old blogger who has put herself in harm's way. The young woman is Sarah Johnson, whose grandfather saved Mahoney's life in Vietnam. For the past two years, Sarah has been on a relentless crusade against a billionaire oil tycoon who has profited handsomely from the natural gas boom in the Dakotas-and who she believes has been bribing small-time politicians and judges to keep things in his favor. Though she has no hard evidence against the man, Sarah has been assaulted and received death threats for her meddling. DeMarco, given his years of experience bending the rules in DC, suspects that a middleman like himself is pulling strings for the tycoon. But as DeMarco tries to identify his adversaries, the situation turns unexpectedly violent, and DeMarco finds himself in a battle of wits against two ruthless problem solvers who will stop at nothing to win.

In the eleventh novel in Mike Lawson's bestselling series, Joe DeMarco helps an elderly woman threatened by a shady real estate developer, then seeks revenge. In House Revenge, congressional fixer Joe DeMarco is dispatched to congressman John Mahoney's hometown of Boston. Mahoney wants him to help Elinore Dobbs, an elderly woman fighting against a real estate developer intent on tearing down her apartment building for a massive new development. Mahoney is just in it for the free press until Sean Callahan, the developer, disrespects him, and Elinore suffers a horrible "accident," likely at the hands of two thugs on Callahan's payroll. Now Mahoney and DeMarco are out for revenge. DeMarco tries to dig up dirt through Callahan's former mentor, along with one of his ex-wives. But when DeMarco gets a tip on the likely illegal source of some of Callahan's financing, the investigation turns deadly. A fast-paced adventure into the cutthroat world behind the wrecking ball, House Revenge is another gripping tale of collusion and corruption from a beloved political thriller writer.

This novel in Mike Lawson's critically acclaimed series takes political fixer Joe DeMarco to New York for behind--the--scenes work on a high--stakes murder case as the witnesses start to decamp one by one.In House Witness, the expertly plotted twelfth novel in this critically acclaimed series, Mike Lawson puts his likable protagonist on the trail of a different kind of fixer-one whose job is to inject reasonable doubt into seemingly air-tight criminal cases.Minority Leader of the House and Joe DeMarco's long-time employer John Mahoney has kept more than one secret from his wife over the years but none so explosive as this: He has a son, and that son has just been shot dead in a bar in Manhattan. Mahoney immediately dispatches DeMarco to his native New York to provide prosecutor Justine Porter with any assistance necessary, but with five bystanders willing to testify against rich- boy Toby Rosenthal, the case seems like a slam -dunk-that is, until Porter begins to suspect that someone is interfering with those witnesses and that this may be connected to a pattern of cases across the country. Could someone be helping to get witnesses out of the way when the fate of a wealthy defendant is on the line? With the help of Porter's intern, as outrageously smart as she is young, DeMarco becomes determined to follow that question through to its violent resolution in what turns out to be Joe DeMarco's most unexpected adventure yet.|ProloguePart IPart IIPart IIIPart IVPart VEpilogue

In the thirteenth book in Mike Lawson's celebrated series, Joe DeMarco finds himself on the wrong side of an investigation-in the wake of a political assassination, he's been framed as the killer. As the fixer for Congressman John Mahoney in Washington, DC, Joe DeMarco has had to bend and break the law more than a few times. But when Representative Lyle Canton, House Majority Whip, is found shot dead in his office in the US Capitol and DeMarco is arrested for the murder, DeMarco knows he's been framed. Locked up in the Alexandria Jail awaiting trial, he calls on his enigmatic friend Emma, an ex-DIA agent, to search for the true killer. Emma's investigation leads her to Sebastian Spear, the ruthless and competitive CEO of the multi-billion-dollar Spear Industries. Spear had a motive for killing Lyle Canton: Canton's wife, Jean, had once been Spear's high school sweetheart and the one true love of his life-until Canton won her over. Now Jean was dead, killed in a car crash while driving drunk, and Spear blamed Canton for the accident. But the case the FBI has built against DeMarco is airtight, and not a single piece of evidence points to the grieving CEO. Using her cunning and her DC connections, Emma sets out to prove that Spear has been using fixers of his own. Featuring crimes of passion, corporate corruption, and partisan feuds, House Arrest is a gripping, timely political thriller, and one of Lawson's best books yet.

In House Privilege, the fourteenth novel in the Joe DeMarco series, Mike Lawson sends his likeable protagonist to Boston, into the world of hedge funds and trust funds. When Congressman and DeMarco's long-time employer John Mahoney gains custody of his fifteen-year-old goddaughter, Cassie Russell, he sends DeMarco to evaluate the situation. Cassie's parents have just perished in a plane crash that Cassie survived, and she has now inherited her father's billions. DeMarco plans to advise Mahoney to leave Erin Kelly, manager of the Russell's fund, in charge of Cassie's finances, but he soon learns that Erin may not be as trustworthy as she first appeared. DeMarco's digging alarms Erin, who has much to hide, and sets in motion a series of increasingly drastic plans that Erin has devised to protect herself and her wealth. But Cassie has touched DeMarco's heart of gold, and he won't let anyone get away with hurting her. A competition in plotting and out-plotting, this latest installment in the series ventures off the grid and outside the reach of extradition treaties for an exhilarating read.

When someone close to him is shot dead in a roadside motel in a small town in Wyoming, DeMarco shirks his responsibilities as the Speaker of the House's fixer to make sure the authorities are doing everything that can be done to catch the killer. He soon realizes that the rural area is dominated by Hiram Bunt, a wealthy rancher with an obstructionist streak who is willing to take on the federal government at gunpoint and seems to have a number of politicians under his thumb. But Bunt is not the only one in the way. DeMarco also learns that his friend - a woman he was once in love with - had unearthed a number of explosive secrets during her time in the backwoods and that the deputy in charge of the investigation may be ignoring several leads to preserve a secret of his own. Surrounded by people willing to kill to maintain the status quo, DeMarco launches his own investigation into a growing list of intertwining suspects. And being DeMarco, he concludes that breaking the law to uncover the truth is the best way to ensure that justice is done. This thriller is gripping and genuinely unpredictable to the very end.

Joe DeMarco likes to call himself a troubleshooter. It sounds better than "bagman" or "fixer." With more than a decade of troubleshooting under his belt on behalf of John Mahoney, the Speaker of the House, DeMarco has seen his fair share of dangerous situations. When Andie Moore, a twenty-three-year-old working in the DOJ's Inspector General's Office, is murdered in cold blood in Florida's Everglades, it falls on DeMarco to get to the bottom of things. Paired with Emma, an enigmatic, retired ex-spy with seemingly endless connections in the military and intelligence communities, they venture south to the scene of Andie's murder: Alligator Alley. DeMarco and Emma waste no time in identifying two suspects-a pair of crooked, near-retirement FBI agents named McIntyre and McGruder. But as they keep digging, it becomes clear that these FBI agents weren't acting alone, and that this goes much deeper than just the murder of an innocent twenty-three-year-old woman.

Carson Newman doesn't wear tracksuits. He doesn't have a consigliere or operate out of the back room of a restaurant. And as evidenced by his ever-growing Boston empire, he doesn't get his hands dirty. Usually. Joe DeMarco, on the other hand, is paid to get his hands dirty. So, when John Mahoney, the former Speaker of the House, calls, DeMarco knows it's time to get to work. Brian Lewis, an intern for Mahoney, has been found dead, seemingly from a drug overdose. But Brian didn't seem like a drug user, and even more concerning, he seemed to be on the cusp of releasing a report that identified a group of politicians who had taken bribes in helping dismantle a recent bill. Brian's mom is convinced that Brian was murdered because of what he'd learned, and it doesn't take long for DeMarco to come to a similar conclusion. In a city full of shadowy agreements and duplicitous deals, DeMarco will soon learn that to get to the bottom of Brian's death, he'll have to look at people perched the very top of the world.