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HOUSE RULES
by Mike Lawson
Atlantic Monthly Press, June 2008
368 pages
$23.00
ISBN: 0871139839


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

After the horrific events of 9/11, many Americans became very distrustful of people of certain ethnic backgrounds. Several groups and politicians seized upon these suspicions to further their own agendas. Among them is Senator William Broderick, author of an extreme anti-Muslim bill. Among its provisions is a plan for a mass deportation of all Muslims who are not American citizens and a proposal that background checks be performed on all Muslim Americans.

Supposedly, these background checks would reveal if a Muslim belonged to a radical group or supported radical causes. Although many people rightfully object to the trampling of these Americans' civil liberties, others support the bill wholeheartedly. And after a series of terrorist acts committed by several Muslim Americans, it appears that the bill will easily be passed.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Mahoney, is one person who believes that Broderick's bill is completely unacceptable. One of the so-called terrorist acts was committed by the son of a close friend of his. Reza Zarif killed his wife and children and tried to fly a plane into the White House. Of course, he was gunned down before that could happen. The action is so completely out of character that Mahoney asks his aide to look into it.

Joe DeMarco is hidden deep within the government bureaucracy; in spite of a fancy title, his real job is to do whatever Mahoney needs - whether that be investigating something, digging up dirt on enemies, or collecting bribes - without worrying about the niceties of laws and ethics.

As DeMarco proceeds, not very successfully, he finds that all of the "terrorist" acts appear to have been committed by people who didn't have any overriding political agenda or motivation to sacrifice themselves for the terrorist cause. He's convinced that each of these people was forced to participate in the attacks because of threats made to those they loved. How else do you explain an ordinary cab driver strapping packs of C-4 explosive to his chest and trying to enter the Capitol, a lazy security guard pulling off a heroic action only to be killed and so on? DeMarco taps into every resource he can find to prove his theory; but if it's true, the mastermind has covered his tracks thoroughly.

HOUSE RULES is an exciting and suspenseful book and an excellent revelation of how the game is played in our nation's capital. I liked the fact that DeMarco and his cohorts weren't easily able to uncover the truth about the terrorist acts. In fact, there is another attack being planned that never comes to his attention, possibly the most chilling action of them all. A radical is training a young boy to perform a suicide bombing mission of an oil refinery. If successful, there would be death on a huge scale.

DeMarco is an imperfect human being, often resentful of what Mahoney asks him to do, but resourceful at the same time. Mahoney is a larger than life character whose drive and ambition power the book, and the villains are nicely nefarious with no need to twirl their mustaches.

Lawson did a fine job of creating a relevant and topical political thriller with its apocalyptic subject matter balanced by large dollops of sardonic humor. The denouement is exciting and believable, but ironic at the same time. In fact, I'm still chuckling at the last paragraph. I found the book to be engrossing and a refreshingly different take on the typical terrorist conspiracy novel.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, June 2008

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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