DailyLit: Mystery Books

House Rules

by Mike Lawson

Message from the Publisher of DailyLit

It’s a first for DailyLit. We’ve just released this highly anticipated thriller House Rules by Mike Lawson as a first serial—prior to the scheduled June 10th publication date for the book. Enjoy!

Description

Mike Lawson's Joe DeMarco thrillers have drawn praise for their finetuned suspense, off-kilter characters, intricate plots, and revealing portrait of Washington, DC behind closed doors. House Rules, the third novel in the series, opens with a narrowly averted terrorist attack, a bomb meant for the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Then a private plane headed straight for the White House ignores warnings and is shot down. The pilot, a Muslim American, is suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda. An atmosphere of fear and panic overruns the country, and when the junior senator from Virginia introduces legislation to deport all noncitizen Muslims and start extensive background checks of all Muslim Americans, his bill gains surprising traction.

Speaker of the House John Fitzgerald Mahoney is not pleased. He knows it is the kind of knee-jerk intolerant response people will come to regret, like the Japanese internment camps in World War II, and he needs to find a way to kill the bill before it reaches the House. But Mahoney has a secret—the man who tried to park his plane on the president's desk was the son of one of his oldest friends. The speaker is in a bind, and also has some vague suspicions about the attack, so he calls his man DeMarco.

An average guy, DeMarco struggles with debt, divorce, and a difficult, unreasonable boss. He is an unlikely hero, in over his head, relying on old friends—Emma, a spy who may or may not be retired, and Neil, an information broker—as he attempts to get to the bottom of the attacks. House Rules is a riveting read, full of suspense, fascinating characters, humor, and timely political intrigue.

Praise for Mike Lawson and House Rules

"Lawson shows a knack for sketching realistic characters, even minor ones, in deft and nuanced strokes. Lawson is droll, writes sharp dialogue, and seems to know his way around Beltway politicking...reminiscent of the cynical but bemused espionage tales that the late Ross Thomas wrote."
—Adam Woog, The Seattle Times

"House Rules has it all: a lightning-paced plot, a quirky cast of players, and best of all, one of the most engaging heroes I've ever encountered. In Joe DeMarco, Mike Lawson has created a charmingly likeable character whom I'll happily follow for many books to come."
—Tess Gerritsen, author of The Bone Garden

"Mike Lawson's The Inside Ring is one of the most assured first novels I've ever read. His next one, The Second Perimeter, continued in the voice of a master story-teller. His third, the forthcoming House Rules is, in my opinion, a knockout. Relaxed, slightly droll, yet in total command of a complicated plot, you have to believe this guy has been telling tales for a lot of years, but just recently started writing them down."
—Bill Farley, Seattle Mystery Bookshop

"The kind of whodunit thriller you can't stop thinking about while you're reading and can't stop talking about once you're done. Smart, original, crafted with true insider knowledge, brimming with vivid characters, and a forward drive that just won't quit....I couldn't put it down."
—Vince Flynn on The Inside Ring

Extended Copyright Information

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, or the facilitation thereof, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Any members of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

Published by arrangement with Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Sample Installment

The Daughters of Freya

by Michael Betcherman and David Diamond

Description

Samantha Dempsey never imagined her life would turn out like this. Her 19 year-old son is in love with an older woman. Her mother is still haunted by the death of Samantha’s brother in a car accident years ago. Her once-promising career as a journalist has ground to a halt. And the cracks in her marriage are wide and getting wider.

In the midst of all this turmoil, she gets an email from a desperate friend whose daughter has joined The Daughters of Freya, a California cult that believes sex is the solution to the world’s problems. Samantha heads to Marin County to investigate and soon finds out there is more to the cult than meets the eye.

The mystery unfolds through emails written by the characters, making The Daughters of Freya ideal for your inbox—it's as if the characters in the book are cc:ing you on the emails they’re sending each other.

Praise for The Daughters of Freya

"What makes it so much fun is the surprising way it puts you smack into the lives of the characters."
—Marietta Dunn, Philadelphia Inquirer

"The Daughters of Freya is a gripping, fun mystery novel...Almost missed a plane so that I could read the ending, which was really tense!"
—Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.net

Extended Copyright Information

Sample Installment

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Study in Scarlet, A

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by Wilkie Collins

Description

On her eighteenth birthday, beautiful Rachel Verinder receives a present like no other—an enormous, glittering, diamond. Little does she know that this legendary stone will bring with it a world of mystery and danger. Snatched from a sacred statue in India, the diamond is the subject of an intense worldwide search by priests whose ultimate duty is to find and restore the stone to its rightful place. The stone seems to hold strange powers beyond mere beauty, perhaps even a curse that travels with it. The sparkling Moonstone belongs to Rachel for one night only before it is stolen in the night, but a storm of grief, misfortune, and even madness follow in its wake. Who has taken the precious gem? Can the stone be found and returned to its rightful owners in time to stop the mysterious forces that threaten to tear apart Rachel's life and happiness? Wilkie Collins's classic tale of mystery and intrigue has long delighted readers seeking the truth about the legendary Moonstone.

Sample Installment

The Woman in White

by Wilkie Collins

Description

Love, mystery, and danger combine in Wilkie Collins's haunting tale of The Woman in White. A young art teacher falls in love with one of his students, a girl who is promised to another man. Although the object of the art teacher's affection marries her intended, it soon becomes clear that her husband is no honorable fellow. A dastardly scheme is uncovered, and when they realize that the young bride may be in grave danger, the art teacher and the woman's younger sister join forces to rescue her. Throughout this entrancing tale, the two young people encounter a mysterious lady dressed all in white, who wanders the outskirts of their town, lonely and forlorn. She seems to want to tell them something—perhaps her own tragic story, or even an important warning about their quest. What message might this strange and eerie figure have for the young detectives? Never out of print since its first publication, the mystery of The Woman in White continues to intrigue readers to this day with its ghostly beauty and unforgettable events.

Sample Installment

The Deerslayer

by James Fenimore Cooper

Description

Set in the pre-revolutionary days of the untamed American frontier, The Deerslayer (1841) is James Fenimore Cooper's tale of Natty Bumppo, a hardy man who maintains high ideals even amid the brutal facts of the world around him. The French and Indian war is raging as the novel begins. Natty is on a mission, with his Native American friend Chingachook, to save Chingachook's wife from the hands of kidnappers from the rival Iroquois tribe. As the story unfolds, the conflict between the Iroquois and the Delaware people figures prominently, with bloody confrontations taking their toll on friends and enemies alike. Natty and his English and Native American friends must face many challenges as they fend for themselves during this critical and dangerous period of American history, always in hope of making their dream of safety and freedom a reality.

Sample Installment

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Description

Here are twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, the first to feature his immortal detective, Sherlock Holmes. A man of reason and astute reflection, Sherlock Holmes brings order and answers to the mysteries woven by hidden identities, heinous acts, and crimes of passion and deceit. With his keen insight into human nature, Holmes is able to use his signature witty brand of intelligence, rationale, and clever observation to uncover the truth and bring his culprits to justice.

Sample Installment