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.
Download and start listening now!
"Another page turner as Joe DeMarco peels away the layers of apparent terrorist attacks and renews his "relationship" with his cousin who was responsible for Joe's ex-wife's departure. Legislative agenda drive this tense countdown. " — HBalikov (4 out of 5 stars)
"Another page turner as Joe DeMarco peels away the layers of apparent terrorist attacks and renews his "relationship" with his cousin who was responsible for Joe's ex-wife's departure. Legislative agenda drive this tense countdown. "
“House Rules has it all: a lightning-paced plot, a quirky cast of players, and best of all, one of the most engaging heroes I’ve ever encountered. In Joe DeMarco, Lawson has created a charmingly likeable character whom I’ll happily follow for many books to come.”
“Full of insider information, this novel reinforces Lawson’s place in the upper rank of Washington thriller specialists.”
“Lawson fleshes out his characters while developing a plausible and increasingly tense plot. Just enough uncertainty in the satisfying conclusion hints that another series entry is likely. Highly recommended.”
“A pleasantly relaxed thriller well suited to leftish political junkies.”
“I was absolutely delighted to discover Mike Lawson. This smart political thriller offers readers both a wild ride and thought-provoking issues. In many ways, House Rules reminded me of the novels of the late Ross Thomas; this, from me, is high praise, indeed.”
“Mike Lawson’s The Inside Ring is one of the most assured first novels I’ve ever read. His next one, The Second Perimeter, continued in the voice of a master storyteller. His third, House Rules is, in my opinion, a knockout. Relaxed, slightly droll, yet in total command of a complicated plot, you have to believe this guy has been telling tales for a lot of years, but just recently started writing them down.”
" I threw this one in as a filler. I have not read any others in the series, but was entertained by this. It's sort of a Sue Grafton/Kinsey Millhone but with a slightly political flair. "
" Likable characters and gripping plots make Lawson's DeMarco series a fun read... "
" The third book in the series uses the same main character but different circumstances. Really enjoying these books! "
" Good new author - will look to get other Mike Lawson books to read. Not masterpieces, but entertaining book. Joe DeMarco an under estimated, guy who does not want the spot light. This book they uncovered a deliberate set up of middle eastern terrorists acts - is the US under attack or is it being set up to look like it. "
" I'm probably being a little generous with the stars, but it was pretty good and it was only .99 cents. "
" This first in the series features Joe DeMarco, a Mr. Fix-it for the Speaker of the House. After a rapid-fire series of apparent terrorist attacks, the Speaker tasks Joe with finding the sponsor of the attacks. The resulting search involves many twisty turns and rotten characters. Mostly well-written, I enjoyed this one and look forward to the next in the series. "
" Joe DeMarco, trouble-shooter for the Speaker of the House (sort of a Tip O,Neill figure named Mahoney) gets another lousy assignment, but pulls it off. (There's not much reward, save his G-15 murky job.) "
" Brilliant book thoroughly enjoyed it "
" New author. This one wasn't bad - kept expecting it go get better though. Never turned into the page turner I was hoping it might be. It was about home grown terrorism. "
" An enjoyable audio thriller. I really like the characters in this series (especially House Speaker John Mahoney) and the plot seemed fairly plausible for this type of book. Listened to the audio version read by Joe Barrett. "
" Great political thriller..Demarko is in 3 of his latest books "
" Good mystery regarding the government and terrorists. "
" A very good political thriller. Twists and turns within twists and turns. The story is plucked from the headlines of terrorist attacks. "
" Starts okay but is very anticlimactic. "
" I have found a great and for me a new mystery writer. Plus, he writes about D.C. which I love and politics which is always interesting to me. The characters are well drawn and the action moves quickly. For me, a great read. "
" I didn't even finish this... didn't even get a quarter of the way through. Loved the first two but this one just couldn't grab my interest at all. Very disappointed. "
" It takes three quarters of the story before it gains some valid traction after the murders and mayhem. By far the best part of this novel is the last quarter of it. 6 of 10 stars "
" Another page turner as Joe DeMarco peels away the layers of apparent terrorist attacks and renews his "relationship" with his cousin who was responsible for Joe's ex-wife's departure. Legislative agenda drive this tense countdown. "
" Mike Lawson weaved another intricate, thrilling tale with precise character development! I love the Joe DeMarco series! "
" A quick and entertaining plot with likeable but offbeat characters "
" Got this as a freebie on Amazon's Kindle and it was really good. I went back and read the first in the series and will read the second soon. "
" Well, I love the character Joe DeMarco. The book is well written. "
" Pleasantly surprised at this book. Got it by mistake as I was intending to read House Rules by Jody Picoult. I enjoyed the snide and often humorous remarks by the characters and the plot was timely and interesting. "
" I love Mike Lawson's stories. However, this book was full of so many different plot lines that all entangled that I had trouble following them all. I can usually read Lawson books in 2-3 days but this book took me 2 weeks because I had to re-read several chapters. "
" This has lots of good movie-making possibilities -- suspense, action, drama -- I got caught up in the action for awhile, but then I got bored and had trouble forcing myself to get back to it. And that's all I have to say. "
" Good mystery, but more far-fetched than the other DeMarco stories. Still, enjoyable and another great quick read. "
" From the blurb on the back of the book, this sounded like quite a good thriller. However, having now read it I'd have to say it swiftly turned into another average thriller with political leanings. Its not bad, but not as great as I was hoping for. "
" This is a favorite series. I hadn't read one in a while, and found that I missed Joe DeMarco. I now have more on hand to read and enjoy. He is just a very appealing character, not a super-hero, but smart and able to think on his feet. "
Mike Lawson, a former senior civilian executive for the US Navy, is the author of numerous novels starring Joe DeMarco. His first book, The Inside Ring, was rated by the Seattle Times as one of the top ten thrillers of 2005 and was a finalist for the Barry Award for Best Thriller. House Secrets was selected as one of the best thrillers of 2009 by Library Journal, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine.
Joe Barrett, an actor and Audie Award and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has appeared both on and off Broadway as well as in hundreds of radio and television commercials.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.