The Inside Ring

A Novel

By: Michael Lawson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

From a bluff overlooking Georgia's untamed Chattooga River, an assassin fires three shots. The President of the United States is wounded; his best friend and a Secret Service agent are killed. Two days later, a man in Landover, Maryland, commits suicide, and in the man's home is overwhelming evidence that he was responsible for the assassination attempt.

General Andy Banks, the Secretary of Homeland Security, is nursing a guilty conscience. Only days before the assassination attempt on the President, Banks had received a note with a dire warning: "Eagle One is in danger. Cancel Chattooga River. The inside ring has been compromised. This is not a joke." The message, on Secret Service stationery, was signed "An agent in the wrong place". Banks immediately passed the note on to Secret Service Director Patrick Donnelly, who proceeded to ignore it.

Even after the assassin is found dead, Banks is determined to dig a little deeper. He turns to Speaker of the House John Fitzgerald Mahoney. The Speaker has a guy, an under-the-radar, go-to guy he uses for things like this, things he can't afford to have connected to his office. The guy is Joe DeMarco, an honest lawyer with a sordid family history.

After one meeting with Banks, DeMarco realizes he's in way over his head. But Mahoney finds the prospect of taking down Donnelly irresistible and sets DeMarco on a trail that twists through the Secret Service, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security and snakes all the way back to one of the more enduring mysteries of the 20th century.

Brimming with suspense, authenticity, and wit, The Inside Ring marks the debut of a major new talent and introduces a cast of intriguing characters with many more cases ahead.

©2005 Michael Lawson (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is high-level entertainment from a writer who could soon rise to the top of the thriller heap." (Publishers Weekly)

Emma To the Rescue

I read out of order and both last books 1/2 for me by the great narrator Scott Brick did not disappoint. I did not realize that the author skips around and builds his characters background as the mood strikes him. If you read in order you will see how the author builds his characters and you will begin to build your favorites e.g. John Mahoney for me. I do use the 1.2 speed to match the action. Books 1/2 show off the authors full talent for action and drama but as author builds this series you can see his own Political platforms he wants to show case. I thought all the books would have LOL wit and humor, not so. If I had read in order I may not have stayed with the series but due to Joe Barrett reading book 3 and forward captures all the flavorful characters. Mr Barrett accents for each series character bringing their personalities to Lol life. So Joe Barrett becomes LOL Joe DeMarco.
Were my comments helpful?

Very interesting and well read story.

A really good conspiracy story with ties to Secret Service, FBI, Homeland Security the evil that can surface when money and power ate involved. A great Demarco story

Good thing the narrator was switched.

I've loved the previous Joe DeMarco books I listed to with Joe Barrettt as narrator. I also like Scott Brick as narrator in many other series like "The Grey Man". Scott wasn't able to carry the day as Joe DeMarco. The story held but the humor was absent without the incredible accents and timing that Joe Barrett delivered. If you're looking for 5 start listing skip to the next in series.

So Intriguing I Listened Past My BedTime

Scott Brick is a favourite narrator of mine and this sounds like he is the reader even though it says Peter Bradbury is.
The main character is a brave man. He does not carry a gun and uses his wits. He asks for Help from a woman who does carry a gun and has an extensive list of people who can be hired for various tasks and paid for information.
Why was Billy acting different than the other Secret Service agents when an attempt was made to assassinate the President? Was Billy part of the plan to assassinate the President? Who had the money to pay for the assasination attempt?He is hired to find answers. He works for Congress. He is unimportant to many people.
His office is in a basement indicating he is unimportant and he know someone who arranged for him to have his job.
His mission is simple and complicated by rural culture and how no one wants to talk to him because of fear.
I was not able to figure out who the guilty party was until the very end. That only happens when I read a well written plot.
I am eager to listen/or read another novel by Lawson. Whether I listen or read will depend on the narrator.

Enjoyable

Interesting Characters, with a rollercoaster plot. Solid Story.

Violence - violence and torture went on way too long.

Violence - violence and torture went on way too long. It gets old. Enough in the real world.

Suspenseful Throughout

My 1st book by the author. The more I listened to Scott Brick the better it got . Continuous surprises thruout. Look forward to his next book.

Couldn't suspend disbelief

I had several problems with this book but my main issue was that I couldn't suspend disbelief. So the head of Homeland Security gets a note warning that something will happen to the President and he lets himself be convinced to do nothing? Worse, nobody takes the note seriously even after an assassination attempt? Please!

I liked DeMarco very much but I didn't like that he couldn't take care of business. Unlike Jack Reacher, John Rain or Jason Bourne, kicking ass wasn't his superpower so when he was confronted with really bad guys, he was horribly outmatched. When I read thrillers, I like to know the bad guys will be getting their comeuppance and the hero will be the one delivering it, not that he will be constantly praying, hoping to get out of their clutches.

I figured out early on the reason for the assassination attempt (classic Agatha Christie...look at what really happened not what it seemed it happened) so it was TOTALLY CRAZY for the villains to go that extent. There were probably like a million easier ways for them to get the same result.

The villain was so villainous that he was a caricature. Whatever evil deeds you can imagine, the evil guy did them. Am I to believe that after subjugating a community for 30 years and committing all sorts of attrocities, nobody thought to plug him in the back of the head? C'mon!

This is my first time listening to Scott Brick and he did a great job with the narration. DeMarco's New York accent was subtle but there, so that I knew after a few minutes of hearing him, where he came from.

Not continuing the series but I definitely hope to listen to another book by Scott Brick again.

Fast-paced with a surprise ending!

A politically astute thriller that kept me listening well into the night. The first book of its type with a protagonist, Joe Demarco, who is just a regular guy, an attorney working for Congress that has no military background, no extraordinary physical fighting skills, and is unknowledgeable about firearms. But he is doggedly persistent, takes risks with courage and gets the job done. I will definitely continue this series!

Good but Mildly Dissappointing

It was engaging most of the way through......BUT..... sadly, a bit of a letdown at the last. Scott does a great job as always. .