The Inside Ring

By Mike Lawson

The West Wing meets 24 in a pace-ridden thriller of conspiracy, corruption and cold-blooded murder.

Joe De Marco is running out of time.

Someone has made an attempt on the president’s life, but the wrong man is dead. How could this happen when the president and those nearest to him are protected by a group of men known as The Inside Ring? Is there is a chink in the armour? A break in the circle? Is someone not quite what they seem?

Joe's search for the answers takes him from the corridors of power to the swamps of the southern states, where one lie will lead to another until finally the shocking truth emerges in an orgy of violence.

‘The Inside Ring’: where greed and corruption walk hand in hand with murder.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Jan 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9780007380503

Mike Lawson

Mike Lawson is a former nuclear engineer who turned to full-time writing in May 2003. He lives with his family in the United States.

Reviews for The Inside Ring

[susan259 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Everyman Joe happens to have a pretty unique job--he is special counsel to the US Congress. Which sounds more glamorous than it is...In reality, he works for the Speaker of the House, making sure embarrassing things about members of Congress never make it into the press or pressuring representatives for their votes. When there is an assassination attempt on the president, the Speaker loans him out to the Director of Homeland Security who had received an anonymous tip that something was wrong. What starts out as a political action thriller quickly gets more interesting and ends up feeling a lot like a Southern gothic. Not a true mystery, more aspects of action/suspense, still a good read and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

[voracious_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Joe DeMarco is an ex-mobster's son and lawyer, who between luck and circumstance, ends up working (on the down-low) for Mahoney, the Speaker of the House, as his guy that gets things done. Obviously, this very important job is demonstrated through his ill-lit basement office, housed conveniently next to the maintenance office. In "The Inside Ring", the first book in the DeMarco series, the Head of Homeland Security (Banks) asks Mahoney for DeMarco's help in investigating an assassination attempt on the President, which may have been an inside job. As DeMarco begins to gather information regarding the Secret Service's potential knowledge of and involvement in the attempt, he finds a much more complicated situation, which involves a number of people, both in Washington D.C. and in the swampy marshlands of Georgia. DeMarco pulls in a number of friends and acquaintences who help him gather information "off the record" on potential suspects. This cadre of individuals brightens up the storyline as they each appear to have significant personal flaws that warrant further exploration in later novels. DeMarco and his "friend" Emma run into life threatening circumstances as they dig deeper in their investigation. DeMarco (and Emma) are both particularly likeable characters, which in combination with the suspence and unexpected humor of the book, made this a fun, and quick read. I am definately looking forward to reading more books by this author and seeing what is in store for DeMarco, Emma and his other Washingon pals.

[mary6508 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Political thriller, a fast read. (ebook version)

[skybalon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun read that got quite page turning by its last chapters. The plot does stray towards being pretty ridiculous by the end. But I will probably read then next one in the series.

[susandennis-139327 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The assassin missed the President of the United States but one of his Secret Service guys was killed. And then a note left by a suicide closed the case. Or did it? One guy 'on the inside' of Washington politics thinks it was an inside job. That maybe even the Secret Service was involved. And he has a 'guy' Joe DeMarco - an attorney with a track record of finding out things. He puts Joe on the case and the story unfolds. This is first novel and the jacket says the second Joe DeMarco is under way. I'm glad to hear it!