Sharon Vos review of The Plot Against Marlene Dietrich

Henry Mazel brilliantly melds the glitz and the glamour of old Hollywood with the grit and the grime of the harsh New York Streets. He weaves a tale of intrigue, murder and suspense that would have made Sam Spade proud. His prose brings to life the embattled feelings of an sardonic detective who has seen too much, but still has a hint of human vulnerability. 

The marvel is the intricate plot, that seems to me, to be historically accurate and meticulously researched. The protagonist, Alex Rada, is the iconic hardboiled detective who maintains an even strain on the outside, yet seethes with an inner emotion. The backdrop here is of a time of glitz in Hollywood, the grime of noir New York, and the Jim Crow mentality that existed in both. 

This is a splendid and well thought out piece.My only complaint is I wish it were longer; I would have like to spend more time with these characters.

MEMORIES OF FIDEL

Fidel Castro has just released his 1,000 page autobiography. I knew Fidel. You'll find the beginning of our interaction and friendship below:

It was in the early ‘50s that I first met Fidel, and looking back on it now, I must admit, honestly, that I did play a role, quite innocuously really, in the revolutionary events that swept Cuba just a few, short years later. In those days I was working for the old New York Herald Tribune as the weekend restaurant critic. Fidel had come to my attention, not as politician or chef, but as a budding intellectual who had established himself as an enfant terrible among New York’s literati. . . .read the rest of my story within these pages: Little Leaves That Never Appeared in The New Yorker. 

A NEW BOOK - LITTLE LEAVES THAT NEVER APPEARED IN THE NEW YORKER

LITTLE LEAVES THAT NEVER APPEARED IN THE NEW YORKER has now been published for the Kindle. A collection of humor and satire pieces, many new, the book is priced at Amazon's ubiquitous e-book price of 99¢.

FEB 1ST AND 2ND ONLY, THERE IS NO COST FOR LITTLE LEAVES THAT NEVER APPEARED IN THE NEW YORKER  

THE CHOOSER - Two Days Only

Starting Sunday, January 15th, THE CHOOSER will be available at no cost for two days only. The promotion ends Monday, January 16th.


"A delightfully quirky novelette with a Jewish flavor set in the 1950s. The Chooser is a story of a journeyman magician seeking a new trick to boost his sagging career. An old illusionist and his young protégé offer some magical assistance."


Click on the link above or go to the cover art on the right side of the page and click there.

On Negative Campaigns

They work in practice; it's the theory that's suspect.

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The Good Old Days

"A billion here, a billion there, sooner or later it adds up to real money." Evertt Dirksen

An Excerpt From The Plot Against Marlene Dietrich (get the complete story for free)

“Don’t hang around with entertainers, huh? Just Coloreds with their dingis hangin’ out, right? I seen you around those Bojangles types. I could hold you as a material witness.”

“Oh, c’mon. You’re not going to do anything, how's that goin’ to look, me beating you out here and all. And I took the train.”

“La Guardia and the commissioner ain’t gonna like this, not at all. Hope this isn’t a murder, Rada.”

“Murder? Who said anything about murder?” Rada took a last drag on his smoke and ground it out on the concrete. The swirls of surf pulsating in his ears came into consciousness. It gushed.

He stared off at the sea, wondered about how she died, and about the Negro up the beach. Then there was a quick glance at Detective Impolitari. Rada shrugged. “ . . . .You could always pin it on the Colored boy, I suppose.” . . .

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