House Rules by Mike Lawson, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Congressional investigator Joe DeMarco is called upon to look into a series of terrorist threats by the Speaker of the House in House Rules, the third political thriller in this series by Mike Lawson.

America is in a state of unrest. There have been attempts to bomb a railway terminal and to fly a plane into the heart of Washington DC. People are increasingly fearful and more panic-stricken as each new assault is made. A senator from Virginia contends that all that is necessary to calm the country is to run background checks on all Muslims and deport any who are not American. He is so sure this will stop the violence against Americans that he proposes a law to bring before Congress. Other senators as well as representatives, including the Speaker of the House, are against his proposal and set out to fight it through other channels. One of those channels is in the person of Joe DeMarco, the go-to-guy for the House Speaker, who is assigned the task of finding the source of the most recent terrorist acts, attacks in which the terrorist, a Muslim, was killed before his task had been completed. It looks to Joe like the man might have been coerced into a situation and then killed for some reason before he could fulfill his mission. Who would go to such lengths? It would take someone with a lot of power and money to initiate such attacks and unfortunately there is no shortage of people locally with both: the mob, drug lords, and, of course, politicians.

House Rules is an exhilarating read full of surprises from beginning to end. A political thriller to be sure, but also a terrific whodunit-style mystery. Lawson delivers an insider view of the workings of Congress, the FBI, and other government agencies that add a level of sophistication to the novel that works to its benefit. At the center of the story, though, is Joe DeMarco, a likeable hero who realizes he cannot do it all alone and enlists the aid of some old friends, colorful characters in their own right. A thoroughly entertaining book, House Rules is highly recommended.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of House Rules.

House Justice
Atlantic Monthly Press (Hardcover), June 2010
ISBN-13: 9780802119377; ISBN-10: 0802119379

House Rules

A Joe DeMarco Thriller by Mike Lawson