The Asset

In Lawson’s passable latest outing for Joe DeMarco (after Untouchable), the Washington, D.C., fixer tangles with a suspected double agent who’s trying to take down a U.S. senator. DeMarco gets pulled into the sticky case when his boss, Speaker of the House John Mahoney, orders him to investigate a rumor that Lydia Chang, wife of Senator Douglas McMillian, may be passing secrets to the Chinese. DeMarco soon learns that the situation is more nuanced than it appears, because Chang is being blackmailed by a Chinese operative who has gotten his hands on a cellphone video showing Chang’s daughter Jenny, a freshman at Georgetown University, killing a man in a hit-and-run. As DeMarco tries to sort fact from fiction, one name keeps coming up: Diane Lake, a former CIA analyst now working for a shadowy company that specializes in opposition research. Lake, it turns out, maintains a strong relationship with a New York billionaire who has a burning hatred for McMillian. The novel’s straightforward plot doesn’t play to Lawson’s talent for dreaming up dark dealings in the halls of power, but there’s enough momentum to keep readers rapt. This isn’t the author’s best, but dedicated fans will find enough to enjoy. Agent: Mel Berger, WME. (Feb.)