about the author

Rick Mofina grew up east of Toronto, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. He began writing fiction in grade school. At age 15, he sold his first short story to a U.S. magazine. In his teens he hitchhiked to California and wrote a novel about the experience. He has held jobs ranging from working at a horseracing track to delivering cars to Florida, before he attended Carleton University where he studied Journalism, English Literature, and American Detective Fiction.

He became a reporter at The Toronto Star before embarking on a career in journalism that spanned three decades and several newsrooms. His freelance crime stories have appeared around the world in such publications as The New York Times, Reader's Digest, Marie Claire, The South China Morning Post magazine and The Moscow Times.

His reporting has put him face-to-face with murderers on death row in Montana and Texas. He covered a horrific serial killing case in California, an armored car heist in Las Vegas, the murders of police officers in Alberta, flown over Los Angeles with the LAPD, and gone on patrol with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He has reported from the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East.

His first published novel, IF ANGELS FALL, introduced San Francisco Star crime reporter Tom Reed and San Francisco Homicide Inspector Walt Sydowski. It was a Best First Novel finalist for an Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada. His second Reed-Sydowski book is COLD FEAR. With that book, Quill & Quire said Rick, "positions himself high in the suspense genre saddle." It was followed by BLOOD OF OTHERS, which #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson praised as, "tense, realistic, and scary in all the right places." The Ottawa Citizen described Rick as "a writer clearly destined for literary stardom," while Penthouse said he was, "one of the leading thriller writers of the day." The Globe & Mail said Rick was becoming one of Canada's favourite crime writers. BLOOD OF OTHERS won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel in 2003.

NO WAY BACK, the fourth Reed-Sydowski book, was released in 2003 and praised by Michael Connelly as being, "My kind of novel -- a tough, taut thriller." It was followed in 2004 by, BE MINE, the fifth in the series. Dean Koontz said, Rick was writing, "A fine series of thrillers to which Be Mine is a great addition: swiftly paced, entertaining, with authentic details of police procedure."

After five books -- and movie options on IF ANGELS FALL and COLD FEAR, which have since expired -- the Reed-Sydowski series went on hiatus and Rick launched a new series featuring Jason Wade, a rookie crime reporter based in Seattle.

The series debuted in the summer of 2005, with, THE DYING HOUR, which climbed to #7 on Canada's best seller list (Quill & Quire) and hit #1 among Wal-mart Canada's best sellers. Sandra Brown, an acclaimed international best-selling author, told Rick that she loved THE DYING HOUR. "It starts scary and ends scary."

The second book in the Jason Wade series is EVERY FEAR, which features a story that "Pushes crackling suspense to the breaking point and beyond," according to New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper. Rick's third Jason Wade book is A PERFECT GRAVE, which New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen called, "A lightning-paced thriller with lean, tense writing." Rick is currently writing more books, including a standalone thriller.

As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, the International Crime Writers Association and Crime Writers of Canada, Rick, continues to be a featured panelist at mystery conferences across the United States and Canada. He enjoys receiving reader feedback -- which has come from all around the world, including readers in Australia, Hong Kong, Norway, Iceland, South Africa, Bermuda, the United States and Canada. Rick updates diehard fans who want the latest news on his work by subscribing to his informal newsletter.

Rick is currently based in Ottawa, where he lives with his wife and their two children and works as a communications advisor.