Interview with Luis Figueredo, Author of DIME @LuisFigueredo0 #interview

 

"The swirling blue and white lights sliced through the drawn blinds. Juan Carlos’s eyes moved down to his watch. Thirty minutes had now passed since the first patrol car pulled into the driveway. He raised the cigarette to his lips and took another pull never thinking that in the end, his demise would come at the hands of the Saint Maarten police force. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration and Interpol had been trying unsuccessfully for years to connect him to the South American drug cartels and ironically in the matter of the next few minutes he would be arrested on a small island that had built its economy on servicing tax evaders and criminals."

-- From Dime by Luis Figueredo

Book Description:

Pierce Evangelista, a sharp-witted, Harvard-educated lawyer is drawn into the brutal and violent power struggle between the Venezuelan drug cartel and the DEA. Juan Carlos, who holds crippling information about the cartel, sits in the Curacao Prison awaiting extradition. Pierce realizes that his client’s life only holds value to the DEA if he agrees to cooperate. The cartel won’t allow Juan Carlos to tell the DEA what he knows and plans to kill him before he can be extradited.

Evangelista is forced to rely on his keen instincts and employ unconventional tactics to take on the DEA and the Venezuelan drug cartel to protect the life of his client.

“A Powerful Page Turner!”—The BookViral Review

“A powerful and engrossing novel from beginning to end, Dime proves a must-read for discerning fans of the genre and a superb debut for Figueredo. A Remarkable Legal Thriller”—Literary Titan

“The strength of Luis Figueredo’s writing is in the ability to create a conflict that allows the characters to evolve as they deal with challenging situations. It is a wonderful read, indeed.” Readers ‘Favorite

Book Information

Release Date: January 17, 2022

Publisher:  Speaking Volumes

Hard Cover: ISBN: 978-1794727571; 556 pages; $10.75

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1645406099; 472 pages; $19.95

Kindle eBook: ASIN: B09QMN5LWH; 474 pages; $4.99

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3tJgSk5  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50386840-dime

Interview:

Your new legal thriller, DIME, sounds thrilling! So when did the legal thriller bug bite you?

Thank you.

My kids and I bond over the movies and books. We have debates over the best directors, authors, protagonists, and so on. We always agree that the best stories are the ones that can keep you on edge. 

When I decided to write a book a few years ago I naturally gravitated to legal thrillers because I wanted to give my readers the thrills that my family and I enjoy together.

Can you tell us a little about the main characters?

My main character is Pierce Evangelista. He grew up in a poor Italian neighborhood in New York City. His parents were immigrants and stressed the value of education. He had several athletic scholarships but chose Harvard and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. He is a brilliant lawyer that represents Fortune 100 companies, global financial institutions, and other companies and individuals through “bet the company” litigations, regulatory matters, internal investigations, and corporate crises. 

He is widely regarded by his peers as one of the most connected lawyers in the country. However, Pierce has never forgotten his roots and often takes on causes representing David against Goliath.

Juan Carlos is a savant when it comes to sheltering assets and laundering money. His brilliance is one of the main reasons the Venezuelan drug cartel morphs into the most powerful criminal organization in the world. Juan Carlos is selfish and narcissistic.  

He is a slave to his vices, his greed, and lust for power and women land him in his current predicament, between the DEA and his drug cartel.

Shane Hamilton was two years ahead of Pierce at Harvard. He’s street smart and shrewd. He takes a scorched earth approach to problems. He ended up at Harvard by unconventional means. After college, he was a fixer for some of Wichita’s most powerful and elite families. He knew their dirtiest secrets and where most of the skeletons were buried because he was responsible for burying them. Shane parlayed that into his ticket to Harvard.

Hugo Jackson grew up with Shane.  As far back as they could each remember, Hugo had been Shane’s muscle. When Shane left for Harvard, Hugo enlisted in the Army and served two tours in Afghanistan. He was a highly decorated member of a Special Forces detachment.

Alexis La Porte is Juan Carlos’s wife and the main reason, Pierce agrees to help. She is innocent and naïve. At least Pierce thinks so when he agrees to help.

They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point where the reader just can’t put the book down. What is one of the pivotal points in your book?

I’ve asked a few individuals that have read DIME and the general consensus was very early in the story when Juan Carlos has to decide if he’s going to cooperate with the DEA or go along with the cartel’s plan.

For me, the pivotal point was when Pierce and Juan Carlos first meet in prison, and Pierce realizes that he can’t keep his clients alive if he plays by the rules. 

What did you want to become when you were a kid?

I actually wanted to be either an NBA player or a lawyer.

Do your novels carry a message?

My goal in writing DIME was to write an entertaining story that would grip my readers. I intended to create an experience not necessarily to send a message. My next book, on the other hand, entitled Breaking Arrows, which will be published later this year, does highlight the shortcomings of the federal government in its treatment of smaller Indian tribes.

Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers and fans?

I’d like to thank my readers and new friends for taking the time to read DIME. I love to talk about my reader’s experiences as they read my story. I write for my readers, so it’s important to feel connected to my audience.