Rats: Murder in a Mining Town

Rats is set in a western Pennsylvania coal mining community in the early 1920s. The story is a murder mystery that also gives insights into life in the 1920s, especially in a mining town. Billy Hart is the main character. Billy gets caught up in trying to clear his father, th e town's Chief of the Coal and Iron Police, from suspicion of the murder of a mysterious stranger. In his quest, Billy interacts with a variety of interesting characters, including homeless people, World War I veterans, gypsies, scabs, immigrants, bootleggers, Klansmen, law enforcement officials and the clergy, to name a few. Billy faces several dangers and gains surprising new insights about people he thought he knew well. He is forced to make choices that impact his family and himself for years to come. Billy who loves to shoot rats at the local mule barn, learns that some of the nastiest and most dangerous rats are people and not furry long tailed mammals. The story takes place during one week in 1924, but the events and shocking conclusion result in drastic changes in Billy, his family and the town he loves.