About The Book

In House Revenge, congressional fixer Joe DeMarco is dispatched to Boston, his boss Congressman John Mahoney’s hometown. Mahoney wants him to help Elinore Dobbs, an elderly woman holding out against a real estate developer intent on tearing down her apartment building for a massive new development. Mahoney is just in it for the free press until Sean Callahan, the developer, disrespects him and, even worse, Elinore suffers a horrible “accident,” likely at the hands of two thugs on Callahan’s payroll. Now Mahoney and DeMarco are out for revenge. DeMarco tries to dig up dirt through Callahan’s former mentor, and one of his ex-wives. But it’s only when DeMarco gets a tip on the likely illegal source of some of Callahan’s financing that things get deadly. A fast-paced adventure into the cutthroat world behind the wrecking ball, House Revenge is another gripping tale of collusion and corruption from a beloved political thriller writer.

Praise

“Mike Lawson . . . should be a fixture on the bestseller lists, if not a household name.” —Strand Magazine

“Mike Lawson has a sure touch with the David and Goliath theme of this tough little thriller with its insights into Washington political savagery.” —Muriel Dobbin, Washington Times

“Lawson’s DeMarco novels are often shrewdly prescient . . . Angry Americans will flock to House Revenge.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Originality, intelligence, and humor lift Lawson’s excellent 11th Joe DeMarco thriller . . . DeMarco provides all the fun and action that Lawson’s fans have come to expect.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[An] effervescent, wholly delicious revenge fantasy . . . about big money, big politics, and big crime . . . The perfect chaser for an evening spent watching a presidential debate.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Lawson delivers an explosive plot with a brilliant construction of events that add up to a swift, exciting novel. Encapsulating both hot-button issues and Lawson’s darkly creative imagination, House Revenge is the political thriller at its finest. And with a self-contained story line, even series newbies can relish this highs-takes DeMarco adventure.” —Shelf Awareness

Awards

A Seattle Times Bestseller

Excerpt

Mahoney ordered another drink after Callahan left. He was steaming.

What he was really pissed about, more than anything else, was the lack of respect. Go to hell? Who did Callahan think he was talking to?

But more and more these days, rich guys like Callahan didn’t even pretend they were impressed by politicians. Not anymore. These guys knew their money controlled politics, not the people who held public office.

Just the other day, Mahoney had watched a Senate hearing on television. The Senate Banking Committee had summoned a couple of Wall Street bankers down to D.C. to grill them on some outrageous, risky thing they’d done that resulted in about ten thousand ordinary people losing all the money they’d socked away for retirement. But those bankers weren’t the least bit intimidated. They knew they weren’t going to jail. A bunch of senators, half of them in the banking industry’s pocket, wouldn’t do a damn thing to stop them.
Well, Mahoney was sick of the disrespect—and the guy that was going to find out how much power he still had was Sean Callahan. Normally, he’d be worried about the threat Callahan had made, about how he’d rally his fellow developers to contribute to his opponent, but this time . . . This was no longer about Elinore Dobbs. This was about an arrogant punk who needed to be taught that you didn’t tell John Mahoney to go to hell.