Lawson, Michael 1948–

PERSONAL: Born 1948.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Doubleday, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Writer. Formerly worked with U.S. Navy as senior civilian executive contractor in Seattle, WA.

WRITINGS:

The Inside Ring (fiction), Doubleday (New York, NY), 2005.

ADAPTATIONS: The Inside Ring was adapted as an audiobook.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Another thriller, tentatively titled Miss July.

SIDELIGHTS: In his first novel, The Inside Ring, Michael Lawson presents a thriller about an assassination attempt on the president of the United States. Unlike other assassination thrillers, The Inside Ring opens with the assassination attempt gone wrong. The sniper-assassin misses the president, but kills a secret service agent and a reporter. The supposed perpetrator commits suicide a few days later, leaving behind a note admitting to the attempt. There is more going on, however: the director of Homeland Security had received an early tip that the assassination attempt was going to take place, but when he passed the information on to the head of the Secret Service, that man seemingly ignored the threat. Joe Demarco, a troubleshooting, tough lawyer who works as a "fixer" for the U.S. Speaker of the House, is asked by the Homeland Security director to look into the failed attempt, which may involve members of the Secret Service itself. "Thus begins a series of compelling incidents, enlivened by just the right touch of menace and mystery," wrote Ronnie H. Terpening in the Library Journal. A Publishers Weekly contributor called Lawson's first novel "high-level entertainment from a writer who could soon rise to the top of the thriller heap." In a review on Bookreporter.com Joe Hartlaub commented that the first-time author "comes right out of the gate with a confident work containing intriguing characters working their way through a complex but navigable plot." Hartlaub also noted that "DeMarco is an interesting character," and added that "Lawson, given the nature of DeMarco's work and his position, will have a broad canvas to work from in future novels."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2005, David Pitt, review of The Inside Ring, p. 1147.

Library Journal, May 15, 2005, Ronnie H. Terpening, review of The Inside Ring, p. 106.

Publishers Weekly, June 21, 2004, John F. Baker, "A Winning First Sentence," p. 12; March 21, 2005, review of The Inside Ring, p. 36.

ONLINE

Bookbrowse.com, http://www.bookbrowse.com/ (July 19, 2005), brief biography of author.

Bookreporter.com, http://www.bookreporter.com/ (July 10, 2005), Joe Hartlaub, review of The Inside Ring.