House Secrets-Mike Lawson

House Secrets
Mike Lawson
Atlantic Monthly, Jul 8 2009, $22.00
ISBN 9780802118851

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