Another great book from Mike Lawson.
He brings us well written thrillers with great twist and turns,
What a great series! A must read!!
Thanks NetGalley & Grove Atlantic for the ARC.

A well written thriller full of suspense and tension This is the first by this author for me ,so great to discover a new to me author whose boos series Incan grab .#netgalley#groveatlantic

One of the best things about reading is stumbling across a series you didn't know existed.

One of the worst things about reading is stumbling across a series you didn't know existed.

I would say House Privilege falls into both of those categories for me. The first, because I do enjoy books like this, where a fixer works (mostly) behind the scenes to do things to support an Important Person, whether that Important Person is a politician, a big business/union leader, an athlete, and so on. The second, because it means that I don't know the canon of that fixer: their history, their strengths or weaknesses, and how successful they've been in the past to fix something for their employer. As this is number fourteen in a series, I'd be inclined to guess that Joe DeMarco is fairly successful.

House Privilege opens with DeMarco returning to Washington, DC, after his equivalent of a mob no-show job was discovered with the political winds having changed the US government, and his Democrat boss John Mahoney lost his role as Speaker of the House. Those winds have changed again, and Mahoney is poised to reclaim the gavel and, by extension, return DeMarco to his post as Mahoney's personal fixer. His first job seems relatively easy: check up on Cassie Russell, the only survivor of a small plane crash that killed her billionaire parents and that left Mahoney as her legal guardian, as Mahoney's wife is out west, seeing to a terminally ill friend.

DeMarco dutifully heads to Boston, where he meets the girl and the Russell's housekeeper, and finds Cassie thinks she will just stay in her parent's home and doesn't understand that isn't quite how it's going to work. But he doesn't disabuse her of that thought, and heads out to meet the manager of the Russell's trust, Erin Kelly, who appears to be capable enough, and when DeMarco asks her about a few things, has ready answers for how to handle them. He leaves, fairly confident that other than the girl's ideas about where she will live, everything is fine.

Spoilers ahead....skip to SPOILERS END for the summary

On his return to the Russell's house to check in again on Cassie, the housekeeper gives him a name: Jerry Feldman. She overheard a conversation the Russells were having that indicated all may not have been well with Erin Kelly's management of the trust, and that a CPA named Jerry Feldman was auditing the books for it. DeMarco heads out to find Feldman.

Feldman, unfortunately, has met his demise in the robbery of a convenience store, which seems rather coincidental, and DeMarco digs around, only to find that Erin Kelly is the niece of Mike Kelly, a notorious mobster in Boston. This raises the question for him - although not for us, having already received scenes between Mike and Erin that detail how angry she is that Cassie was not also killed in the plane crash and that she wants someone else killed as well - that perhaps Erin is not the chipper go-getter she appears to be.

DeMarco finds out that Feldman has been killed and believes Cassie may also be in danger, so he takes her up to a property owned by the Russells - a cabin in the woods, with few neighbors, and what neighbors there are a good bit of distance away. Pat McGuire, Mike Kelly's top guy, has followed them there and attempts to kill Cassie. He is interrupted by a couple of teenagers (a young man and woman), and flees after shooting the young man and trying to shoot at Cassie as she swims away. One problem: McGuire has left fingerprints on the inflatable raft he used while there.

Now sure that Erin Kelly is a very bad person, DeMarco tells a Boston PD detective about all of it, but of course, jurisdictional problems are a thing. The NTSB, investigating the plane crash, won't have a findings for awhile, and there are no direct links between any of it that he can prove.

DeMarco learns from Mahoney that there's someone attempting to blackmail him with what are supposedly Mahoney cheating with a woman. Knowing that Mahoney does cheat on his wife, DeMarco meets with the blackmailer, who, it turns out, is a guy who was fired from his job for excessive absenteeism due to being an alcoholic, but who is now sober but in desperate need of money. He decides he just doesn't have the heart to be a bad guy, and tells DeMaarco to forget it.

Meanwhile, McGuire, knowing he will be arrested once his prints are lifted, makes Mike promise that if anything happens to him that Mike will take care of McGuire's elderly mother. Mike by now knows that his niece is in charge of billions of dollars and is considering how much he can wring out of her to keep her secrets - like the fact she came to him to get people killed, which has been captured on tape.

DeMarco realizes that the only solution is to keep the audit going, so it can be shown that Kelly was embezzling. He approaches the other two members of the three person board overseeing the trust (Mahoney is the third), and they agree the audit should proceed. A team shows up at the trust, taking everything and kicking Kelly out.

Before they get things locked down, Kelly accesses the trust funds electronically and transfers out over a hundred million dollars, then transfers those funds into other accounts at other banks, attempting to hide the trail. She then flees to London on her own passport and then to Montenegro under an assumed identity.

DeMarco turns to the investigative firm that had fired the blackmailer, and hires them to find Kelly, on the condition they hire the guy back and have him work on this case. They agree, since he had been one of their top investigators. They track Kelly to Montenegro, and DeMarco and his (now) crew, including the wannabe blackmailer, another operator from the investigative firm, and a disgraced doctor, head there. Mike Kelly also sends a crew there, to grab his niece.

The end is a caper. DeMarco and company put on a show to lure the bad guys into getting arrested, and act out their plan to grab Erin Kelly and hustle her out of the country. Back in the US, Erin Kelly is arrested for financial crimes and McGuire is arrested for attempted murder. Kelly thinks she's maybe get four or five years, max, and McGuire is prepared to keep his mouth shut to protect Mike Kelly, but after he learns his mother has died while Mike Kelly was supposed to be overseeing her care, thinks Mike murdered her and considers talking. He then talks himself into believing she died of natural causes, given her age, and is prepared again to keep his mouth shut. He is stabbed while in jail, but survives, and tell DeMarco that all the dirt Mike Kelly has collected over the years on powerful people, and the tape with Erin Kelly saying she wanted people dead, is in a safe on a property he owns. Everyone is toast at this point except McGuire.

The book ends with Mahoney's wife spending time with Cassie, and telling DeMarco Cassie will live with her in the Mahoney's home in Boston, and the housekeeper and her husband will move with them. DeMarco is then sent off to Minnesota to deal with another matter.

SPOILERS END

Overall, it's a good, fast read, and fun, too, if you enjoy stories about fixers that involve capers. While this is a book deep into the series character DeMarco, it can by read as a standalone, as enough information is given on DeMarco to know who he is and what he does. There's only one infodump, and it's a bit of a required one, to describe the no-show job Mahoney had created to stash DeMarco so he would be around to do whatever things Mahoney needed him to do.

I liked this quite a bit and will be going back to the beginning to read more about Joe DeMarco.

A solid 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for the advance copy.

A great read, well written
I am a fan of this genre and this book satisfied all the things I love reading about. It was the first I had read by this author and enjoyed the suspense, mystery, and anticipation. Will definitely read more by this author!

Do rollercoasters give you a wicked thrill? Then add Mike Lawson’ latest thriller, House Privileges on your TBR pile and get ready for a wild ride. Lawson’s Joe DeMarco is a ‘fixer’ who solves problems for Speaker of the House, John Mahoney. When a small plane crashes in the Adirondacks, killing two of Mahoney’s friends and donors, leaving their 15 year old daughter as the only survivor, DeMarco is sent to learn what happened, why, and to watch over the young girl, now the heiress to the family fortune. Bad things start happening, people are hunted and murdered and like a rollercoaster on the very top of the first hill, the plot is off to a flying start with enough twists and turns to satisfy most every reader. And, just when you think the ride is over… it takes off again. Lawson’s Joe DeMarco thrillers are straightforward with nary a detour, hitting the reader like a bolt of lightning.

Lawson is at the top of his game with House Privileges and it’s a great ride. I read House Privileges courtesy of NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the novel, but then again I am a huge fan.

Mike Lawson continues to deliver a great story! House Privilege has lots of action and great characters that add to the story. I love his style of writing. His chapters flow nicely from one chapter to the next, making them easy to read. Characters are dynamic and he keeps them relevant throughout the book. This book hooks you from the start and keeps you reading. He is not predictable and this book is one of his best.

House Privilege is the latest book in the Joe DeMarco series by Mike Lawson and it is a worthy addition. Joe is the “fixer” for John Mahoney, a larger-than-life member of the House of Representatives. Mahoney is poised to be elected the Speaker of the House, so he doesn’t have the time nor the inclination to deal with a new responsibility: namely, the guardianship of Cassie, a fifteen-year-old girl whose ultra-wealthy parents have died in a plane crash. He sends DeMarco to make sure the girl is well-taken care of until Mahoney’s wife can take over. Seems like a simple task, until Joe innocently discovers some irregularities in the management of the huge and complicated estate that now belongs to Cassie. Suddenly, DeMarco finds himself involved with embezzlement, murder, and conspiracy, as well as a mob boss who has far-reaching influence.

House Privilege is a fast-paced book with a number of different and interesting characters. While some of the events require a little stretch of the imagination, Mr Lawson has once again written a novel that will keep the reader engaged. This is a fast read and a great book to take on the plane or read during a lazy afternoon.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I thought I had read another book in this series at one time. I really didn't remember much about that book, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this offering. Well, the reason I didn't remember the previous book was--I never read it!

I would have remembered the basics of the Joe DeMarco series if I had read another book in this series--duh on me.

This book was good from beginning to end. Joe DeMarco is a great lead character. Plenty of twists and turns throughout. I am not a fan and looking forward to reading more of Mike Lawson's offerings.

I really liked this book.
Its one of the better ones in the series.
It shows deMarco as a human protagonist, with flaws, and warts and all;

There are enough twists and turns to keep us engaged, unlike many thriller writers who follow formulaic plot templates;

This was my first Joe DeMarco book so I was not sure what to expect. The verdict: I’ll be back. Nice character development and a satisfying conclusion means I will come back for more.
I was surprised how much DeMarco could get done just by throwing congressional weight of his boss around but I can suspend belief a little.

Another excellent title from Mike Lawson (DeMarco Series), Takes DeMarco to new non-political territory.

This is the first Joe Demarco novel I have read. i was happy to learn that the author has a series of novels featuring this character.

Joe's employer, John Mahoney, was recently re-elected to the House of Representatives where his majority. As Mahoney is waiting to be re-elected Speaker of the House, he wants to keep Demarco, usually his fixer, out of the public eye. Demarco has been charged with murder and only released after the real murderer confessed.

Mahoney has just become the legal guardian of young Cassie Russell in Boston, whose rich parents had been killed in a plane crash while returning from a weekend at their cottage. Kathy was injured but survived. Normally Mahoney would ask his wife to take care of this situation but she is occupied with a dying friend. So he sends Joe to Boston instead. While there Joe discovers that Cassie is recuperating ok. She wants to go back to the cabin to grieve her parents. Before leaving Joe is told by Cassie's Nanny and the housekeeper that the father had suspected something was amiss with the family trust and he had been visited by an accountant who told him that the manager of the trust appeared to be stealing money. But the audit was not yet complete.

Joe drives Cassie up to the cabin. He is followed by chance by a Pat McGuire, lieutenant to Mike Kelly, boss of the Irish mafia in Boston. Pat has been tasked to kill Cassie. While Cassie is sunning in a picnic area one day, Pat attempts to drown her. But Cassie is saved by two kids who are in the area to make out. McGuire makes his escape. But they can ID him.

When Joe becomes aware of this he notifies the police in Boston to be on the lookout for McGuire returning to the city. The kids have identified him from photos of the Irish lads associated with Mike Kelly. Pat is arrested and jailed. Mike gets Pat to agree to keep his mouth shut provided Mike takes care of Pat's mother for the rest of her life.

Meanwhile DeMarco, in Mahoney's name, convenes a meeting of the management committee for the Russell Trust and gets approval for the audit to be continued and bolstered. The auditors turn up at Erin Kelly's office, seize control and turf her. That evening after the auditors after left Erin accesses the accounts from home and transfers one hundred million dollars to offshore banks and onward to Switzerland under false names. The following morning using a false passport she flies to London and then using another passport flies onward to parts unknown.

The final segment of the novel involves Demarco's pursuit of Erin Kelly, and when/if he locates her how to get her back to the US to face justice.

An enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC for review.

A solid four stars. Mike Lawson is one of my favorite authors,and I can always depend on him for a good book. He has a wonderful imagination, and can translate it into a fine novel with good character development.

I loved this book as I have loved every Joe DeMarco book from the beginning. As always John Mahoney sends DeMarco on a job to fix something that he does not want to bother with. As always there are the twists and turns and...oh just read the book! It is great!

<i> House Privilege </i> is a fast-paced murder mystery involving the rich elite of Boston, the mob, and a dirty lawyer. Joe DeMarco, a talented fixer for a powerful and corrupt politician in Washington, returns from being framed for murder to be relegated to what looks like a babysitting job. This is the 14th novel in the Joe DeMarco series by Mike Lawson.

Joe DeMarco returns to Washington not even knowing if he has a job. His first assignment is taking care of a distraught teenager who has lost her parents in a plane accident. He becomes suspicious when other people close to the family die under coincidental circumstances. He then quickly finds links to a lawyer who works with the family and the mob. DeMarco has lots of suspicions, but now he must find evidence if he is going to prevent more people from dying.

The Protagonist, Joe DeMarco is very interesting. He is basically honest but he is willing to work in grey areas to get the job done. He has the advantage of working for a powerful politician whose name opens many doors. DeMarco is not above name dropping to get what he wants but he stops short of using it to his own advantage or financial benefit.

The primary murderer is also very interesting. She is heartless and a flagrant narcissist who blames everyone else for her expensive lifestyle and her need to commit crimes. <i> It wasn’t as if she wanted to kill them … she had to empty the cash account… the only option she had was to flee the country. What else could she have done? There had to be a way to make the jury understand how people had taken advantage of her… </i>

The story is fast paced and the dialogue is direct and clear. The plot is not complex but it is still compelling and therefore interesting. Because the reveal comes early there are not real twists or climaxes.

I recommend this book because its characters are interesting and it is an easy fast-paced read. I give it a 4 on 5. I want to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a prepublication digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Hate to say it but one of the worst books I have ever read on Netgalley. When I read the description, I thought the storyline sounded promising but this was just hard to read. To start, we first meet Cassie, the teenage sole survivor of a plane crash that killed both her parents. Immediately the second chapter transitions to politics. As we hadn't yet been really told WHAT was going on and WHY we were dealing with politics, the chapter just makes zero sense. The rest of the book is not much better. It was hard to read and did not have an enjoyable writing style either. Definitely one I would not recommend.

Mike Lawson's Joe de Marco series has always been a favorite of mine. Lawson is in fine form with House Privilege as Joe goes after a mafia kingpin. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Joe Dr Marco is dispatched by his boss, the not so honorable Congressman Mahoney, to deal with a Boston blackmailed possessed if an incriminating photo of Mahoney and the glamorous and well-married governor if Massachusetts. Almost as an aside, he charges Joe with looking in on the 15 year old girl whose goddaughter has just been orphaned by the crash of a private plane carrying her and her parents back from a vacation in the mountains Mahoney. The girl is the heir to her father's billions, but there's something fishy about the trustee of her fortune, and the timing of an audit her most valuable client ordered into the management of his portfolio just before the plane crash. The solutions to what to do about the hapless blackmailer - a former Mahoney pal fallen on hard times - and how to ourt the killer who orphaned Mahoney's young charge where she belongs takes a circuitous route to the denouement with an entertaining side trip to Montenegro , a popular landing spot for fleeing felons, due to its lax extradition policies. But in the end, de Marco fixes everything - because that s what fixers do, in and out of politics. As a fan of Lawson' s popular series, a new Joe de Marco caper US a welcome delight.

Got a problem? Joe Demarco can fix it. Congressman Mahoney’s designated fixer is sent to Boston to take care of his god-daughter whose parents died in a crashed airplane Joe discovers quickly that something isn’t right, and as he starts pulling the strings, a huge unraveling takes place. Embezzlement, murders, coverups, and organized crime are all found in this exciting continuation of Mike Lawson’s excellent series