Kingpin: A Joe DeMarco Thriller

Political fixer Joe DeMarco faces familiar challenges in the brisk 17th entry in Lawson’s series (after Alligator Alley), which finds the operative once again dealing with murder and corruption in the nation’s capital. After Brian Lewis—an intern who works for DeMarco’s off-the-books employer, former Speaker of the House John Mahoney—is found dead on the toilet in his D.C. apartment, Mahoney asks DeMarco to investigate. The evidence points toward a fentanyl overdose, but DeMarco quickly discovers that Lewis was secretly investigating a bribery scheme involving 12 members of the House. As DeMarco wades deeper into the scandal, he comes to suspect that Lewis was murdered, and winds up in the crosshairs of Carson Newman, a power broker with ties to the Albanian mafia who’s known for hiring assassins to eliminate his enemies. Despite the lackluster finale, Lawson continues to capture the qualities that have made DeMarco so easy to root for across the past two decades: his abhorrence of injustice and his willingness to get his hands dirty in service of the greater good. Well-drawn side characters and plausible renderings of crooked political dealings provide a boost. Lawson’s winning formula continues to pay dividends. Agent: Mel Berger, WME. (Feb.)