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Right to an Attorney
Stealing $3 Billion Will Change His Life. Or End It.Dexter Parker just got out of prison and has $3.3 billion a few weeks later. He most certainly is guilty of something. A double-homicide and theft, for starters.Dexter Parker,35, is a former investment banker and a killer. He gets 106 investors to believe in a new computer invention. After stealing more than 3.3 billion dollars, he exercises his right to an attorney. In fact, he believes he has a right to a lawyer named Janet and another named Dana. Sex with either of them would leave no room for error in the client-attorney relationship.
The FBI wants to bring in the mastermind of the investment scam, but their investigation is complicated when the IRS informs them that the main suspect is a victim of identity theft. A stakeout and video recording reveal that Dexter flirts and sleeps with his brother's wife. The Feds see no reason to keep this a secret.
When one of the lawyers gets kidnapped by an angry investor, Dexter has to decide whether he should give up all the stolen money—and even his life—for her safe return. She is, after all, pregnant with his only child. First, though, he will have to go to trial for his crimes, and this means facing his brother on the witness stand. Not even a judge can predict what happens next in the courtroom.
˃˃˃ If you like legal thrillers or psychological thrillers that defy your predictions, Right to an Attorney could make you look at other thrillers differently.
Right to A Female-Driven Revenge Thrillerby R. Sims is also out now.
The FBI wants to bring in the mastermind of the investment scam, but their investigation is complicated when the IRS informs them that the main suspect is a victim of identity theft. A stakeout and video recording reveal that Dexter flirts and sleeps with his brother's wife. The Feds see no reason to keep this a secret.
When one of the lawyers gets kidnapped by an angry investor, Dexter has to decide whether he should give up all the stolen money—and even his life—for her safe return. She is, after all, pregnant with his only child. First, though, he will have to go to trial for his crimes, and this means facing his brother on the witness stand. Not even a judge can predict what happens next in the courtroom.
˃˃˃ If you like legal thrillers or psychological thrillers that defy your predictions, Right to an Attorney could make you look at other thrillers differently.
Right to A Female-Driven Revenge Thrillerby R. Sims is also out now.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 3, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 17, 2018
NOTE: The author graciously gave me a copy of this book and asked me to write a review.
At one point in his thriller, Right to an Attorney, author R. Sims has one of his characters make a comment about why Hillary Clinton lost the Presidential election. Obviously, the author stays on top of current events and was able to incorporate the election result in a book I received in paperback form less than a month afterwards. Unfortunately, the author would have been better served spending some more time working out the bugs in his manuscript or, better, submitting it to a decent editor.
Right to an Attorney is the story of Dexter Parker, a criminal genius who masterminds a $3 billion financial scam while in jail and tries to frame his co-conspirator, a computer whiz, for the crime. Now out of prison, Parker has lots of people on his trail, from FBI agents to operatives working for one of the bilked investors, a tycoon who is upset about being conned out of over a billion dollars in the scheme. Parker, however, has spent his time and money well, hiring or bribing lots of people to help in his complicated scheme and, at the same time, hiring and bedding two attractive defense attorneys on opposite sides of the country.
I enjoy reading about complicated scams, real or fictional, as much as anyone, and the idea behind Right to an Attorney is certainly clever enough. But the book fails in its execution on many levels, beginning with the most basic, surface plausibility. Thrillers like this require a certain suspension of disbelief, but they still have to have an air of, what Stephen Colbert referred to as “truthiness” about them. In other words, they don’t have to be possible, but they have to seem possible. Right to an Attorney is riddled with factual mistakes and implausibilities in both the legal and financial areas.
At its most basic, this type of scam could never occur for that much money. Author Sims refers repeatedly to FBI and IRS investigations, but he completely omits the most important regulatory body involved, the SEC. Parker’s scheme requires people to invest money in a computer company that has some type of “miracle” computer. While people do invest in such high-tech efforts regularly, there would have to be extensive filings with the SEC before a publicly traded company could acquire such capital. Similarly, anyone investing a huge chunk of his individual wealth Warren Buffett’s net worth is about $70 billion, so that size investment would make a dent in anyone’s fortune) would require substantial convincing. Bernie Madoff pulled off his scam by getting people to invest significantly smaller individual amounts in a lightly regulated hedge fund that allegedly invested in many ventures, something that invoked far less regulatory scrutiny. In addition, Dexter Parker’s plan involves converting the money into bearer bonds, a form of currency that remains popular in fiction but is largely extinct today, especially for transactions that size. The book has a number of legal errors as well. Attorneys do not get licensed to practice “federal law,” as one attorney claims, nor is there a U.S. District Court of Los Angeles (it’s the Southern District of California).
But these mistakes pale in the light of what proves to be the book’s biggest stumbling block possible in a thriller. Namely, it all comes way to easy for Parker. At every step of the way in Right to an Attorney, Parker has someone in place who’s been bought off and then helps him by fabricating a story or doing something else that furthers his schemes. Leaving aside the enormously complex set of financial arrangements that would be required in most cases to funnel that much cash to that many people in that short a period of time, these frequent payoffs become a cop=out, a variant on Parker’s having a magic wand he can wave to solve all his problems. Most frustrating of all is the “trial,” at which the government relies solely on the testimony of various cops, FBI agents, informants, and former associates of Parker’s, whose testimony is given only in broad generalities, is easily impeachable, even by Parker’s relatively inexperienced defense attorney. In reality, before the government would bring a case like this to trial, it would take weeks having forensic accountants and other experts walk the jury through the money trail (the trial of Dennis Kozlowski, CEO of Tyco, took six months).
Right to an Attorney also suffers from another problem that’s often fatal to thrillers. It’s a bit of a slog to get through. The author starts by spending the first quarter of the book introducing numerous characters in a few confusing chapters. Later, the storyline is easier to follow, but the book is still filled with a lot of annoying errors, including numerous spelling, grammatical, and stylistic errors and a bizarre, seemingly random method of deciding when to capitalize words. Further, the book has far too many chapters, with several chapter breaks occurring in the middle of scenes for no reason I could discern. The author’s description of his characters is also annoying. Almost every character is described by race and age, as “a 32-year-old black guy” or “a 45-year-old white guy.” More experienced authors learn to work such description into the book only when needed and much more seamlessly. Similarly, Sims is preoccupied with numbers, describing the exact amounts of money involved in transaction after transaction (I half- expected him to mention how much a drive-through meal at McDonalds cost). Parker Parker even recounts at one point to the minute how long each of his sexual encounters in the book lasted.
No one flaw sinks Right to an Attorney, but the accumulation of bad writing, combined with a highly implausible plot, sketchy description of the key events in the book, lame dialogue, and shallow characters who, with the exception of Parker and a couple of others, are, quite conveniently, ridiculously stupid, dissipated whatever interest the story may have had initially. There are a handful of good lines and clever quips in the book, but they are few and far between. The rest was rarely entertaining and never suspenseful. At a minimum, the book required substantial additional research and editing before being published. Despite the author’s obvious love for his antiheroic main character, Right to an Attorney fails to state its case.
At one point in his thriller, Right to an Attorney, author R. Sims has one of his characters make a comment about why Hillary Clinton lost the Presidential election. Obviously, the author stays on top of current events and was able to incorporate the election result in a book I received in paperback form less than a month afterwards. Unfortunately, the author would have been better served spending some more time working out the bugs in his manuscript or, better, submitting it to a decent editor.
Right to an Attorney is the story of Dexter Parker, a criminal genius who masterminds a $3 billion financial scam while in jail and tries to frame his co-conspirator, a computer whiz, for the crime. Now out of prison, Parker has lots of people on his trail, from FBI agents to operatives working for one of the bilked investors, a tycoon who is upset about being conned out of over a billion dollars in the scheme. Parker, however, has spent his time and money well, hiring or bribing lots of people to help in his complicated scheme and, at the same time, hiring and bedding two attractive defense attorneys on opposite sides of the country.
I enjoy reading about complicated scams, real or fictional, as much as anyone, and the idea behind Right to an Attorney is certainly clever enough. But the book fails in its execution on many levels, beginning with the most basic, surface plausibility. Thrillers like this require a certain suspension of disbelief, but they still have to have an air of, what Stephen Colbert referred to as “truthiness” about them. In other words, they don’t have to be possible, but they have to seem possible. Right to an Attorney is riddled with factual mistakes and implausibilities in both the legal and financial areas.
At its most basic, this type of scam could never occur for that much money. Author Sims refers repeatedly to FBI and IRS investigations, but he completely omits the most important regulatory body involved, the SEC. Parker’s scheme requires people to invest money in a computer company that has some type of “miracle” computer. While people do invest in such high-tech efforts regularly, there would have to be extensive filings with the SEC before a publicly traded company could acquire such capital. Similarly, anyone investing a huge chunk of his individual wealth Warren Buffett’s net worth is about $70 billion, so that size investment would make a dent in anyone’s fortune) would require substantial convincing. Bernie Madoff pulled off his scam by getting people to invest significantly smaller individual amounts in a lightly regulated hedge fund that allegedly invested in many ventures, something that invoked far less regulatory scrutiny. In addition, Dexter Parker’s plan involves converting the money into bearer bonds, a form of currency that remains popular in fiction but is largely extinct today, especially for transactions that size. The book has a number of legal errors as well. Attorneys do not get licensed to practice “federal law,” as one attorney claims, nor is there a U.S. District Court of Los Angeles (it’s the Southern District of California).
But these mistakes pale in the light of what proves to be the book’s biggest stumbling block possible in a thriller. Namely, it all comes way to easy for Parker. At every step of the way in Right to an Attorney, Parker has someone in place who’s been bought off and then helps him by fabricating a story or doing something else that furthers his schemes. Leaving aside the enormously complex set of financial arrangements that would be required in most cases to funnel that much cash to that many people in that short a period of time, these frequent payoffs become a cop=out, a variant on Parker’s having a magic wand he can wave to solve all his problems. Most frustrating of all is the “trial,” at which the government relies solely on the testimony of various cops, FBI agents, informants, and former associates of Parker’s, whose testimony is given only in broad generalities, is easily impeachable, even by Parker’s relatively inexperienced defense attorney. In reality, before the government would bring a case like this to trial, it would take weeks having forensic accountants and other experts walk the jury through the money trail (the trial of Dennis Kozlowski, CEO of Tyco, took six months).
Right to an Attorney also suffers from another problem that’s often fatal to thrillers. It’s a bit of a slog to get through. The author starts by spending the first quarter of the book introducing numerous characters in a few confusing chapters. Later, the storyline is easier to follow, but the book is still filled with a lot of annoying errors, including numerous spelling, grammatical, and stylistic errors and a bizarre, seemingly random method of deciding when to capitalize words. Further, the book has far too many chapters, with several chapter breaks occurring in the middle of scenes for no reason I could discern. The author’s description of his characters is also annoying. Almost every character is described by race and age, as “a 32-year-old black guy” or “a 45-year-old white guy.” More experienced authors learn to work such description into the book only when needed and much more seamlessly. Similarly, Sims is preoccupied with numbers, describing the exact amounts of money involved in transaction after transaction (I half- expected him to mention how much a drive-through meal at McDonalds cost). Parker Parker even recounts at one point to the minute how long each of his sexual encounters in the book lasted.
No one flaw sinks Right to an Attorney, but the accumulation of bad writing, combined with a highly implausible plot, sketchy description of the key events in the book, lame dialogue, and shallow characters who, with the exception of Parker and a couple of others, are, quite conveniently, ridiculously stupid, dissipated whatever interest the story may have had initially. There are a handful of good lines and clever quips in the book, but they are few and far between. The rest was rarely entertaining and never suspenseful. At a minimum, the book required substantial additional research and editing before being published. Despite the author’s obvious love for his antiheroic main character, Right to an Attorney fails to state its case.
November 21, 2016
R. Sims is God's gift to the Thriller genre.
A traffic stop and a set of loose lips gets my attention from the start. Right to an Attorney begins in the middle of a problem, and the author never lets up until the last page. It was interesting (and refreshing) how bits and pieces of the back story sparsely populated the book. I hate when authors pile it all up in the beginning. This author jumps right in and floors it.
Dexter Parker stole billions of dollars and, in the process, framed an ex-prison pal with murder. He hires two lawyers, women with whom he becomes romantically involved, and then a federal investigation begins.
Dexter really has his way with the FBI, but due process does not apply when an investor comes for him. The twists are a joy, the courtroom scenes are riveting, and the uniqueness of the overall story is on par with the best of them.
Read this book!
A traffic stop and a set of loose lips gets my attention from the start. Right to an Attorney begins in the middle of a problem, and the author never lets up until the last page. It was interesting (and refreshing) how bits and pieces of the back story sparsely populated the book. I hate when authors pile it all up in the beginning. This author jumps right in and floors it.
Dexter Parker stole billions of dollars and, in the process, framed an ex-prison pal with murder. He hires two lawyers, women with whom he becomes romantically involved, and then a federal investigation begins.
Dexter really has his way with the FBI, but due process does not apply when an investor comes for him. The twists are a joy, the courtroom scenes are riveting, and the uniqueness of the overall story is on par with the best of them.
Read this book!
November 29, 2016
*I was contacted by the Author to received the book for free, in exchange of an honest review, this opinions are of my own*
Man, I am sure glad I was presented with the opportunity to read this book! I love Thrillers, and this book was exactly that! Like other reviews have said, the Author jumps right in, And does not overload you with back story in the first few pages. The Author makes you love the main character, and than quickly dislike the main character. I could see this as a movie, big screen/ small screen. It's a book with potential and I hope that it goes far! The reason for all the scheming is kind of a shocker, it made me kind of love this "bad guy"
Man, I am sure glad I was presented with the opportunity to read this book! I love Thrillers, and this book was exactly that! Like other reviews have said, the Author jumps right in, And does not overload you with back story in the first few pages. The Author makes you love the main character, and than quickly dislike the main character. I could see this as a movie, big screen/ small screen. It's a book with potential and I hope that it goes far! The reason for all the scheming is kind of a shocker, it made me kind of love this "bad guy"
February 7, 2017
The book was interesting. However, I was constantly confused and asking huh. The story tends to jump without a lot of explanation, or so I felt.
January 31, 2017
Short on courtroom drama
I found the book too focused on sex and dishonest conniving scams to commit crimes against others of vast amounts of money.
I found the book too focused on sex and dishonest conniving scams to commit crimes against others of vast amounts of money.
August 16, 2018
‘Right to an Attorney’ was a story about criminal mastermind, Dexter Parker, and the adventures he faced while being under investigation for multiple high level crimes, including murder and stealing billions of dollars from rich investors. Parker had many people on his trail, but to their dismay, he always appeared to be ’10 steps ahead of them’.
Along with dodging the police and his enemies, Parker is also dealing with a complicated love triangle that just happens to involve himself and two of his attorneys!
As the story wears on and the plot continues to thicken, Parker deals with conflict after conflict, to the point that at times, he seems like he may face conviction after all. The story ends with an interesting climax, and the reader is left wondering what will come next in Part 2.
Overall, I think that this was a great psychological thriller. Parker comes across as extremely intelligent, and it is enjoyable to see him get himself out of sticky situations. The only thing that I found slightly difficult was the fact that there were so many characters that it was hard to follow the story line at times, but it didn’t necessarily take away from the story. I would definitely be interested in the next book by this author. Great job.
Along with dodging the police and his enemies, Parker is also dealing with a complicated love triangle that just happens to involve himself and two of his attorneys!
As the story wears on and the plot continues to thicken, Parker deals with conflict after conflict, to the point that at times, he seems like he may face conviction after all. The story ends with an interesting climax, and the reader is left wondering what will come next in Part 2.
Overall, I think that this was a great psychological thriller. Parker comes across as extremely intelligent, and it is enjoyable to see him get himself out of sticky situations. The only thing that I found slightly difficult was the fact that there were so many characters that it was hard to follow the story line at times, but it didn’t necessarily take away from the story. I would definitely be interested in the next book by this author. Great job.
September 7, 2024
On page 6 we are told of a black guy but the skin color of the previous 4 speaking characters are unknown but we can safely assume they are white. Why? Why do we need to know about the skin color of the black guy and not the three males and one female?
I cannot continue reading when authors write with laziness.
I cannot continue reading when authors write with laziness.
March 7, 2017
Impossible to get ahead
New event on every page you turn. Hard to keep up, but if you like to be fooled this book is for you.
New event on every page you turn. Hard to keep up, but if you like to be fooled this book is for you.
May 12, 2017
Good reading.
Sometimes difficult keeping up with the characters, but otherwise good reading. A twisting and compelling plot full of suspense and intrigue.
Sometimes difficult keeping up with the characters, but otherwise good reading. A twisting and compelling plot full of suspense and intrigue.
June 19, 2017
Right to an Attorney
The plot started out slow. The red herrings were numerous. An absolutely brilliant novel with a surprise ending. I savored every moment reading this novel.
The plot started out slow. The red herrings were numerous. An absolutely brilliant novel with a surprise ending. I savored every moment reading this novel.
June 29, 2017
Hard to follow
Too many characters and very difficult to to follow storyline. I hope the next installment is easier to follow and more believable.
Too many characters and very difficult to to follow storyline. I hope the next installment is easier to follow and more believable.
July 23, 2017
Right to an Attorney
Very well written book! Moves ahead at breakneck speed. Ready for the next book. Will be telling all of my friends about this book.
Very well written book! Moves ahead at breakneck speed. Ready for the next book. Will be telling all of my friends about this book.
October 13, 2017
Too many under-developed characters.
Hard to track all of the characters. No Redeeming social value. Heretofore myself th o finish reading this book, sadly
Hard to track all of the characters. No Redeeming social value. Heretofore myself th o finish reading this book, sadly
October 22, 2018
Intriguing read
I found it complicated at first to put all participents of the story into perspective, but the further into the book it became a compelling read.
I found it complicated at first to put all participents of the story into perspective, but the further into the book it became a compelling read.
February 26, 2017
As good as promised
I admit I thought the hype about twists and turns and psychological duping was a bit over the top, but the book delivered!
I admit I thought the hype about twists and turns and psychological duping was a bit over the top, but the book delivered!
November 7, 2016
What in the world did I just read!
Dexter Parker is unforgettable. He served 10 years in prison for manslaughter and became a billionaire within weeks of his release. This speaks to how methodical and careful his planning was while in prison.
But this author started the story right after the $3.3 billion was stolen, and it kept me reading to discover how Dexter had done it. The police investigation and their interviews were helping me learn how he did it, but the same investigation made me stop trusting my own predictions. The book tugged at my heart when I learned that Dexter stole the money so that he could fund a $1.2 billion children's research center. But when he was fooling around with his brother's wife, this made me hate him.
And then this author made me like Dex again. In fact, I think I fell in love with him. This book HAS to become a movie. So evocative. Excellent writing and storytelling.
One small gripe: I don't like how the author failed to "show" me the presentation (I wanted to be there when the investors got tricked out of their money). However, I would give this book 9.9 stars out of 10, so it doesn't feel right to give it only 4 out of 5. I'm very critical, and yet I haven't read a thriller this good since reading John Grisham's The Partner and John Sandford's Certain Prey.
I'm impressed.
Dexter Parker is unforgettable. He served 10 years in prison for manslaughter and became a billionaire within weeks of his release. This speaks to how methodical and careful his planning was while in prison.
But this author started the story right after the $3.3 billion was stolen, and it kept me reading to discover how Dexter had done it. The police investigation and their interviews were helping me learn how he did it, but the same investigation made me stop trusting my own predictions. The book tugged at my heart when I learned that Dexter stole the money so that he could fund a $1.2 billion children's research center. But when he was fooling around with his brother's wife, this made me hate him.
And then this author made me like Dex again. In fact, I think I fell in love with him. This book HAS to become a movie. So evocative. Excellent writing and storytelling.
One small gripe: I don't like how the author failed to "show" me the presentation (I wanted to be there when the investors got tricked out of their money). However, I would give this book 9.9 stars out of 10, so it doesn't feel right to give it only 4 out of 5. I'm very critical, and yet I haven't read a thriller this good since reading John Grisham's The Partner and John Sandford's Certain Prey.
I'm impressed.
November 30, 2016
Lots of Surprises
I was asked by the author to read and review this book (no compensation) which I gladly did for him. The book is about an ex-con who, while in prison, cons 106 investors to put up $3.3 billion (yes, that's billion with a B). When he is released from prison many investors, and fellow cons who helped him, are after him for the money. Meanwhile, he has a jolly good time spending it. The book moves along very quickly (there are 130 chapters in 334 pages). There are plot twists all along and it's impossible to guess who is going to do what.
Some of the things I found slightly off putting: author identified main characters as "black" or "white" person; I had difficulty remembering the many characters (no X-ray but I used magnifying glass to search passages where they appeared). Typos were minimal, story well written and exciting, plot line was consistent, and despite being an ex-con and a con man, Dexter was like able. I recommend that you give this newbie author a try. You won't regret it!
I was asked by the author to read and review this book (no compensation) which I gladly did for him. The book is about an ex-con who, while in prison, cons 106 investors to put up $3.3 billion (yes, that's billion with a B). When he is released from prison many investors, and fellow cons who helped him, are after him for the money. Meanwhile, he has a jolly good time spending it. The book moves along very quickly (there are 130 chapters in 334 pages). There are plot twists all along and it's impossible to guess who is going to do what.
Some of the things I found slightly off putting: author identified main characters as "black" or "white" person; I had difficulty remembering the many characters (no X-ray but I used magnifying glass to search passages where they appeared). Typos were minimal, story well written and exciting, plot line was consistent, and despite being an ex-con and a con man, Dexter was like able. I recommend that you give this newbie author a try. You won't regret it!
December 2, 2016
The formula works – we all root for Robin Hood, and we overlook his illegal behavior in view of the good he brings about for the masses, at the expense of the wealthy. We all get impressed by the perfect heist, and the box office coffers will prove that. The criminal has to be smooth and suave, impeccable in his manners, and perfect in his features. Choose your pick - the perfect conman can be a mixed offspring of Sean Connery, George Clooney, Pierce Brosnan and Morgan Freeman. And finally, add to the mix a series of misdirection… wow, now you see me, now you don’t!
R. Sims did a great job creating Dexter Parker and wooing us with his slick moves and elaborate, multi-layered schemes and set-ups. The story goes by quick. I am glad this is fiction. Otherwise, we will all suffer from insecurity. Overall, this book was smart and witty enough to keep me entertained but also light-hearted enough to not take too seriously.
For those who get a kick out of smooth criminals, go ahead and get a copy of this book. Recommended.
I received a review copy of this book.
R. Sims did a great job creating Dexter Parker and wooing us with his slick moves and elaborate, multi-layered schemes and set-ups. The story goes by quick. I am glad this is fiction. Otherwise, we will all suffer from insecurity. Overall, this book was smart and witty enough to keep me entertained but also light-hearted enough to not take too seriously.
For those who get a kick out of smooth criminals, go ahead and get a copy of this book. Recommended.
I received a review copy of this book.
January 24, 2018
Good Read
After getting past all the character this turns out very good read. Suspenseful twisted and turn. A must read if you love a good thriller.
After getting past all the character this turns out very good read. Suspenseful twisted and turn. A must read if you love a good thriller.
April 20, 2017
Right. To an attorney
This is the 2nd book I have read by this author. Both storyline is well written. Why the author would ruin a good reading session with the S M U T he chose to include in an otherwise good novel is incomprehensible. Nobody needs to go into such detail regarding a sex act. Otherwise I would have enjoyed the read. Two is enough, I won't be reading this authors again
This is the 2nd book I have read by this author. Both storyline is well written. Why the author would ruin a good reading session with the S M U T he chose to include in an otherwise good novel is incomprehensible. Nobody needs to go into such detail regarding a sex act. Otherwise I would have enjoyed the read. Two is enough, I won't be reading this authors again
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews