Book Review: House Witness by Mike Lawson (2019 Edgar Nominee - Best Novel)

House Witness

Author: Mike Lawson

Publisher: Grove/Atlantic Inc.

Date of Publication: February 6, 2018

Pages: 368

     This is one of the six nominated for the 2019 Best Novel Edgar Award by the Mystery Writer's of America.  I have previously read and reviewed The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard.  House Witness is my early on favorite to win it (of course I need to read the other four).

    This book is primarily set in New York City and has a very intriguing premise.  How does a lawyer, no matter how good he is, get a jury to deliver a "Not Guilty" verdict in a murder trial when there are five credible eye witnesses who saw the accused shoot a man in a Manhattan bar?  That's the conundrum faced by attorney David Slade.  The only thing that his client, ne'er-do-well law school graduate (but can't pass the bar exam) Toby Rosenthal has going for him is that his corporate attorney Dad is filthy rich.  That's when Slade makes some discreet calls and hires the ultimate "jury consultants" Ella Fields and Bill Cantwell.

    Complicating the case is the fact that the victim, Dominic DiNunzio, is the illegitimate son of  the current minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, John Mahoney and his former legislative assistant, who is now an influential political power broker in New York state.  Mahoney sends his own fixer, Joe DeMarco, to New York to ensure that Rosenthal is convicted.  A cat and mouse game ensues between DeMarco, Ella Fields and the five witnesses.

     The back stories of all of the main characters are cleverly introduced through flashbacks.  The story of Ella Fields is particularly captivating.  She is a small town country girl who won't accept her lot in life decides she wants a lot more.  She leaves her family and moves to the big city of Charleston, South Carolina.  She learns the ways of the more cultured and aristocratic, eventually catching the eye of Bill Cantwell, a disbarred lawyer who specializes in making impossible situations become possible .  Mike Lawson actually has you rooting for the bad guys (although who the bad guys are in this book is a fluid notion).  The plot is so believable, the characters are so exceptionally well developed, the pace is so fast (though not hurried) and the dialogue is so genuine that the book is nearly impossible to put down.  Add to this the New York setting and in my opinion you have the perfect crime novel!  If Ed McBain was alive and writing, he would have written House Witness.  This book is that good!

     There are ten more Joe DeMarco novels by Mike Lawson.  I'm tempted to punt the last four Edgar nominees and jump into the Lawson back list instead!