Character Spotlight ~ Randy Singer's Alex Madison

Alex Madison

You can't get much better than a Randy Singer legal thriller! Always brilliantly executed with great characterisation and edge of your seat suspense, be sure to get your hands on his latest, Fatal Convictions. And if you need more convincing, check out the spotlight below as you are sure to be intrigued by Alex and the inspiration for his character.

Over to you, Randy:~

Brief physical description

Alex Madison is a Virginia Beach surfer who is trying to become the lawyer that everybody expects him to be, a prolific litigator like his grandfather. He’s thin, medium-height, with a perpetual two-day shadow, blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that he buzzes in the summer. If you met him at the Beach, he’d be wearing board shorts and flip flops. But he dresses up nice and when he walks into the courtroom he will turn a few heads. He’s quick with a smirk or a one-liner and has this ornery look that made all of his teachers reserve a seat for him in the front row.

Alex was raised by a stern but loving grandmother who infused in him a sense of destiny. He’s got just enough moxie to care less about what others think which serves him well when he lands the most controversial case in Virginia Beach history.

Think pro surfer C.J. Hobgood

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths: an independent streak; tenacious; cares about others; creative thinker; can think on his feet.

Weaknesses: falls hard for a pretty face; not very disciplined; will avoid confrontation with co-workers and friends; needs to be more of a spiritual leader at his church.

Quirk (if any)

Not sure if these are quirks, but Alex has a few peculiarities. He’s a lawyer who never graduated from law school. In Virginia, you can apprentice under an established lawyer for three years and then take the Bar. Alex did this with his grandfather.

Also, Alex became the preacher at his grandmother’s small church when he filled in one Sunday after the real preacher retired. But Alex has never been to seminary. In short, he’s got two jobs, and he doesn’t feel qualified for either.

Your inspiration for the character

Alex and I share the same two disparate occupations (lawyer and preacher) but that’s where the similarities end. Ironically enough, Alex’s character was inspired in part by one of the shadiest lawyers in fiction and in part by one of the most inspiring. He’s a bit of a cross between Paul Newman’s character in The Verdict (shameless ambulance-chaser) and Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird (willing to defend an innocent man who everyone else abandons).

In fact, The Verdict opens with Paul Newman in a funeral home trying to solicit a wrongful death case from the widow by pretending to be a friend of the deceased. Fatal Convictions opens in a hospital where Alex goes to pray for some church members and then slips down to the hall to solicit cases for his firm. That’s where he meets a Muslim imam who will ultimately be accused of instigating honor killings.

Background to the story

My idea for the book came when I asked this question: What makes To Kill A Mockingbird the best legal thriller of all time?

My answer: Because Atticus Finch performed the highest duty of a lawyer, representing a man he believed was innocent, a man nobody else would defend. Then I asked a related question: What would that look like today? My answer was Fatal Convictions. Who would defend a Muslim imam accused of honor killings? Granted, my protagonist, Alexander Madison, is no Atticus Finch. And I'm no Harper Lee. Nevertheless, I hope you'll find the story both thought-provoking and entertaining.

Thanks so much, Randy ~ your spotlights are always top-notch! I'm very much looking forward to reading and reviewing Fatal Convictions.

Relz Reviewz Extras

Review of By Reason of Insanity

Character spotlight on Quinn Newberg from By Reason of Insanity

Character spotlight on Jason Noble from The Justice Game

Visit Randy's website

Buy Randy's books at Amazon or Koorong