Mon 15 Jun 2015
M. A. LAWSON – Rosarito Beach. Blue Rider Press, hardcover, December 2013. Signet, paperback, November 2014.
As Mike Lawson, the author has written a series of nine books about Joe DeMarco, whose claim to fame is is job as a troubleshooter for the Speaker of the House in the US Congress. I haven’t read any of them, nor in fact have I ever seen any for sale. I may be looking in the wrong places, since as you know, I far more favor reading detective stories than I do the present day version of men’s adventure fiction.
But once in a while I indulge. I recently came across this book I’d bought late last year and totally forgotten about. It’s the first in a nw series of books about female DEA agent Kay Hamilton. She’s the kind of hard-nosed characters who can play act the role of a Miami druglord’s mistress for several months before shooting him in a final confrontation. (This is in her case file, and not this book’s story.)
Since her male co-workers’ seem to resent her sleeping her way to success in this particular fashion, she’s since been transferred to the San Diego area, where he manages to capture the younger brother of yet another notorious druglord, this one based in Mexico. Which is when all hell hits the fan, as Caesar Olivera is not about to let his brother ever be convicted, no matter how incompetent he is.
And who is in his way is none other than Kay Hamilton.
This is one of those books in which the only way that bad guys can get away with their evil things is to do dumb things. What of course evens things out is that the bad guys do dumb things too.
It’s all pretty predictable stuff, in other words, especially when a 15-year-old girl comes knocking on Kay’s door, telling her that she’s her daughter and that she has nowhere to go and has to move in with her. Kay is not thrilled.
But does that give Olivera the edge he needs? You bet.
Lawson has an easy, fluid writing style that makes the well over 400 pages go very quickly. On that basis alone, I might even read another in the series, but mitigating against that is that by book’s end Kay has worn out her welcome at the DEA, and at the beginning of the next book (showcased at the end of this one) she’s in training for her next job for some sort of super-secret spy organization. I found Kay’s resourceful daughter more interesting as a character than Kay herself, and to tell you the truth, super-secret spy organizations are a dime a dozen these days.
June 15th, 2015 at 4:08 pm
Mike Lawson is one of the best writers in this field, in my opinion. The Joe DeMarco novels are all really good reads. Why he chose to write this new series as “M.A. Lawson” I can’t quite fathom. He’s already built up lots of capital with the other name, and if I hadn’t looked inside the dust jacket when I found this book at the library, and recognized Mike’s picture, I might have passed it by.
So anyway, the new series (two novels so far) is a little over-the-top but enjoyable, and I will certainly keep on reading Mike under any name he chooses to publish under.
June 15th, 2015 at 5:24 pm
Your point about using a new byline is well taken, Howard. When you put it that way, it does seem strange. I am going to seek out the first of the DeMarco books, but the sneak peek at the second Kay Hamilton book wasn’t all that encouraging. I enjoyed this first one, though, or I never would have finished it.
June 16th, 2015 at 7:03 am
It sounds like the kind of book (or television show) I really hate. I have been meaning to try the DeMarco series since George Easter has been touting them for years.
June 16th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
Nope, don’t think so. Not unless something distinguishes them from everyone else writing the same story. Feisty resourceful kids are a dime a dozen in these. Tough female agents are too. I need something more.
And sorry guys, considering who the Speaker of the House is I can pretty well be assured I don’t want to read the other series.
June 16th, 2015 at 6:11 pm
I don’t think it’s the same guy. From the Spy Guys and Gals website:
“… the Speaker, who works tirelessly for the People but isn’t adverse to a little kickback now and then, drinks like a sailor while able to preach like a thumper, and loves his wife of 40 years with great devotion and has numerous liaisons with others from time to time.”
Or maybe it is. What do I know?
June 19th, 2015 at 4:38 pm
I used to like to drive down to Rosarito Beach, drink beer and eat shrimp. That was in the good old days, 1970s, when you could just go do that and no one hassled you. I miss the old days. As for the book, nope, not my style.