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Whistleblower
"WHISTLEBLOWER
Mike Stratton, a disbarred attorney, recently released from federal prison, wakes up in jail in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, his boyhood hometown, suffering from amnesia and charged with the rape and murder of Diane Lawson, a high school girlfriend, whose half-naked body was found in his Winnebago at a local campground. Stratton's last memory is arriving unannounced at his Encino home, where he discovered his wife, Shiela, playing house with Gordon Hellerâ his best friend, former law partner, and a co-participant in the insider-trading scheme that sent Stratton to prison.
When C. J. Hagerty, the feisty and eccentric female attorney appointed to defend Stratton, wins a bail hearing, Stratton is forced to confront his own demons as he sets out to discover if he, or someone else, killed Diane Lawson. Set against the background of colorful San Diego, Whistleblower is a tightly crafted murder mystery and courtroom drama that will have readers turning the pages until the final plot-twisting denouement.
"
Mike Stratton, a disbarred attorney, recently released from federal prison, wakes up in jail in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, his boyhood hometown, suffering from amnesia and charged with the rape and murder of Diane Lawson, a high school girlfriend, whose half-naked body was found in his Winnebago at a local campground. Stratton's last memory is arriving unannounced at his Encino home, where he discovered his wife, Shiela, playing house with Gordon Hellerâ his best friend, former law partner, and a co-participant in the insider-trading scheme that sent Stratton to prison.
When C. J. Hagerty, the feisty and eccentric female attorney appointed to defend Stratton, wins a bail hearing, Stratton is forced to confront his own demons as he sets out to discover if he, or someone else, killed Diane Lawson. Set against the background of colorful San Diego, Whistleblower is a tightly crafted murder mystery and courtroom drama that will have readers turning the pages until the final plot-twisting denouement.
"
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 19, 2015
Michael Stratton wakes up in jail suffering from amnesia. He has been charged with the rape and murder of Diane Lawson, who was found in his trailer next to Michael who was unconscious.
Michael doesn’t remember anything that happened in the trailer. He had just been released from federal prison on an insider trader charge. After release he had gone immediately to see his family. In the front yard he had seen his son with the baseball glove Michael had given him but he was surprised to see him playing catch with Gordon Heller. Heller was Michael’s former law partner who was also involved in insider trading but Michael had taken the rap for him. Suddenly, Michael saw Gordon put his arm around Shelia, his wife and he lost it. He hits Gordon, and in the process accidentally his wife is hit also. Michael heads to the Watering Hole to drink it off. There he sees the girl who was his first lover, Diane Lawson. He doesn’t remember what happens after that.
In jail he plays chess with one of the guards, Sam Wiggens and they actually strike up a kind of friendship. Michael also is assigned C. J. Haggerty, quite a feisty lawyer by the court. Michael was an attorney before his jail sentence and knows that Haggerty, a smart woman is a great choice but he is determined to investigate himself, against his lawyer’s advice. He finds out that Diane had some things against her employer. Was she about to blow the whistle on him? Part of his memory returns and he knows he didn’t kill her so he continues to investigate and fills out that Diane may have not been interested in doing right thing but in getting money. Is her sister involved, or her strong-willed partner? What about Diane’s employer?
Though Michael has his faults you are pulling for him. He is confronted with some of his own demons and wants to make things right with son. Sam the guard shows himself to be a friend as Michael gets closer to the truth and is in real danger.
Author Richard Hicks, a former attorney writes a fascinating legal thriller that is a real page turner with many twists and turns including the ending which was a surprise but made perfect sense.
Michael doesn’t remember anything that happened in the trailer. He had just been released from federal prison on an insider trader charge. After release he had gone immediately to see his family. In the front yard he had seen his son with the baseball glove Michael had given him but he was surprised to see him playing catch with Gordon Heller. Heller was Michael’s former law partner who was also involved in insider trading but Michael had taken the rap for him. Suddenly, Michael saw Gordon put his arm around Shelia, his wife and he lost it. He hits Gordon, and in the process accidentally his wife is hit also. Michael heads to the Watering Hole to drink it off. There he sees the girl who was his first lover, Diane Lawson. He doesn’t remember what happens after that.
In jail he plays chess with one of the guards, Sam Wiggens and they actually strike up a kind of friendship. Michael also is assigned C. J. Haggerty, quite a feisty lawyer by the court. Michael was an attorney before his jail sentence and knows that Haggerty, a smart woman is a great choice but he is determined to investigate himself, against his lawyer’s advice. He finds out that Diane had some things against her employer. Was she about to blow the whistle on him? Part of his memory returns and he knows he didn’t kill her so he continues to investigate and fills out that Diane may have not been interested in doing right thing but in getting money. Is her sister involved, or her strong-willed partner? What about Diane’s employer?
Though Michael has his faults you are pulling for him. He is confronted with some of his own demons and wants to make things right with son. Sam the guard shows himself to be a friend as Michael gets closer to the truth and is in real danger.
Author Richard Hicks, a former attorney writes a fascinating legal thriller that is a real page turner with many twists and turns including the ending which was a surprise but made perfect sense.
January 1, 2016
Whistleblower is an Eric Hoffer Award winning novel written by retired trial attorney Richard Hicks. The story starts with Mike Stratton waking up in jail. He has no memory of why he is there and soon finds out he has been charged with the rape and murder of Diane Lawson. Although he can’t remember anything about that night, he knows he could not have done these hideous acts and sets out to find the real killer before it’s too late.
As if that isn’t enough, we discover that he was just released from prison where he served time for insider trading and was also disbarred because of this conviction. He arrives home to find his wife shacking up with his ex-partner and realizes his own son barely knows him. With no job and no family, Mike could really use a break. Instead, he ends up right back in jail and it becomes the job of attorney CJ Haggerty to get him out.
I started reading this book and it didn’t take me long to see why it had won an award. Richard Hicks is a talented author and has composed an intricate murder mystery that I could easily see right up there on the best seller list with the likes of Sue Grafton and John Grisham. The characters are well-developed, as well as believable, and the suspense kept building until I was reading and turning pages at a furious pace so I could find out who did it as quickly as possible. Seriously, I couldn’t figure out who the murderer was and it was frustrating me to no end. That right there takes talent as I find many mysteries these days are just a bit predictable and even a bit boring on occasion.
If you like a great mystery you will love this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates a well-developed, well-written story that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.
As if that isn’t enough, we discover that he was just released from prison where he served time for insider trading and was also disbarred because of this conviction. He arrives home to find his wife shacking up with his ex-partner and realizes his own son barely knows him. With no job and no family, Mike could really use a break. Instead, he ends up right back in jail and it becomes the job of attorney CJ Haggerty to get him out.
I started reading this book and it didn’t take me long to see why it had won an award. Richard Hicks is a talented author and has composed an intricate murder mystery that I could easily see right up there on the best seller list with the likes of Sue Grafton and John Grisham. The characters are well-developed, as well as believable, and the suspense kept building until I was reading and turning pages at a furious pace so I could find out who did it as quickly as possible. Seriously, I couldn’t figure out who the murderer was and it was frustrating me to no end. That right there takes talent as I find many mysteries these days are just a bit predictable and even a bit boring on occasion.
If you like a great mystery you will love this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates a well-developed, well-written story that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.
October 2, 2007
WHISTLEBLOWER (Legal Thriller-Southern Calif-Cont) – VG
Hicks, Richard – Standalone
Xlibris, 2007, US Trade Paperback – ISBN: 9781425754259
First Sentence: Even with my eyes closed I knew where I was.
*** Mike Stratton is an attorney disbarred for insider training and just released from prison. His first order of business is to see his son, but doesn’t plan to also see his former partner and his wife, albeit separated, being affectionate toward each other in front of his son. This leads him to severe beating his partner and accidentally give his wife a black eye. However, that’s not nearly as bad as coming to in a hospital, being accused of rape and murder and having no clear memory of the past couple days.
*** A good legal thriller is always fun and this is more than a good legal thriller written by a former trial lawyer, so he knows whereof he speaks, even if he is overly fond of the work “hubris.” The protagonist is far from perfect but recognizes he has been his own worst enemy most of his life. His back story is interesting and fulfilling. The other characters are strong with some unexpected twists. There are a couple large coincidences to the plot, but the story and action was good enough I was willing to forgive them. I really enjoyed the plot unfolding to me, the reader, as it did to the character as it heightened the suspense. This was a terrific read.
Hicks, Richard – Standalone
Xlibris, 2007, US Trade Paperback – ISBN: 9781425754259
First Sentence: Even with my eyes closed I knew where I was.
*** Mike Stratton is an attorney disbarred for insider training and just released from prison. His first order of business is to see his son, but doesn’t plan to also see his former partner and his wife, albeit separated, being affectionate toward each other in front of his son. This leads him to severe beating his partner and accidentally give his wife a black eye. However, that’s not nearly as bad as coming to in a hospital, being accused of rape and murder and having no clear memory of the past couple days.
*** A good legal thriller is always fun and this is more than a good legal thriller written by a former trial lawyer, so he knows whereof he speaks, even if he is overly fond of the work “hubris.” The protagonist is far from perfect but recognizes he has been his own worst enemy most of his life. His back story is interesting and fulfilling. The other characters are strong with some unexpected twists. There are a couple large coincidences to the plot, but the story and action was good enough I was willing to forgive them. I really enjoyed the plot unfolding to me, the reader, as it did to the character as it heightened the suspense. This was a terrific read.
October 31, 2009
Fresh out of prison for insider trading, disbarred lawyer Mike Stratton returns to his Encino home only to discover his wife with Gordon Heller, his former partner and best friend who was a co-participant in the insider trading scheme. After attacking Heller, Stratton is found by police in his travel trailer in Cardiff-by-the Sea, his hometown. In his trailer, the body of 35-year-old Diane Lawson is also found, which leads to his arrest in her murder. The problem? He didn't do it and has amnesia about what happened prior to and after his arrival in Cardiff-by-the Sea.
Hot shot lawyer C. J. Hagerty is appointed to defend Stratton. But Stratton wants to find out who killed Lawson and conducts his own investigation figuring that's the only way to get out of the mess he's in. He enlists the help of contacts from his lawyer past and from his prison days, including chess-playing Sheriff Sam Wiggens.
Author Richard Hicks has written a finely crafted murder mystery that takes readers on a roller-coaster ride with Mike Stratton. This book will keep readers on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what will happen next. Hicks leaves readers with a truly satisfying ending. I would recommend the book to all lovers of courtroom drama and murder mysteries.
Hot shot lawyer C. J. Hagerty is appointed to defend Stratton. But Stratton wants to find out who killed Lawson and conducts his own investigation figuring that's the only way to get out of the mess he's in. He enlists the help of contacts from his lawyer past and from his prison days, including chess-playing Sheriff Sam Wiggens.
Author Richard Hicks has written a finely crafted murder mystery that takes readers on a roller-coaster ride with Mike Stratton. This book will keep readers on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what will happen next. Hicks leaves readers with a truly satisfying ending. I would recommend the book to all lovers of courtroom drama and murder mysteries.
April 11, 2020
From the first line of the book "Even with my eyes closed I knew where I was", I was hooked. I found the Eric Hoffer Award-winning novel Whistleblower, written by retired trial attorney Richard Hicks, a book I had a hard time putting down.
The intricate way talented author Richard Hicks has composed his murder mystery reminds me of the likes of John Grisham.
With well-developed, extremely believable, characters and page-turning suspense brilliantly written; I was guessing right up to the reveal, sure I knew who was responsible, surprised and left thinking ‘wow’.
Some mystery fiction has become generic, easy to figure out, slow-paced novels leaving nothing to the imagination. Luckily the same cannot be said for Whistleblower.
With inside knowledge of the justice system evident in his writing, the conversations and details of the murder investigation provide a refreshing sense of realism culminating in an ultimately satisfying ending, one this reader turned pages at the speed of light to get to.
Richard Hicks has written an admirably crafted murder mystery taking his readers on a roller-coaster ride with Mike Stratton, the unlikeliest of protagonists. This book will keep readers on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what will happen next.
The intricate way talented author Richard Hicks has composed his murder mystery reminds me of the likes of John Grisham.
With well-developed, extremely believable, characters and page-turning suspense brilliantly written; I was guessing right up to the reveal, sure I knew who was responsible, surprised and left thinking ‘wow’.
Some mystery fiction has become generic, easy to figure out, slow-paced novels leaving nothing to the imagination. Luckily the same cannot be said for Whistleblower.
With inside knowledge of the justice system evident in his writing, the conversations and details of the murder investigation provide a refreshing sense of realism culminating in an ultimately satisfying ending, one this reader turned pages at the speed of light to get to.
Richard Hicks has written an admirably crafted murder mystery taking his readers on a roller-coaster ride with Mike Stratton, the unlikeliest of protagonists. This book will keep readers on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what will happen next.
September 19, 2011
I'd give 5 stars if he didn't get amnesia, as amnesia is way too easy to use for a mystery novel. Great read!
June 24, 2012
Richard Hicks is a favorite author of mine...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews