House Witness

Joe DeMarco #12

by Mike Lawson

In House Witness, the twelfth novel in the Joe DeMarco series, Mike Lawson puts his likable protagonist on the trail of a different kind of fixer—one whose job is to influence, and sometimes disappear, witnesses in seemingly airtight criminal cases.

Minority Leader of the House and DeMarco’s long-time employer John Mahoney has kept more than one secret from his wife over the years, but none so explosive as this: He has a son, and that son has just been shot dead in a bar in Manhattan. Mahoney immediately dispatches DeMarco to New York to assist prosecutor Justine Porter, but with five bystanders willing to testify against the killer—rich-boy Toby Rosenthal—the case seems like a slam-dunk. That is, until Porter begins to suspect that someone is interfering with those witnesses, and that this may be connected to a pattern of cases across the country. Is there someone who is getting witnesses out of the way when the fate of a wealthy defendant is on the line?

With the help of Porter’s intern, as outrageously smart as she is young, DeMarco becomes determined to follow that question through to its violent resolution in what turns out to be this series’ most unexpected plot yet.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Audiobook, Crime, Suspense, Political Thriller

410 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Pen name: M.A Lawson

Michael Lawson was raised in Pueblo, Colorado and attended college at Seattle University, receiving a degree in engineering. On leaving college he went to work for the US Navy as a nuclear engineer, spending approximately thirty years working for the Navy's nuclear power program. Some of this time was spent in Washington D.C. but most was spent at a large naval shipyard in Bremerton, Washington.

At the shipyard he managed a number of different organizations related to overhauling nuclear powered submarines, cruisers, and aircraft carriers, ending up as a member of the government’s Senior Executive Service

To date he has published 12 books starring Joe DeMarco, a fixer for a corrupt politician and three books in his Kay Hamilton series under the name of M. A. Lawson: He has won the Friend of Mystery Award twice and is a five time nominee for the Barry Award.

He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Mike Lawson, Grove Atlantic and Atlantic Monthly Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

As a long-time fan of Mike Lawson’s work, I was pleased to get my hands on an advance copy of his latest Joe DeMarco novel. After House Minority Leader John Mahoney receives word that someone close to him has been murdered, his first call is to Joe DeMarco, his fixer of sorts. Understanding the nuances of the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, Mahoney insists that DeMarco offer his services to assist in any way possible. The case looks fairly cut and dry, but those are the ones that tend to be the most problematic if they reach trial. The killer comes from family money that will stop at nothing to erase events in any way possible. When the defence attorney places a call, seeking some assistance in the matter of trying to turn an easy conviction into something far less straightforward, there is hesitation. However, for the right price, things may turn their way. Enter Ella Fields, who has made it her business to work alongside her husband to help dissuade or disappear key witnesses from what they saw, thereby toppling the proverbial apple cart. As things begin to get a little shaky in Manhattan, DeMarco learns of the possibility that someone like Fields could be out destroying easy cases. He vows to track her down, travelling across the United States to learn more about a number of cases, always two steps behind. However, with the trial about ready to begin, DeMarco may have stumbled upon something, though even he is not sure if it will be enough. Lawson continues paving the way for DeMarco to remain at the top if his game, while pulling readers into the middle of this quick-paced series. Fans of Joe DeMarco and those who like crime thrillers that do not slow down will surely enjoy this piece and the entire collection.

It is hard to believe that this is the twelfth instalment of the Joe Demarco series, though Mike Lawson has a wonderful handle on things. What began as a strong political thriller has turned more into something criminal and loosely legal in nature, but the reader is not forced to compromise too much. DeMarco’s backstory is well known to series vets, but is not lost here in the crumbs left for new readers. His past comes full circle as he is forced to come to terms with the murder of his cousin, though there are even larger shocks for the attentive reader. DeMarco has grit and determination, as well as charm and some rough exterior that usually garners him the results he needs. It is some of the other characters, particularly Ella Fields, that steal the show in this novel, offering up both a thorough backstory and a wonderful collection of traits as the story’s narrative heats up. The reader is left little time to ponder what’s been read, too busy are they with trying to see where the next part of the cat and mouse game will go. The story itself is well crafted in a legal thriller genre that I felt worked more effectively as a one of the crime variety. DeMarco rushes to fill the gaps while Fields will not go down without a fight, eluding capture throughout. Newer fans of the series, or first timers in general, will not be aware of the transformation of the series. If I had to offer up one area that I disliked, it is that political intrigue and centrality are gone, as though Lawson feels that he has lost that avenue. As I read, I could not help but ask myself, ‘Will DeMarco play more than a passing role in this story?’ for much of the early narrative, though Lawson did bring things back before too long. I yearn for a political thriller, if there is someone that Lawson has left in him, though I will not complain too much, as this story was written in a masterful style and one sure to pull the reader in from the early chapters.

Kudos, Mr. Lawson, for another success. I always look forward to what you have to offer and hope that you’ll keep writing.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Kathi Defranc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Joe DeMarco book by Mike Lawson, but I am definitely going back to read the rest! Intense,entertaining, with several twists by amazing characters, I could not stop reading! A man has been arrested for shooting another in a bar, but the prosecutor worries about her witnesses. She tells her investigator about several other cases over the years that seemed a slam dunk, however witnesses disappeared,changed their stories, or died while the case went through many delays. The mother of the person murdered is a big political figure, and wants to make sure the man who killed her son is made to suffer, telling her long lost boyfriend, the boy's real father, to make sure all is done correctly. It seems that in all cases where things changed, the defendant is very rich, as the boy's father is in this case. As the prosecutor starts interviewing her witnesses,stories change. DeMarco must find out who is doing this witness tampering. Everything changes quickly,you are never able to know what is happening, the excitement is not quelled.
I would like to thank Netgalley, the author Mike Lawson and Grove Atlantic for giving me the chance to read this story, from which I give you my review.

[Ardent Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book in this series by this author and I should try the remaining for sure.

If I summarize the story;
it’s about a murder done by a son of a wealthy family and his father is asking his lawyer to clear his son from all charges regarding his son’s action. When the lawyer learns that they have five witnesses against his client he understood that it will be a difficult case to handle alone by himself. So he asked one of his colleagues for his support and he mentions about a magic where a team helps in witness tampering. So with the help of the team the lawyer settles for his work.

The victim who was murdered is the son of John Mahoney who is a Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives and he asked DeMarco to make sure that the murderer will be prosecuted for his crime. When DeMarco learnt the witnesses were disappearing and some of them are changing their testimony, he understood that there is a witness tampering and he takes measures to catch the culprit.

I have read much mystery and thriller books from many other authors, but the reason I liked this was, because of the story line. In other books it’s about finding the culprit or running away from the murderer; but in here the story is narrated in a different perspective.

The only reason I gave 4 stars because at some points I felt that it contained more descriptive paragraphs were it was a distraction to continue reading .

In my opinion this can be read by anyone who loves mystery.

[Metodi Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

В "Труден противник" не му се е получило много добре на Майк Лосън.

От един момент толкова се навързаха съвпаденията, та чак взе да нагарча.

Иначе имаме познатите добра идея и писане, та все пак си струва да се прочете. То и без това, от един момент нататък такива дълги книжни поредици се четат основно от заклетите им почитатели само...

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well into the series in which Joe DeMarco does the heavy lifting for ex-House Speaker Mahoney. Ostensibly, this is about Joe DeMarco seeing that justice is done for his “godmother” and for the woman who has a big hold on Mahoney, but Lawson wanders far afield in this, after about dozen very interesting thrillers

Lawson focuses on a dark corner of criminal justice where unscrupulous defense attorneys can anonymously hire “help” in getting their clients “off.” Bill and Ella are in this trade and we are given a tremendous amount of backstory, particularly on Ella, that doesn’t make her any more sympathetic a character than if we knew nothing. They “take care” of witnesses by any means necessary to earn seven figure fees.

"Bill took a job every eighteen to twenty-four months. For one thing, he liked to play and had no interest in working more often than that. But the other thing was that there were a limited number of cases in which the ultrarich had committed a crime, and in some cases Bill couldn’t do anything to help the defendant."

"…the first thing he’s looking for is a client who can afford my fee, and there aren’t many who can. Then he’ll take a look at the client’s lawyer, and see if he or she is the kind of person who will be inclined to hire someone like me. Keep in mind, too, that defense lawyers represent people they know are criminals, and over time they tend to slide over the line themselves, or at least that’s been my experience."

By the time we reconnect with Joe DeMarco, we are almost 200 pages into this story! But things do (albeit almost too late) get going. The assistant DA tries twisting DeMarco’s arm: “I did some research on you, too, buddy-boy. Actually, my intern did. I know you’re John Mahoney’s troubleshooter and he’s used you a few times to dig into things, like that thing you got involved in out there in North Dakota a couple years ago.” “What do you know about that?” “Enough to know that you’re bullshitting me when you say you don’t do investigations for Mahoney."

Lawson puts DeMarco in a tight spot: "He couldn’t give up on the case, for one thing because he knew Mahoney wouldn’t allow him to give up. Another reason was that he’d promised his aunt Connie that her son’s killer would go to jail, and the way it looked at the moment, that might not happen. Justine was down to only one solid witness…(and while she) might be able to convince the jury that Toby did it, but with no motive and no physical evidence, the odds were dropping."

You can stop at this point if you get my drift that this book was a bit of a disappointment, hence the lowest rating that I’ve given any in the series. If you want to read further, I will lay out some of the reasons but they may spoil your reading pleasure.






1. Lawson falls in love with his “bad girl” and gives her too big a role;
2. He inadequately explains why she fails to cut and run when she learns that “they” are on her trail.
3. Lawson fails to remember that the series is about Joe DeMarco and gives him less space than in any of his other books;
4. His very talented defense attorney isn’t paying close attention in the judge’s chambers a week before trial. Really? and,
5. Lawson practically guarantees that his “bad girl” will have a role in some future “Joe DeMarco thriller.”

[Janet Newport · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Mike Lawson's Joe DeMarco books. Easy and entertaining reads and oh, the political shenanigans!

Thank you Netgalley & Atlantic Monthly Press for this ARC. Again, Mike Lawson has written an easy and entertaining Joe DeMarco book but I missed his usual political shenanigans. John Mohoney's character was used as the starting mechanism for this story but was otherwise pretty much absent and I missed him. There was some office politics and backscratching with the Manhattan DA's office but not enough to justify my continued cynicism of politics in general (not that I'm going to change anyways). House Witness was still a good hunt for the bad guy story. He did introduce a new character, Sarah, and I hope to see more of her in future books.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping read of a race to find the witness tampering team available only to those super wealthy defendants that have enough money to pay the multi-million dollar fee.

SUMMARY
House Witness is the twelfth novel in the Joe DeMarco series by Mike Lawson, But this one's a little bit different, it's personal. John Mahoney, the Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives and DeMarco’s boss, has a secret. He has a son, it's a son that his wife knows nothing about. That son has just been shot dead in a dark bar in Manhattan, so Mahoney sends DeMarco to New York to make sure the killer is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But there are five witnesses that can testify against the killer, who is a rich kid named Toby Rosenthal, so it doesn't look like there's much for DeMarco to do. And then the witnesses start disappearing or changing their testimony. Justine Porter, the prosecutor suspects that this is witness tampering, and it might be connected to a pattern of cases across the country where super wealthy defendants are avoiding convictions when witnesses testimony falls apart. Can DeMarco find whoever is responsible for the tampering prior to the Rosenthal trial?


REVIEW
HOUSE WITNESS was an entertaining thriller that had me turning pages faster than a jackrabbit! I’m a huge fan of the DeMarco series and have read and love them all. This one is no different, although I was a little disappointed that crux of DeMarco’s role didn't emerge until well into the book. But when he did, he was in fine form.

DeMarco, who with the proper motivation, leaves no stone unturned, in an effort to find an elusive “exceptional jury consultant”. In House Witness he has a lot of help from the impressive Sarah, a tiny, sharp and savvy intern in the district attorney’s office who was a “blood hound with a key board.” I loved the ending of House Witness. Looks like DeMarco may be crossing paths with this “exceptional jury consultant” again. I recommend this book to fans of political and legal thrillers, and anyone who likes series.

Thanks to Mike Lawson, Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Todd Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 12th book that I’ve read from Mike Lawson, and I’ve absolutely loved every one of them. Back in 2005 I picked up his first book ‘Inside Ring’ just by chance, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. His books are always highly entertaining, and every story is quite unique. The main characters John Mahoney and Jo De Marco are both a bit floored and rough around the edges, but this is what makes them both so interesting. ‘House Witness’ has a great plot, and a very diverse range of characters, that really make this a very entertaining story. Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives John Mahoney hadn’t told anyone that he had a son out there that no one knew about, and that included his wife of many years. It may have been a secret, however now that his son was dead he needed someone to investigate his death. Luckily John had is go to man Jo De Marco working for him, and especially lucky since he has that uncanny knack for getting to the bottom of things. Mind you De Marco doesn’t always work in the parameters of the law, and that’s the reason he gets things done. However, this time he was up against someone that specialised in tampering with witnesses, and would go to great lengths to help get the guilty party from going to jail. You could easily lose yourself between the pages of this fabulous book for many enjoyable hours. Hands down this story is well worth a read.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

House Witness is a fast-paced “legal thriller” that opens with Washington D.C. power broker intrigue and a Bar room murder and an initial police investigation right out of a Law and Order episode. But, that’s all a preview for the heart of the matter which is to turn the entire concept of a legal thriller on its head by positing what could happen if a crew of underhanded manipulators were out there offering their services to rich defendants in the way of Witness tampering. Making eyewitnesses disappear or change their testimony was a speciality of this crew until Fixer Joe DeMarco gets involved. It’s an engrossing read with a fairly blistering pace, although it strained believability the extent of the misdeeds committed and the speed with which some threw away their ethics. Despite its imperfections, it was not a bad read. Thanks to Grove Atlantic for providing a copy for review.

[David Putnam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I tried a couple of books by this author a few years ago and didn't finish them. Mostly, I think it was the structure that didn't grab me in those other books, the distant voice. That same voice is in this book but I really liked the female antagonist in this one. It reminded me a little of Ringer in the John Sanford Davenport series. The publisher markets this book as a Demarco novel when a large chunks of it has nothing to do with him. This has a very complicated backstory with several events and names the author continues to come back to. He does an admiral job at it and I was never lost.
The story line and the way its told reminds me of Thomas Perry and Donald Westlake. I will be trying other Demarco books.
David Putnam Author of the Bruno Johnson series

[Kyle Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Lawson is one of my favorite authors. This is the twelfth book in the Joe DeMarco series, and they just keep on getting better and better. This book is a little different than the previous ones. It involves a more personal story than past books, plus there is a bit more backstory and character development than previous books have explored. Former Speaker of the House and current Minority Leader John Mahoney once again calls on his fixer to investigate a situation and assure that justice is served. The murder that has occurred is very personal to Mahoney. DeMarco believes that the case is pretty cut and dry, but he soon discovers that there are many cards yet to be played in the case. He finds himself on the trail of another fixer that makes witnesses disappear in high profile cases.

Secrets, lies, and corruption are the themes for this book. DeMarco must navigate the murky waters of the judicial and legislative branches in order to assure that justice is served. The first part of the book doesn't really involve DeMarco that much. It focuses more on the fixer: background, previous jobs, and the groundwork for the current case. DeMarco must use every resource available to find the identity of this fixer and track them down before the whole case falls apart. The ending is satisfying, but Lawson sets up the possibility for another installment where this dangerous ghost from DeMarco's past will pay him a visit when he least expects it.

This book is on par with the previous ones in the series. DeMarco doesn't rely on his previous cast of resources to aid him, with the exception of Mahoney, although he does consider the possibility if the need arises. While this book can be read as a stand alone novel, it would be beneficial to read some of the previous books in this series to understand the context a little more.

I would recommend this book to fans of political and legal thrillers. I received this as a free ARC from Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minority Leader of the House and DeMarco's long-time employer John Mahoney has kept more than one secret from his wife over the years, but none so explosive as this: He has a son, and that son has just been shot dead in a bar in Manhattan. Mahoney immediately dispatches DeMarco to New York to assist prosecutor Justine Porter, but with five bystanders willing to testify against the killer--rich-boy Toby Rosenthal--the case seems like a slam-dunk. That is, until Porter begins to suspect that someone is interfering with those witnesses, and that this may be connected to a pattern of cases across the country. Is there someone who is getting witnesses out of the way when the fate of a wealthy defendant is on the line?

[Kathy]

not for me

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a 4.5 stars

This was a really good book that could've done w/o the constant repeating of what was going to be done. But I loved the ending, excellent job!

[Sharman Bingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the very best in the Joe DeMarco series.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: DeMarco is on the trail of a fixer, one whose job is to influence, and sometimes disappear, witnesses in airtight criminal cases.

[Bent Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike Lawson's series about Joe DeMarco, behind-the-scenes fixer on Capitol Hill, is a really fun and interesting read. It is also a quite unusual way to use a main protagonist as DeMarco because in the first half of this - the eleventh - book, DeMarco is hardly mentioned at all; instead, Lawson introduces the other main characters quite thoroughly, which is not boring at all, but I caught myself missing DeMarco now and again.
Lawson has a very methodical approach to developing his plot, and it is super interesting to follow DeMarco's search for the bad guys who try to influence the jury in a murder trial. I wasn't blown away at all times, so I only have 4 stars for Lawson this time, but it is still a very good book that will entertain both Lawson's regular fans and newcomers who can easily jump into the series here without missing a whole lot (I know because I read the first 4 books of the series before getting back into the series in book 10 and now 11).

[An ARC of the book was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Low quality. Limited vocabulary and poor sentence structure. Flimsy plot that falls apart after a moment’s reflection. Contradictions everywhere.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Deserving of more than five stars. Mike Lawson outdid himself with this book. It may be the best one he’s ever written, and I’ve read and enjoyed all his other books.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining. Up to the standards of the other book.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witness Tampering! I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Written by Mike Lawson and published by Atlantic Monthly Press New York in 2018, this is apparently the twelfth novel of the Joe DeMarco series. The plot is quite complex, but it is fairly well-written and the author keeps us guessing throughout the book. The plot twists and turns, but always seems credible.

Somebody is engaged in serious witness tampering. It happens in murder and manslaughter cases where the offender is either extremely wealthy, or comes from a wealthy family. In multiple cities across the US, obviously-guilty individuals are getting off because witnesses are either changing their stories, disappearing, or getting killed. Now it is happening in New York, where the illegitimate son of House Minority Leader John Mahoney and his former lover has been shot to death while sitting in a Manhattan bar. Mahoney and Connie DiNunzio, his son’s mother and a political power in her own right, want the killer prosecuted and sent to prison for a very long time. Toby Rosenthal, the killer, is the ne’er-do-well son of a very rich New York attorney and his wife, and they will pay any price to secure an acquittal for their son. With the assistance of David Slade, the top-notch criminal lawyer they hired to defend their son, they expect a not-guilty verdict, and they are willing to pay two million dollars to get it. Mahoney sends his go-to guy, Joe DeMarco, to New York with instructions to make sure nothing goes wrong at the trial that might prevent a conviction. DeMarco almost meets his match in Ella Fields, the mastermind of the jury tampering effort that is expected to win the case for the defense.

In general, I did not find DeMarco to be a particularly likable guy. He seemed like more of a golf-playing deadbeat than a go-getter. Also, his character is not very well developed — perhaps because this novel is so far along in the DeMarco series. As the story begins, he is on crutches, and later he is walking with a cane because he injured his hip by falling into a sand trap while playing golf — hardly a “line of duty” injury. He seems quite passive as an investigator.

I did not like the ending of the story, which seemed to be a bit anticlimactic. The author leaves the door open for more conflicts and meetings between Fields and DeMarco in future novels within the series. Adding a detailed Epilogue did not make the book better, IMO. While entertaining, the story did not have the punch that I have come to expect from good detective thrillers. While I don’t hesitate to recommend this novel to lovers of the Joe DeMarco series, I will probably not read any more of them, and I would hesitate to recommend them to all readers. The characters just did not appeal to me. You might have a different opinion, so you should read this book to see for yourself.

[Samyann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot. Joe DeMarco, a guy in his late 30s, has a law degree but cannot find a job because he is the son of a deceased mafia hitman. Joe has never been involved with the mob in any way; he's never even owned a gun. Joe gets a job working in the Capitol. Seems the Speaker of the House had an affair with Joe's aunt and she calls in a favor. Joe is a decent guy, divorced, a bit of a horn dog, lazy, and would rather be playing golf. Speaker of the House John Mahone is a demanding alcoholic, a womanizer, as crooked as all politicians, feared by everyone who knows him - except his wife - a gal everyone adores. Mahone has a few redeeming traits, like a love of the veteran. There is another character of interest. Emma is a woman of high moral standards, a retired deep black ops gal that knows everyone and everything. She hates Mahone because she knows he's a typically devious politician but treats Joe as an annoying younger brother.

The series consists of several full-length novels - each with a beginning - middle - end, meaning you don't have to start with book one, The Inside Ring - but it will help with continuity. Bribing for votes, blackmail, dirty politicians and cops from the FBI to local police, heroic war veterans, and many good guys. From the basement of the capitol to alligator swamps, the series contains a wide range of plots. Narration is fine - Scott Brick does the first two books, Joe Barrett the remainder - no issues with either.

The Joe DeMarco Series is written by Michael Lawson, each book in the area of 10 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released starting in 2005 through today by Random House and Blackstone Publishing.

Entertaining.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this latest book in the Joe DeMarco series. In this story a man is shot and killed in a bar and the killer runs to his parents house to figure out what to do. His dad calls an attorney and they start working on a way to get the killer off. The man who was killed is John Mahoney's illegitimate son. He calls his fixer, Joe DeMarco, to help make sure the killer gets convicted. Their is no real physical evidence only eye witnesses.
The lawyer calls a friend who puts him in touch with a woman who is known to help fix cases. She works on getting witnesses to change their story. The story tells about how the woman got started and what she does to try to effect the witnesses. DeMarco is not too happy about working on the case even though he knew the man killed. He is a little out of his comfort zone as the case is in New York and he lives in Boston. He works with the assistant D.A. and an intern to try and figure out who is tampering with the witnesses. He flies all over interviewing people and trying to build a case. He has decided that it is his mission to get this woman as she has been so elusive.
The woman is starting to get desperate especially when she realizes DeMarco knows who she is and is after her. Some of her plotting to help the lawyer starts to get a bit elaborate. She does a good job of trying to frame someone else for the murder along with intimidating the witness.
Good plotting, good pace. Does use some stereotypes but it makes it enjoyable.

[Spicydish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know why I dropped the ball and left unread this novel in the series. Maybe it was Covid or something.

Oh, that Mike Lawson! He never disappoints. This time Mahoney calls Joe DeMarco to find out who killed Mahoney’s out-of-wedlock son. Years ago when Aunt Connie, (who wasn’t biologically Joe’s aunt but rather his mother’s best friend), had a head-turning figure, she had an affair with the young and married John Mahoney. When Connie got pregnant she kept the son and also kept her mouth shut about his parentage. Holding onto this juicy secret was Aunt Connie’s ace in then hole when it came to squeezing a few favors out of Mahoney, including providing a job for Joe DeMarco when upon passing the bar no law firm would hire him because his father had been a hitman for the mob.
Anyway, Connie’s son, who was a behemoth of a man, was shot in a bar. It was over one of those testosterone driven slights. The behemoth and the shrimp bump into each other on the way to bathroom. Words were exchanged. The shrimp got mad and ran out of bar and returned shortly with a gun. In front of witnesses he shot Aunt Connie’s son.
It’s a slam-dunk case against the shrimp —- only his dad is this mega-rich attorney who will do anything to keep his son, worthless creature that he is, from going to prison.
Here’s the thing that makes ordinary people go nuts: with enough money rich people can get away with murder if you have the right connections. Or can they?

[Viva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead.

I've been reading this series out of order and this was one of the first ones. DeMarco works as a fixer for Speaker of the House John Mahoney. Mahoney has an adult son (DiNunzio) out of wedlock that no one else knows about and one night he was shot to death because of a random encounter in a bar.

Two men (DiNuncio) and (Rosenthal) just happened to be having bad days and had an accidental collision outside the men's restroom. This led a very drunk Rosenthal to get his gun from his car and shoot DiNuncio.

Rosenthal is soon found but because his family was very rich they hired a lawyer who hired a consultant (Fields) whose specialty was bribing witnesses, blackmailing and even killing them if needed in order to get a not guilty verdict. This consultant soon turns some of the witnesses.

DeMarco who has been put on the case at the beginning starts to investigate and discovers clues that led to the consultant and he finds several previous cases where witnesses were turned. Fields soon also finds that DeMarco is closing on her. Things come to a head and Fields hires an assassin to kill the last witness but DeMarco stops her.

The book ends when DeMarco thwarts Fields and Rosenthal goes to prison but she escapes. This is one of the better books in the series and I'm reading the series now.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 12th book in Mike Lawson’s Joe DeMarco series. The son of a very wealthy attorney in New York City walks into a restaurant and shoots a man to death. The dead man, Dominic DiNunzio, was the son of Connie who has some sway over John Mahoney, member of the House of Representatives and Joe DeMarco’s boss. Mahoney dispatches Joe to New York to assist the DA in any way necessary to make sure that the shooter is convicted and sent to prison. When witnesses to the crime start to change their story, or even disappear, DeMarco smells something amiss. The attorney for the accused has reached out to someone who can help him acquit the shooter - Ella Fields, who has learned to help wealthy clients get off from her late husband. But she hasn’t had to deal with Joe DeMarco before. I really enjoyed this book finding it hard to put down as the story went back and forth between Ella and Joe. This is the third book in the series that I have read - obviously not in order. So far, it has not been necessary to read them in order (unlike my normal way of doing things!). Thanks to Grove Atlantic and both NetGalley and Edelweiss for providing an advance copy of the book for my review.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #12 in the DeMarco series. This time DeMarco is hunting down a “jury consultant” who makes it her business to interfere with witnesses so that they either cannot testify or change their testimony. When the son of DeMarco’s boss is murdered in a bar one night with 5 witnesses, the suspect is immediately caught, and the case seems open and shut. But the suspect’s father is super-rich and has his lawyer hire the jury consultant to ensure that his son is acquitted.

I found the plot of this story to be very creative and not a routine legal thriller at all. This is the first book I have read from this series and I had a little trouble warming up to DeMarco. I think it may have been because the first half of the book focuses primarily on the consultant and setting up the drama. Once DeMarco reluctantly decides to pursue this person though I really started to like him. In this installment he borrows a law intern from the District Attorney on the case and I really liked her. She’s a little quirky, but very efficient and plays off of DeMarco well. The twists and turns along the way for engaging and kept the story moving at a good pace. I found this to be a good story, but didn’t really wow me.

[Viccy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe DeMarco gets a call from his boss, former Speaker of the House and now Minority Leader John Mahoney. Mahoney needs DeMarco to travel to New York and find out who killed his son, Dominic DiNunzio. No one knows DiNunzio is Mahoney's son; he was illegitimate and Mahoney never acknowledged him, but nevertheless, Mahoney wants to killer fried, but, of course, no one can know his secret. When DeMarco arrives, it appears the ADA Justine Porter has the case well in hand; she has five eye witnesses to the crime. It seems that one Tobias Rosenthal was drunk and high when he took exception to his treatment at the hands of DiNunzio and got his gun and shot him at point-blank range in a bar in Brooklyn. And then things begin to go wrong; all those witnesses suddenly develop amnesia and one of them even disappears. DeMarco is stunned and begins to figure out someone doesn't want Toby Rosenthal to go to jail. But DeMarco knows he does not want an unhappy John Mahoney on his hands, so DeMarco has to ferret out who is protecting Rosenthal and why. Another enjoyable entry in this long-running series.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In House Witness, the twelfth novel in the Joe DeMarco series, Mike Lawson puts his likable protagonist on the trail of a different kind of fixer--one whose job is to influence, and sometimes disappear, witnesses in seemingly airtight criminal cases. Minority Leader of the House and DeMarco's long-time employer John Mahoney has kept more than one secret from his wife over the years, but none so explosive as this: He has a son, and that son has just been shot dead in a bar in Manhattan. Mahoney immediately dispatches DeMarco to New York to assist prosecutor Justine Porter, but with five bystanders willing to testify against the killer--rich-boy Toby Rosenthal--the case seems like a slam-dunk. That is, until Porter begins to suspect that someone is interfering with those witnesses, and that this may be connected to a pattern of cases across the country. Is there someone who is getting witnesses out of the way when the fate of a wealthy defendant is on the line?
With the help of Porter's intern, as outrageously smart as she is young, DeMarco becomes determined to follow that question through to its violent resolution in what turns out to be this series' most unexpected plot yet.

[Norman LaVelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Lawson! I have come to really love the Joe DeMarco series. Even though this all started out as political thrillers which were very interesting to me, novels like this put Joe in a different setting and he still proves to be the one of the best investigators. He does not even have to use his government position and bosses influence to lean on persons of interest. He work with what he has and gets the job done. In this novel, he is sent to New York to make sure that the killer, of one of his boss's friends child, is prosecuted to the full letter of the law. But when witnesses start recanting and disappearing they start to think that something foul is afoot. With the reluctant assistance of the ADA trying the case and her unpaid intern, Joe starts an investigation into the truth behind her suspected witness tampering only to find himself chasing a ghost. At which point he has to regroup and figure out how to catch this elusive criminal and assure that the real killer does not go free.