This is the first book in this series that I've read. I found it a bit hard to be drawn into the story, yet I love this type of mystery. It was good, just not a page-turner for me.

Adsorbed from the start of this book, Mike Lawson has managed to enamour you to at least one character on a quest to see this case through from start to end. One to keep you up late at night as you NEED to know what happens next....

I was thoroughly impressed with this book. By the time chapter two came, I was completely into it and ready to see what happens. It wrapped up nicely at the end. The characters were great and you really can connect within. Totally enjoyed it.

Run of the mill court room case with gangsters and people with loads of money. Not that enjoyable.

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.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It kept my attention throughout and kept me enthralled up to the final chapter. Well done!

This was such a good read! I've never encountered the author before, so the e-book from NetGalley was a welcome introduction to Mike Lawson and his character, Joe DeMarco. I see this is the 12th in a series, and I plan to read them all. If the others have this book's ingenious plotting, quick and natural dialogue, and memorable characters, I'm in for a treat!

Another great book by Mike Lawson! Devoured it in less than two days. Joe DeMarco is my favorite character. He always finds a way to solve the case even when I am trying to figure out how he is going to do it. This goes back to the writing skills of Mike Lawson. I recommend this book and the entire series. I know you will devour each of the books!

This is the first of Mike Lawsons books I've read but what a one to start with. Definitely going to hunt down the rest in the series, you don't have to have read any previous Joe DeMarco books to get into this one. Demarcos employer John Mahoneys illegitimate son has been murdered in a bar in Manhattan, the son of a millionaire arrested and charged with the murder, there are 5 witnesses but no motive. One by one the witnesses are paid off or not so subtley put out of the picture. Someone is at their work and it's not the first time exceedingly rich people have been let off, is someone manipulating the witnesses? But they're not going to get away with it this time, DeMarco is on the hunt to catch them and see justice done.

This was the first book I have read by Mike Lawson though it’s the twelfth book in what is clearly a very successful series.
I loved this fast-paced entertaining thriller. It was such an easy read, with lots of twists and turns which had me hooked from beginning to end. Set in the world of politics and fixers, it was an ingenious story detailing the lengths the extremely rich and corrupt will take to protect their own and to avoid them being held accountable for their crimes.
I look forward to going back and reading the preceding novels in the series.

I love Mike Lawson's Joe DeMarco books. DeMarco works for a U.S. Senator, "fixing" things for him. In this, the 12th book in the series he is challenged by a fixer on the other side, as they each try to affect the outcome of a trial. A fascinating twist on an exceptional series. Highly recommended.

This is the twelfth Joe DeMarco novel. I have not read any of the others and you don't need to to enjoy this book. Senator John Mahoney's illegitimate son has been murdered in a bar with five witnesses to the murder. The Senator asks Joe to investigate and ensure justice is done. Joe plays a background role in most of this story as it follows the back story and path of the person paid by the murderers family to fix the trial and make each of the witnesses disappear or recant their version of what happened. A highly entertaining book with an original storyline and well paced. Very enjoyable, I will read more Mike Lawson books.

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 person 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 is the boy's father in this case.
As the prosecutor starts interviewing her witnesses, stories change,DeMarco must go find 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 letting me read this story, from which I give you my review.

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 Mahoney'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 (like I'm going to change anyways). House Witness was still a good hunt for the bad guy story. A new character - Sarah - made an appearance, and I hope to see more of her in future books.

HOUSE WITNESS
MIKE LAWSON


MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER Grove Atlantic
PUBLISHED February 6, 2018

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.

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.

House Witness by Mike Lawson will keep your head spinning with the intrigue and mysterious happenings for everyone involved in this story.
It grabbed my attention from the first chapter and I hated to see it end. I absolutely hope there's a sequel!
I need closure!

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 previois 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.

The book was part of a very unique detective Novel about a guy who solves problems for the House Speaker. . The novel itself is great although I wish it didn't end with a cliffhanger .And I think the series would make a great tv or movie series

As a long-time fan of Joe DeMarco, aide to Congressman John Mahoney, I have enjoyed the stories in Mike Lawson's series. Here, on the thinnest of grounds, DeMarco leaves Washington and becomes a detective for a Manhattan District Attorney. The story of the couple who specialize in fixing cases for rich defendants is not bad, it just doesn't belong in the DeMarco series. Any detective could have filled that role. Leave Joe in Washington where he belongs!
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.