The Inside Ring

Washington 'Insider' thrillers with a sense of humor are in short supply. Luckily, Mike Lawson's debut novel fills the hole perfectly. The Inside Ring is a fast-paced book that pits the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, FBI, and Congress against one another in an effort to uncover the truth behind an attempted assassination of the President. The narrator, Joe DeMarco, is cut from the same vein as Sean Drummond from Brian Haig's novels. He has an acerbic wit and the ability to piss off anyone that's in a position of authority. One of the featured supporting players, Emma, is worthy of her own series if Lawson finds the time. This book was one of the best thrillers in a long time.

Someone recently told me that it seems as if half the people in the world have written mystery and suspense novels and the other half wants to. My response: bring it on! The more the merrier. It's always a pleasure to encounter a new player, particularly one who comes right out of the gate with a confident work containing intriguing characters working their way through a complex but navigable plot. THE INSIDE RING by Michael Lawson fits that description, and quite nicely. The novel begins with a hunting trip. Actually, it's a special hunting trip, an annual event that involves the President of the United States and his best friend, bestselling author Philip Montgomery. This particular hunting trip, however, ends a bit differently. Shots ring out, the hunters become the hunted, and when the smoke clears the President is wounded, and Montgomery and a Secret Service agent are dead. A few days later a suicide victim leaves a note seemingly confessing to the shootings. But not everyone is convinced. General Andy Banks, the Secretary of Homeland Security, received a cryptic note shortly before the incident warning that the President's Secret Service escort --- the inside ring --- had been compromised. Banks passed the note on to Secret Service Director Patrick Donnelly, who ignored it. Banks now feels guilty and decides to further investigate the matter, which is now officially closed, on a clandestine level. Joe DeMarco is a fixer. He takes care of problems for a client of one: John Fitzgerald Mahoney, Speaker of the House. Mahoney calls on DeMarco when a situation comes up that needs to be quietly resolved without any footprints leading back to the Speaker's office. Mahoney lends DeMarco out to Banks to quietly investigate the shooting. DeMarco is used to relying on his brains more than his muscle, quietly applying leverage rather than fisticuffs to resolve problems. Fortunately he has some unofficial backup in the person of the enigmatic Emma, a mysterious, powerful and dangerous woman who may, or may not, be a retired government operative. DeMarco quickly learns that his questions are making some very powerful people extremely unhappy, and when he finds himself in the middle of a deadly gunfight, he is convinced that he is on the right track. DeMarco's investigation takes him on a dark and dangerous journey into the deep South and back across the decades where he uncovers the real reason, and the people, behind the Presidential shooting --- and inadvertently discovers an unknown piece of one of the 20th century's most enduring mysteries. DeMarco is an interesting character who is wise enough to know his limitations and isn't afraid to ask for help when he needs it. Lawson, given the nature of DeMarco's work and his position, will have a broad canvas to work from in future novels. And the presence of the ubiquitous Emma won't hurt, either. Recommended. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

From the adrenalin-charged Prologue, where a sniper takes three shots at the President of the United States, wounding him, and killing his best friend and a secret service agent, Michael Lawson's "The Inside Circle" provides a roller-coaster ride of a riveting read. This suspense thriller has a tautly written storyline involving political corruption, blatant abuse of government power, cover-ups at the highest levels, murder, incest, and a lurid gothic tale of a megalomaniac who rules his turf with an iron fist. The sign on lawyer Joe DeMarco's office door, reads "Counsel Pro Tem For Liaison Affairs, J. DeMarco." The title was the invention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, for whom Joe works. His job description reads "get it done guy." He is Speaker John Fitzgerald Mahoney's heavy, the man to go to when problems need to "be resolved" in a manner which cannot be associated with the Congressional offices. When Mahoney orders DeMarco to meet with Homeland Security Secretary Andy Banks, our appealing protagonist learns that Banks received a warning note concerning the assassination attempt days before the event occurred. The note was immediately passed on to Secret Service Director Patrick Donnelly, who obviously did not act on it. Banks asks DeMarco to investigate a secret service agent for possible complicity in the crime. The deeper Joe digs the more suspicious, unsubstantiated "non admissible evidence" he discovers. And none of the information points to the suspect who supposedly fired the shots - the man who conveniently committed suicide before further investigation could be conducted. DeMarco is a terrific character, and his wit, (the author's really), honesty, resilience, along with the quirky crew he brings into the case to assist him, make the novel more unique than it would be ordinarily. After all, there is usually a glut of well-written political thrillers on the market. Joe's fact finding takes him from Washington, DC, to Georgia's Chattooga River, and finally, to a southern Georgia county which encompasses a big part of the Okefenokee Swamps. We travel with him through as many twists and turns a plot can take and still be navigable. I really enjoyed this chilling debut novel, loved the humor, and highly recommend it! JANA

Michael Lawson's debut political thriller,"The Inside Ring," features Joe DeMarco, a lawyer and troubleshooter for the powerful Speaker of the House, John Fitzgerald Mahoney. Mahoney orders Joe to find the truth behind an apparent attempt to assassinate the President of the United States. An assailant wounded the President and killed both the President's best friend and a Secret Service agent. Although the authorities have identified an alleged suspect in the shooting, questions still remain. How did the attacker penetrate the tight security surrounding the President? What was the motive for the shooting? Most intriguing of all, who sent a note to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Andy Banks, warning him in advance that someone would try to kill the President? The "inside ring" refers to those elite Secret Service agents who are closest to the President when he is on the move. They are expected to sacrifice themselves, if necessary, to protect the President from harm. Joe decides to investigate the Secret Service agents in the inside ring, and his inquiries ruffle the feathers of some highly placed and politically powerful individuals. Patrick Donnelly, the director of the Secret Service, is furious. He wants the investigation closed, insisting that it is absurd to assign blame to any of his agents. "The Inside Ring" is an exciting and fast-paced novel of suspense. Joe DeMarco is, in many ways, a breath of fresh air. He is the son of a mobster, but hates violence; he is as inept with his fists as he is with firearms. Nor is Joe a great success with the ladies. He has an ex-wife and no steady girlfriend. In thrillers of this type, the protagonist is often a superhero who cradles a semiautomatic in one hand and a gorgeous blonde in the other. Joe is smart, tenacious, courageous, and honest, but he is not very effective with weapons or women. He is a person that the average reader can root for. Another intriguing character is Emma, a former member of the Defense Intelligence Agency and a friend of Joe's. Although she is attractive, Emma is no bimbo. She is a fiftyish woman who has been there and done that. She has access to classified information and has a whole cadre of ex-cops, ex-soldiers, and computer hackers on hand to do her bidding. This fearless and formidable woman, who is extremely comfortable with firearms, provides Joe with the resources that he needs to go up against some fairly sadistic villains. It's a nice twist to give a prominent role to a middle-aged female protagonist with both brains and toughness. Michael Lawson's story, although convoluted and not entirely realistic, is involving, suspenseful, and entertaining. Lawson has a breezy style, and I enjoyed the smart and humorous dialogue, delicious political intrigue, and chilling action sequences. "The Inside Ring" is an auspicious first novel by a promising author.

"Eagle One is in danger... the inside ring has been compromised." So states a note delivered to the Secret Service Director, Patrick Donnelly, who promptly ignores it. Now the President's best friend is dead and the President is wounded. Attorney Joseph DeMarco works exclusively for the Speaker of the House, John Fitzpatrick Mahoney, quietly cleaning up potentially embarrassing situations. Mahoney sends DeMarco to Andrew Banks, the current Director of Homeland Security. Banks is in possession of the mysterious note and hopes DeMarco can uncover evidence about the guilt or innocence of one of the Secret Service agents in the President's inner circle, Billy Ray Mattis. From the start, DeMarco is in over his head, but Mahoney is adamant, expecting a blow-by-blow of every conversation. When things heat up, DeMarco enlists the aid of a Washington friend, Emma, a woman of extraordinary talents, possibly a former DIA operative, with access to protected resources and the attitude of a Washington survivor. As it turns out, Emma is DeMarco's most valuable asset in a series of harrowing adventures. When DeMarco has sufficient information to involve the resources of the FBI, he and Banks are ambushed by top officials in the administration, determined to hold to the current explanation of the assassination attempt, a lone shooter who kills himself, leaving a suicide note. Faced with the stubbornness of the Attorney General, the FBI and the Director of the Secret Service, DeMarco and Banks hit a wall. Undeterred, Mahoney pushes DeMarco into even deeper waters than the Washington bureaucracy, down south in Georgia, the home of the questionable Secret Service agent, Mattis. The cast of characters is endemic to place: in Washington, DC, the sharks are well-fed and pompous in the exercise of authority; in the south, things are more elementary, the small time graft of neighborly politicians, the strong-arming by locals because the boss owns the county; and there are generic killers-for-hire, men who carry out their missions without moral constraint, soulless pawns who murder for the highest bidder. In each of these arenas, the author navigates with ease, skillfully portraying Washington powerbrokers and those who do their bidding, as well as the honorable men who work for the good of the country, undermined by the machinations of those in high places; then DeMarco surfaces in an entirely different world, quiet, beautiful country where evil wears a friendly face but is no less deadly, subject to a master of deceit who manipulates the powerless and takes what he wants with impunity. Atmospheric and riveting, this terrific book jumps out of the gate and never loses pace. The obvious is turned inside out as the plot winds in a serpentine path to a nail-biting ending. The characters are completely realistic, especially the overwhelmed DeMarco, who finds himself out on a limb with slick Washington vipers and literally lost in a gator-infested swamp in Georgia, pursu