The Second Perimeter

By: Mike Lawson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

The dazzling sequel to The Inside Ring finds Joe DeMarco, the Speaker of the House’s all-purpose “fixer,” in a battle of wits against a lethal female spy.

On a tip from his nephew, the Secretary of the Navy asks House Speaker John Mahoney to send his troubleshooter, Joe DeMarco, to check out a potential case of fraud within the navy. As DeMarco and his friend Emma, a retired DIA agent, begin to investigate, they come to the terrifying realization that an espionage ring has infiltrated the naval base. The leader of the espionage cell is a woman with whom Emma has a history that goes back to the cold war.

Their encounter destroyed the woman’s once promising career and turned her into a ruthless operative who cares about only one thing: destroying Emma. DeMarco has never been near a spy in his life and now he’s dealing with a foreign agent who is more deadly than anyone he’s ever encountered.

©2006 Mike Lawson (P)2006 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Lawson again ratchets up the suspense and takes DeMarco on a wild ride.” (The Oregonian)

“A deadly and suspenseful war of attack and reprisal.” (Thomas Perry, author of Nightlife)

“Lawson...tells a story that will keep the reader up late at night.” (Wisconsin State Journal)

Second Perimeter

Good story. Scott Brick excellent as always. Would buy this author again. A little long in content.

Good Read

Though i didn't read this series in order I still thoroughly enjoyed it. the characters are flawed, yet funny and likeable.

Really enjoyable series

I discovered these seriea recently (i know it's old). It does hold well even thoigh technology has changed

Story fine but wrong narrator.

The Joe Demarco series by Mike Lawson is my favorite discovery of the year. I got most of the audiobooks through Hoopla from my local library, but the books are good enough that I'm willing to buy the rest of the series here. This is the second book, before they found Joe Barrett to narrate. The reader is Scott Brick who is a favorite of many audiobook listeners. I'm not one of them. In general I find his performances too "emotionally labile," which is something Joe Demarco is not. The deep, steady voice of Barrett in the later books is just right.

Highly recommended

I highly recommend ALL books by this author MIKE LAWSON. Character development and writing style are second to none. THE BEST.

Miss Joe Barret

The story was as good as ever and this narrator is good. But not Joe… the only other issue I had was with the sound editing. The narrator would barely finish a chapter and would be interrupted by himself stating the next chapter. Is quite jarring and took away from the experience. Hopefully, that might be correctable.

Joe DeMarco Series

Plot. Joe DeMarco, a guy in his late 30s, has a law degree but cannot find a job because he is the son of a deceased mafia hitman. Joe has never been involved with the mob in any way; he's never even owned a gun. Joe gets a job working in the Capitol. Seems the Speaker of the House had an affair with Joe's aunt and she calls in a favor. Joe is a decent guy, divorced, a bit of a horn dog, lazy, and would rather be playing golf. Speaker of the House John Mahone is a demanding alcoholic, a womanizer, as crooked as all politicians, feared by everyone who knows him - except his wife - a gal everyone adores. Mahone has a few redeeming traits, like a love of the veteran. There is another character of interest. Emma is a woman of high moral standards, a retired deep black ops gal that knows everyone and everything. She hates Mahone because she knows he's a typically devious politician but treats Joe as an annoying younger brother.

The series consists of several full-length novels - each with a beginning - middle - end, meaning you don't have to start with book one, The Inside Ring - but it will help with continuity. Bribing for votes, blackmail, dirty politicians and cops from the FBI to local police, heroic war veterans, and many good guys. From the basement of the capitol to alligator swamps, the series contains a wide range of plots. Narration is fine - Scott Brick does the first two books, Joe Barrett the remainder - no issues with either.

The Joe DeMarco Series is written by Michael Lawson, each book in the area of 10 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released starting in 2005 through today by Random House and Blackstone Publishing.

Entertaining.

Always a joy to find a "new" author!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Second Perimeter to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print verson

Who was your favorite character and why?

DeMarco. Here's a hero that's a little out of the norm. A lawyer who's never practiced law, works for a corrupt politician, yet gets the job done despite his boss

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Scott Brick brings life to every book he narrates! "The Voice" infuses the characters with a personality.....charm, anger, frustration....emotions that don't always come through on a black and white page.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Not your ordinary hero......

Curious To Know?

I ran out of Joe DeMarco series read by Joe Barrett and wanted the back story on Emma. Books #1 & 2 are narrated by the great Scott Brick, See Clive Cussler Isaac Bell Adventures for his best work or Nelson DeMille, John Cory series, both not to be missed.
#1 & 2 really have the well liked Emma character. The publishers summery is spot on in this fast pace adventure. Lots more foul language in this novel vs book #14 so beware. I can see why author changed to Joe Barrett as he epitomizes Joe DeMarco dry wit and CAPTURES the Boston Speaker of the House John Mahoney so spot on that he is my favorite character in this series. Mr Barrett Boston accent for this series brings out the best parts of Mahoney because this character is just plain irreverent but loves his constituents. I do use the 1.2 speed to match the adventure, give it a try.
I did not read this series in order, shame on me, but had I started with 1&2, I may not have gone on with this author’s work. Hence start with #3 first to get the groove of the author.
For more great Joe Barrett, see Brian Haig, Sean Drummond series, my top fave of his work, LOL narration.
Were my comments of help?

I want more

I just listened to both of Michael's books, 'The Inside Ring' and 'The Second Perimeter'. I want more. Good action, keeps interest level high, and the 2ns book (The Second Perimeter) is even better than the first.