Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Asset by Mike Lawson

  

The nineteenth book by Mike Lawson about political fixer Joe DeMarco, The Asset (Atlantic Grove, February 2026), finds DeMarco in the midst of his usual covert investigation and problem solving while yearning to perfect his golf swing. Former Speaker of the House, and still mightily annoyed about it, John Mahoney is approached by an ex-CIA agent who tells him that she witnessed the wife of a senior Senator meeting with a Chinese intelligence agent. Instead of reporting the matter to the FBI, Mahoney tasks DeMarco with verifying the connection and then learning more. DeMarco finds out that the wife is being blackmailed over something her college-aged daughter did that could send her to prison. The Chinese agent is willing to exchange his silence for her classified information, creating an impossible situation for this veteran political wife.

DeMarco doesn’t understand how the information came into the agent’s hands initially and wonders if the videotaped evidence has been falsified, and if so, why. He delves further into the background of the daughter, the Chinese agent, and the technical genesis of the video, which yields more questions than answers.

Although DeMarco is denied the assistance of his usual sidekick, retired DIA agent Emma, who despises Mahoney but helps DeMarco when she’s bored, he does have the expertise of a professional hacker now turned white hat and working for the Department of Homeland Security. Neil is happy being on the right side of the law for a change, although large sums of money can make him revert to his old ways.

I was amused to note that the description of the Senator and his wife bears close resemblance to an actual power couple on the Hill.

DeMarco manages to just barely escape being shot or drowned as he is caught up in a dizzyingly escalating torrent of backstabbing players who double-cross each other and then double-cross the double-crossersn.

While this outing starts out amusingly with DeMarco on one of his expeditions for Mahoney, this one in the bucolic hills of eastern Kentucky where he’s getting his city clothes muddy, the story becomes serious quickly and grows increasingly bleaker until the end, which is stunning.

  

 

·         Publisher: ‎Atlantic Crime

·         Publication date ‎February 3, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎320 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎0802167004

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-0802167002

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4qMRTqo

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.