House Rules

A Joe DeMarco Thriller

By: Mike Lawson

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

In House Rules, two foiled terrorist attacks and a law targeting Muslim Americans send Joe DeMarco on a dangerous mission among mobsters, meth dealers, and the Washington political elite.

First there was the bomb meant for the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel; then a private plane headed straight for the White House is shot down. An atmosphere of fear and panic overruns the country, and when a senator proposes to run extensive background checks on all Muslims and deport any who aren’t citizens, his bill gains surprising traction.

,p>John Mahoney, the larger-than-life Speaker of the House, is not pleased. But Mahoney has a connection to one of the attackers, one he wants kept a secret. So he calls DeMarco, who attempts to get to the bottom of the attacks and to pacify his difficult yet charismatic boss in this riveting installment in the series.

Take another thrill ride with Joe DeMarco.

©2008 Mike Lawson (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Full of insider information, this novel reinforces Lawson's place in the upper rank of Washington thriller specialists.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Lawson fleshes out his characters while developing a plausible and increasingly tense plot. Just enough uncertainty in the satisfying conclusion hints that another series entry is likely. Highly recommended.” ( Library Journal)

“A pleasantly relaxed thriller well suited to leftish political junkies.” ( Kirkus Reviews)

What an improvement over book 1 in the series.

I got onto this series by an auto recommend by my local audio (free) library. The only one available from the library was book 10. Great story and narration, after finishing I purchased book 1 in the series. Poor choice, Scott Brick narrated and inserted his typical attempt to inflate drama in the narration and the story just dragged. I skipped book 2 because the author used the name Michael Lawson (same as book 1) and Scott Brick narrated. But, I knew there had to be a good listen in the series because I thoroughly enjoyed book 10. So, I purchased House Rules. The author's name got shortened to Mike and the narration leaped with Joe Barrett. Still not as good as book 10, but improved enough over book one to keep me locked into the series. One thing I see between book 3 and book 10 is the authors ability to tell a compelling story without trying to just fill pages with words and drift.

Exciting and great narrator

The narrator easily sailed into and out of each different character wit a mastery of foreign accents and US accents. Loved it!

Great Listen! Joe Barrett

Mike Lawson writes a great series "Joe DeMarco" Great listen especially since they dropped Scott Brick from the narrations - he was/is awful and replaced him with Joe Barrett.

Mike Lawson a no lose author for me!

Jo DeMarco series - yay! Interesting/exciting/more! The characters/locations - love the all of it. Joe Barrett did a great job narration .

Not his best

I love this series and characters but this book lacks what his others have. My fav character Emma needs her own series. She is so interesting and we need more of her.

Scarey how our government really works

Good narrator, good plot. Of course its fiction, but I think this is really how cynical we have to be about Washington

House Rules

I always enjoy Mike Lawson’s books. This one was didn’t disappoint, it was fun and with a good storyline.

Consistently great storytelling

What made the experience of listening to House Rules the most enjoyable?

Mike Lawson consistently tells a compelling story that doesn't require ridiculous leaps of faith on the part of the reader and believable, likable characters.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narrator is dry and monotone for my tastes.

Hard to 'put down '!

Slow starting, suspense builds gradually with this story. My favorite narrator excels once again switching accents effortlessly.

Good book

Love this series, miss Scott Brick!
Love the way Lawson weaves a story and then your hooked!