The Second Perimeter

A low-level Navy bureaucrat insists there's something fishy down at the shipyards but is fruitless in his efforts to convince anyone in his organization that an investigation is needed. Instead, his connections with the Speaker of the House provoke a cursory inquiry from troubleshooter Joe DeMarco. When the whistle-blower is killed, DeMarco and his sidekick, Emma, a retired DIA agent, suspect an espionage ring. Reader Scott Brick demonstrates his skill with political thrillers, nimbly depicting DeMarco's multilayered determination and insecurities. Brick reads cool-but-competent Emma with starch and determination. The story's fast pace is intermingled with understated depth of character for DeMarco and Emma. N.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

May 29, 2006
The second outing for political troubleshooter Joe DeMarco, who's employed by House Speaker John Mahoney, proves that Lawson's fine debut, The Inside Ring
(2005), was no fluke. Soon after DeMarco's arrival at the U.S. naval base in Bremerton, Wash., which an espionage ring has infiltrated, dead spies start turning up. Their control, a beautiful Chinese national, Li Mei, appears to be killing her underlings once they complete their jobs. After Li Mei gets her hands on top secret information about nuclear submarine technology, she boldly takes the next step—kidnapping one of DeMarco's operatives, who, theoretically, could be tortured into revealing more secrets about nuclear subs. While the author's prose is highly readable and his plot fast-paced, it's the character of DeMarco, a man of insecurities, weaknesses and outright defects, that separates this new series from the herd. DeMarco also has a dry, self-deprecating sense of humor that contrasts nicely to the solemn gravity of his professional circumstances.