House Secrets (Joe DeMarco Series #4)

Lawson's newest an improvement, with a surprise at the end

I have read three of the four Joe DeMarco political thrillers. The newest, House Secrets, is an improvement (one of the two earlier efforts had a very implausible villain and was set in the Pacific Northwest and just didn't work for me). Joe's boss, the fictional Speaker of the House vaguely resembles Tip O'Neill. Lawson lets his political sympathies show--all the real-life politicians mentioned as subjects of scandal happen to be Democrats, but there is good suspense and the plot has some plausibility. There's a surprise in store at the end, which I won't spoil, but will leave you scratching your head. A fun read.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Write more books quickly!!!!

I always look forward to these books by Mike Lawson. It is difficult to stop reading. He knows his subject, Washington D.C. and brings in other localities as well.

Books stores should promote these books more than they do. It wasn't in my Barnes & Noble the week it came out so they had to order it for me.

GREAT WRITING. KEEP THEM COMING!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A SUPER SMART POLITICAL THRILLER

What a romp it is to read a Joe DeMarco story by Mike Lawson! They're comic, caustic, and chilling. His characters are described so originally that one either shivers or smiles. For instance, describing the overweight cigar chomping Speaker of the House John Fitzpatrick Mahoney poolside in swim trunks and a Hawaiian shirt, Lawson writes, "DeMarco thought he looked like a beluga whale that had crashed a luau."

With House Secrets, the fourth in Lawson's Washington based thrillers, DeMarco has been summoned to look into the apparent drowning death of retired congressman Dick Finley's son. Finley claims his newspaper reporter son had leads on one of the hottest stories to hit the Capitol; police believe the newsman died while on a drunken kayak spin in the wee hours. Mahoney simply wanted DeMarco "to turn over a few rocks and see what crawls out."

All DeMarco has to begin with is a torn piece of napkin covered with names and dates which was found in the reporter's wallet. After expending time and energy DeMarco thinks all the late newsman had wasn't hot at all but really very cold known news about New York Senator Paul Morelli, the great hope of the Democrats who has a spotless record and seems to be on a fast track to the White House.

What Morelli does not have is a supportive wife. Lydia contacts DeMarco accusing her husband of the vilest acts, possibly even murder. But, everyone knows Lydia drinks to excess and drunks don't tell the truth or do they?
What started out as looking under a few rocks has left DeMarco trying to discover what is truth and what is not as at the same time he finds himself at odds with Washington bigwigs, the CIA, and mobsters who don't appear to want to take prisoners.

This is Lawson's best yet - a wild ride through Washington.

- Gail Cooke

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another great Joe DeMarco thriller

For fans of Mike Lawson's everyman hero Joe DeMarco, curling up with his latest political thriller, HOUSE SECRETS, is like slipping into a favorite pair of old sneakers. Only they'd better tied on tight because Joe quickly finds himself in trouble after the alcoholic wife of charismatic presidential contender Senator Paul Morelli is killed and the senator wounded in a botched burglary. Suddenly, earlier confidences shared by the inebriated wife don't seem quite so far-fetched to Joe, and as he looks into her death he finds himself at odds with powerful forces in and out of the government, without a clue as to what to do or whom to trust.

One of the most likeable protagonists in recent memory, Joe works for Speaker of the House John Fitzpatrick Mahoney, doing whatever off-the-books tasks the irascible Mahoney needs done. To help him are familiar allies, the enigmatic retired spy Emma and her unsavory hacker associate Neil, an ingenious sleuth with no conscience and an uncanny ability to unravel even the most arcane shards of information. Neither disappoints.

Lawson has a delicious mind and a delightfully witty writing style. His books are full of memorable characters and are laced with a wry kind of humor most welcome in this or any other genre. But it's Joe that we root for, and at the end of the day it is nice to know that our guy is still on the job, doing what he can to make the world a better place. I can't wait until the next Joe DeMarco thriller hits the stands. Great entertainment, one with an incredibly sweet, utterly huggable hero. I really, really love Joe DeMarco.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A fantastic tale filled with twists and spins that seem plausible

The drowning at Lake Anna of the Washington Post investigative reporter Terry Finley has shaken up his father, a former Congressman who suspects foul play. Former Congressman Finley asks Speaker of the House John Mahoney for a favor to investigate his last surviving son's death; his other boy died years ago due to JFK's fiasco in Nam. Mahoney orders his investigator Joe DeMarco to look into the drowning death.-----------------

DeMarco intevriews the retired Congressman who explains why he has doubts that an accident occurred as his son, a workaholic, was on a major story and would not have left town for a swim. The journalist was looking into the US Senator from NY Paul Morelli, the liberal front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination for president. Accepting the premise of a homicide though he doubts that happened, DeMarco assumes an embarrassing story needed to be silent, which means politicians and none better than a presidential front-runner. The sleuth soon learns that Morelli is a nasty drunk who turns into a rapist after downing a few. Worse he finds out that the senator offers to pay off his victims to silence them or if they refuse hush money silence them by having his goons kill them. Reporting his finding to Mahoney, the speaker tells him to trap the bastard only DeMarco's allies on a perfect sting are being murdered one at a time with two Feds following the Speaker's sleuth..-------------

The latest Joe DeMarco DC investigative thriller (see HOUSE RULES) is a fantastic tale filled with twists and spins that seem plausible. The underlying concept to the exhilarating story line is Lord Acton's commentary that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Fans will enjoy DeMarco's efforts to bring down a DC giant only to soon wonder if he will survive long enough to see Morelli in spite of the evidence living in the White House. Mike Lawson's DeMarco Speaker investigations are a consistently great series.-----------

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Must Read - Book 4 of a series

This and the other books in Mike Lawson's Joe DeMarco Series is an action packed good entertaining read. The book is written in the typical action/ spy genre is clean and moral enough I am letting my 13 year old read.

Highly recommended

Really Great

This one will keep you guessing.

A Must Read

I have read all 6 of the Joe DeMarco series. My only regret is that there are no more to read. They're a fast read and every one on them held my interest. I hope in the future Mike Lawson will give us more of Joe DeMarco.

I wish there was more humor

As always, I finish any of the DeMarco books in one sitting, because I find them impossible to put down. I do miss the humor that was employed in the first two, but it is still a very fine read.

It's no secret that I like these stories....

Great easy reading. Good character development. Believable current event plot-lines.

Absolutely dynamite

Continuing the fascinating saga of Joe De Marco and his boss and friends, Lawson weaves a truly intriguing tale with an ending that will knock your socks off. Probably one of the most creative endings I've ever read, and I've read many.

House Secrets

Another DeMarco and Emma political intrigue story - another very good one. Interesting plot, well rounded characters, page-turning suspense -- and an unexpected, thought-provoking ending! It doesn't get much better than that!

What an Ending!

What a fantastic ending. Worth the money and time. His best book so far. Each book both the story lines and the writing improved.

Off to buy book #5.

Recommend

Mike writes in an easy fun style. I enjoy his Joe DeMarco series as a pleasant fiction alternative to political biographies.

ART OF PREDICTICALITY

On a clear day you can see forever. This ending you could see in a blizzard.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

What A Surprise!

This was the first Mike Lawson novel I have read, and I really liked it. it kept me going from page one. I am a fan of politics as much as books, and lately I have become more of a cynic, so this DeMarco character really worked for me. Interesting characters, a great plot, no cheap tricks, just a really good novel.

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