Alex Rada
Created by Henry F. Mazel

Formerly one of New York's finest, ALEX RADA has recently lost his wife as well as his badge. He's working as a P.I. now, out of his threadbare apartment in the East Village. He's an appealing, more than a little human, character, an amiable curmudgeon. When he's not grieving over his dead wife, he worries a lot about Communist conspiracies, and how he can hold on to his gun better.

Alex made his debut in 1998's Murderously Incorrect, one of the first of what would be a glut of self-published POD novels to hit the internet in the next few years. but the book was far ahead of the curve, actually winning the 1999 On-Line Mystery Award for Best First Mystery, before the on-line world was likewise flooded with dubious "awards" generally bestowed upon and by self-published authors to each other.

Author Henry Mazel has enjoyed a career as an award-winning filmmaker, playwright, and screenwriter. He's written work for film and stage, and is a past recipient of the Cine Eagle award. He is a member of The Writers Guild of America and The Mystery Writers of America. Mostly, he divides his time between Manhattan and Chinese restaurants throughout New York City too numerous to mention. He assures us that there will bemore Alex to come.

EVIDENCE

• "It's okay...I've got a good, steady clientele, Helen. Wives of philandering husbands. I catch 'em in the act, the wives forgive them, and the bastards do it all over again. It's all repeat business." (Alex, defending his business to a friend)

UNDER OATH.

• "Knowing, intelligent, and witty. Mazel manages to combine a noir setting with hilarious dialog and intricate characterizations. Murderously Incorrect is just plain, first-class fun, and one hell of a ride." (Marvin Himmelfarb, Fox News)
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• "A taut detective thriller . . . A crackling good mystery not to be missed." (Midwest Book Review)
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• "When New York private eye Alex Rada is hired to find a missing graduate student, he winds up smack-dab in the middle of a web of political intrigue. In many ways, this is a fairly ordinary mystery---ex-cop Rada is not a particularly successful detective, his client Is beautiful and duplicitous, and Alex solves the case more by luck than by skill--but readers who check it out will be rewarded with a well-written slightly eccentric tale that's most satisfying. This is the first novel by Mazel, a playwright and screenwriter, and he's clearly put a lot of work into it. Al-though his plot comes right out of the pulp-fiction magazines of a half-century ago, his prose-is fresh and funny, and his story is populated by people we haven't seen before. Mazel can write rings around
  some of his more established competitors, and readers looking for something unique will be delighted to discover him." (David Pitt, Booklist)

NOVELS

• Murderously Incorrect (1999)...Buy this book

RELATED LINKS

• Never Take a Shave at a Shop Named Delilah's
  Read our Thrilling Detective Fiction excerpt from Henry Mazel's Murderously Incorrect, the new novel recently published by Crime and Again Press, that introduces NY eye Alex Rada..
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• The Burma road: Over the Hump
  Head to Henry's site for another sample chapter from Murderously Incorrect, featuring Alex Rada.
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• Henry Mazel's Homepage
  Henry's bridge to the 21st century, which he's going across going across kicking and screaming. Interviews, excerpts, links and news on the author and his various projects..