House Arrest: A Joe DeMarco Thriller

The Joe DeMarco Series, Book 13

By: Mike Lawson

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the thirteenth book in Mike Lawson's celebrated series, Joe DeMarco finds himself on the wrong side of an investigation - in the wake of a political assassination, he's been framed as the killer.

As the fixer for Congressman John Mahoney in Washington, DC, Joe DeMarco has had to bend and break the law more than a few times. But when Representative Lyle Canton, House Majority Whip, is found shot dead in his office in the US Capitol and DeMarco is arrested for the murder, DeMarco knows he's been framed. Locked up in the Alexandria Jail awaiting trial, he calls on his enigmatic friend Emma, an ex-DIA agent, to search for the true killer. 

Emma's investigation leads her to Sebastian Spear, the ruthless and competitive CEO of the multi-billion-dollar Spear Industries. Spear had a motive for killing Lyle Canton: Canton's wife, Jean, had once been Spear's high school sweetheart and the one true love of his life - until Canton won her over. Now Jean was dead, killed in a car crash while driving drunk, and Spear blamed Canton for the accident. But the case the FBI has built against DeMarco is airtight, and not a single piece of evidence points to the grieving CEO. Using her cunning and her DC connections, Emma sets out to prove that Spear has been using fixers of his own. 

Featuring crimes of passion, corporate corruption, and partisan feuds, House Arrest is a gripping, timely political thriller, and one of Lawson's best books yet.

©2019 Mike Lawson (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Wonderful Outstanding Fantastic - 5 Easy Stars!!

Mike Lawson has returned to Washington DC in his newest Joe DeMarco book. YEAH!!!! Although I've enjoyed his last few books, they haven't included DeMarco's friend Emma. When Emma gets involved for some reason the story gets more calculated, technical and devious.
House Arrest doesn't disappoint. This book is fast paced and multi layered right from the beginning. Although through most of the book DeMarco is out of commission he still remains central to the story. I'm looking forward to seeing where Lawson will take the series from here.
This is another one of my favorite series and I loved this book! The publisher's summary gives more than enough information and I don't want to spoil this book for anyone. This book can be listened to as a stand alone but I would suggest listening to the entire series just because it's a great series!! If you choose not to, this book will fill in the DeMarco/Emma relationship.
Joe Barrett is a favorite narrator of mine. Of course his performance is outstanding!
This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS.
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Ambushed a Squirrel

Got this story on the members only sale. You must be in the mood to chuckle when you listen to this author. Joe Barrett makes you bark out laughing when he narrates this author! So if you find yourself not laughing, come back to this author when you have gotten rid of your mad and can appreciate the humor. Eg: reporters brain the size of a cashew!
I do not know which stories have the famous Emma, like this one does, as I have not listened in order. I will have to seek out those stories which feature Emma as she is captivating in the way she thinks. I love the John Mahoney character as he is so irreverent, it makes you smile. I have chosen the novels based on reviewers I follow who in fact have listened to all in this series. I do use the 1.25x speed to match the authors adventure.
I have all of the author Brian Haigs novels narrated by Joe Barrett, my fave Private Sector, not to be missed. Another bark out loud laughter novel.
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Loved It!! Highly recommend

This might be the best Joe DeMarco book yet! The books are always better when Emma is involved and she is in this book a lot. I’ve read or listened to the DeMarco books since the beginning and always look forward to each release. The writing is great and the performance outstanding. I didn’t want this book to end.

Humor

I enjoyed the bit of humor. Plot was interesting. I especially enjoyed the expanded roll of Emmy a great character. I hope she plays a more prominent roll in the next episodes.

Another winner with a caveat

I enjoyed this installment but it was definitely different than its predecessors in that DeMarco wasn’t front and center nearly as much. I wasn’t found of the anti-President rhetoric but it was tolerable. I found it funny that the author included Russian hackers and Putin as part of the story which was presumably to also make Trump look bad but of course even Democrats must now concede that the entire Russian election interference was a hoax. I will likely wait to reviews for his next installment before buying to make sure there isn’t a furtherance of political bias.

Lawson delivers on this one

I’ve always loved the DeMarco series but I was not impressed with the past two stories. This one was a fun listen. It had action, humor, and best of all, Emma. You don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy this one so give it a shot. You won’t regret it.

OK, Now I know... but it's OK

I've "read" all 14 Joe DeMarco adventures and enthusiastically recommended the series to various friends. I've always appreciated that Mike Lawson could write "political books" with out revealing his own political-leaning. OK, now I do know Lawson's politics, but he reveals it subtly enough not to turn me off. I do not share his politics.

These are troubled times in America. I listen to Audible fiction to "get away from" the daily crap not to be reminded of it. Unless Mike Lawson insists on amplifying his personal politics in future novels, I will remain a fan of his and a buyer of his stories. Another popular author - Don Winslow - has "jumped the shark" with his personal politics in his latest novel "The Border" which I returned and will no longer follow. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I'm not going to pay to be assaulted by them. Lawson does NOT do that in this story... thankfully.

Joe Barrett is on the short list of Best Audible Narrator... and proves that again here.

Why insert a political pot shot?

Well you ruined it for me. I liked it until the political statements. I really wish the author wouldn’t have made his hatred so obvious. Totally not necessary but he insisted on inserting a couple of shots at President Trump. I’d hoped to enjoy a great book. You leftists make me sick. Ruined it for me, why go there? I’m done with your books because of it jerk.

Not one of the best

I really enjoy this series, but this one not so much. The story lagged, I thought, and not enough of DeMarco for me. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to the next book which, I'm sure, is what the author intended. If you follow the series, don't skip this one.

Great story!

Excellent narration and an interesting story make good company on a long drive. Looking forward to the next one!