The Asset
A Joe DeMarco Thriller
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- Pedido anticipado
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- Se espera: 3 feb 2026
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- USD 9.99
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- Pedido anticipado
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- USD 9.99
Descripción editorial
Backchannel intel points Joe DeMarco in the direction of a possible double agent in the latest pulse-pounding thriller from Edgar and Barry Award finalist Mike Lawson starring his beloved Washington DC troubleshooter.
In the middle of the night, on a winding road in a suburb outside of Washington D.C., a homeless veteran is killed in a hit-and-run—a tragedy that barely catches the attention of the media and police.
Days later, John Mahoney, the former Speaker of the House, is confronted by Diane Lake, an ex-CIA agent turned political researcher with a knack for digging up unsavory intelligence on some of D.C.’s biggest players. Diane is there with a gift for Mahoney: the news that Lydia Chang, the wife of one of his biggest rivals, might be working undercover as a Chinese agent.
Knowing it’s too early to get the FBI involved, Mahoney does the only thing left to do. He calls in Joe DeMarco.
DeMarco might not have the title of political researcher, but he’s no stranger to digging up dirt either. As DeMarco starts his investigation, he soon learns there’s a lot more going on than Mahoney suspected, and instead of answers, all he finds are more questions. Who’s the mysterious man Lydia Chang has been meeting in the park? Does Diane Lake have an ulterior motive? And why does everything point back to a random hit-and-run?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Lawson's passable latest outing for Joe DeMarco (after Untouchable), the Washington, D.C., fixer tangles with a suspected double agent who's trying to take down a U.S. senator. DeMarco gets pulled into the sticky case when his boss, Speaker of the House John Mahoney, orders him to investigate a rumor that Lydia Chang, wife of Senator Douglas McMillian, may be passing secrets to the Chinese. DeMarco soon learns that the situation is more nuanced than it appears, because Chang is being blackmailed by a Chinese operative who has gotten his hands on a cellphone video showing Chang's daughter Jenny, a freshman at Georgetown University, killing a man in a hit-and-run. As DeMarco tries to sort fact from fiction, one name keeps coming up: Diane Lake, a former CIA analyst now working for a shadowy company that specializes in opposition research. Lake, it turns out, maintains a strong relationship with a New York billionaire who has a burning hatred for McMillian. The novel's straightforward plot doesn't play to Lawson's talent for dreaming up dark dealings in the halls of power, but there's enough momentum to keep readers rapt. This isn't the author's best, but dedicated fans will find enough to enjoy.
