32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
House Rules, May 1, 2008
This review is from: House Rules: A Joe DeMarco Thriller (Hardcover)
The back cover PR says that "Mike Lawson is a talented thriller writer who is only getting better". That is an understatement.......Mike Lawson has catapulted himself into (in my mind) the ranks alongside such greats as Baldacci, Flynn, and Thor. "House Rules" is one terrific book.
As "House Rules" opens, several foiled terrorist acts have the nation on edge.
The first foiled attack prevented two American Muslim's from blowing up the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Unfortunately, the third member, and leader, was not in the building at the time of the FBI raid and was not captured. Upon questioning the two young men the FBI were able to identify the man, "Muhammad" , as an "honest-to-God al-Qaeda operative".
Two weeks after that aborted attack, Senator William Davis Broderick introduced a bill that would severely limit the freedom of all Muslims (citizens or not) in the U.S. Introducing the bill made Senator Broderick an instant media star, but, it was three more American Muslim terrorist attacks (all were foiled) that catapulted the bill to approval in the Senate and moved it to the House, where it sat in deliberation per instructions from Speaker of the House John Mahoney.
This is where Mahoney asks Joe DeMarco, special Congressional troubleshooter, to find out the true story behind the situation. The FBI had a theory, and it sounded great, but, where others fail to uncover the whole truth, DeMarco, Emma, and computer geek, Neil, succeed. With additional help from individuals in Homeland Security, FBI, and other law enforcement agencies, DeMarco's team uncovers a complex, multi-layered, plot to enlist these American Muslims to commit terrorist acts.....with the express purpose of encouraging the passage of Broderick's "Muslim Registry" bill.
DeMarco and friends slowly unravel the truth, and people, behind the plot. The mystery, intrigue, and violence ratchet up as time and time again well laid plans and schemes to uncover the next higher person in the plot are hindered by surprising and complicated twists and turns. Great reading!
TracyReaderDad
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining thriller, August 18, 2008
This review is from: House Rules: A Joe DeMarco Thriller (Hardcover)
This is the third in the Joe DeMarco series about a guy who works as an unofficial trouble shooter for The Speaker of the House in Washington. The Speaker, Mahoney, is an abrasive and slightly corrupt character although a very shrew operator with a heart of gold. De Marco is a tenacious guy with a group of friends that usually help him out when he is desperate.
Two really interesting and unusual characters - with Mahoney you see the corruption of US politics and with DeMarco you have someone who looks tough and hard but actually isn't - a bit of a twist of the usual invincible ex Special services type.
The plot is an interesting one too - again a slight twist on the usual Muslim extremist terror attacks. Here we have a US Senator proposing strict controls on all Muslims just as two terror attacks are thwarted which seem to support his view and thus he gains unexpected public support. The trouble is that the son of an old friend of Mahoney was involved so Mahoney asks DeMarco to have a quiet look into it. As readers of this kind of stuff will know, `a quiet look' usually becomes something else.....
Set with interesting characters and a scenario that captures the fear of terror attacks and a blame culture this is very good stuff indeed. I liked the characters and the interplay between them and the author also provides a subtle vein of humour. The characters make mistakes and have their own failings which make them more interesting and believable.
Mike Lawton is getting better and better with each novel and this suggests that the next one may be something very special indeed.
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Predictable and Not so Much a Thriller at all, May 20, 2010
I labored through this book. There were so many fringe characters and almost a new set of characters were introduced in every chapter that it just felt very diluted. There was nothing tense about this book and it was hardly a thriller because it was easy to know where the author was going with it. The fear instilled by 9/11 has become a topic for many, many terrorist fiction books, but this one fell flat and is worth skipping.
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