The Blue Rat: A Novel about the Secrets of New York
El Buscador has long been legendary for revealing, to select visitors, New York’s secrets. Now he confronts his greatest challenge: the real estate mogul Timothy Terrance Tolland has been erecting skyscrapers at an alarming rate. Tolland’s mysterious construction at Canal Street threatens to tear the city’s fabric. Aided by a group of investigative reporters, El Buscador looks to bring Tolland down before his building forever transforms the skyline.
But the battle also goes on below the street as Tolland has initiated a campaign of dyeing the city’s rats blue so that the vermin become as much of his brand as his buildings. Follow along on El Buscador’s adventures as he takes the reader to little-known places – from underground streams to forgotten tombs to rat pits – and unearths secrets long buried in the city. Ultimately, his battle with Tolland spectacularly exposes nefarious plans that will surprise even jaded New Yorkers.
El Buscador has long been legendary for revealing, to select visitors, New York’s secrets. Now he confronts his greatest challenge: the real estate mogul Timothy Terrance Tolland has been erecting skyscrapers at an alarming rate. Tolland’s mysterious construction at Canal Street threatens to tear the city’s fabric. Aided by a group of investigative reporters, El Buscador looks to bring Tolland down before his building forever transforms the skyline.
But the battle also goes on below the street as Tolland has initiated a campaign of dyeing the city’s rats blue so that the vermin become as much of his brand as his buildings. Follow along on El Buscador’s adventures as he takes the reader to little-known places – from underground streams to forgotten tombs to rat pits – and unearths secrets long buried in the city. Ultimately, his battle with Tolland spectacularly exposes nefarious plans that will surprise even jaded New Yorkers.
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A Little About
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Praise for the Blue Rat
Reviews from the Book Jacket
*“Stunning! Rarified! A Tour de Force!” – Joe Edd Morris, author of The Prison
*“The latest gem from one of the best novelists around. Thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking, Hartnett’s The Blue Rat defies convention while touching on matters that appeal the most.” –John Vance, author of Touched Back
*“A fun-on-every-page romp through the city that never sleeps. Hartnett at his best!” –Len Boswell, author of A Grave Misunderstanding
Drawn from the more than 50 Reviews on Amazon
*"Michael Hartnett’s novel, The Blue Rat is a tour-de-force on several levels. It’s a tour of New York City at a level few who aren’t cartophiles or cab drivers could achieve. It’s a history lesson about New York, which focuses upon the arcane more than the usual sights and places. It’s a pleasurable, comedic literary gem disguised as a mystery novel. Finally, it’s also a genuine suspense thriller with an unforgettable protagonist." – Casey Dorman
*"The story has more complexity than a 1,000 piece puzzle, and readers will enjoy finding out how the complex inner thoughts of the characters flow toward the ultimate goal of putting Tolland in his place. The book builds its story like a consummate artist. You don’t see the whole picture until it’s completed." – Sam B. Miller II
*"The Blue Rat is a well-crafted, wonderfully-entertaining story of the press versus an ultra-rich, narcissistic and ruthless developer who has no regard for the truth. In other words, this is truly a tale for our time." – Glenn H. Ickler
*"… what’s more mysterious in a riveting story like this one than underground tunnels, caissons, watery graves, hidden blueprints, and a thirst to discover what makes the eccentric Tour Guide (El Buscador) tick—a man who has disavowed twenty-first century modernism in communications for handwritten notes wedged in crevices of walls and face-to-face conversation (of all things)" – Darden North
*"The Blue Rat is, in a very real sense, a character study of—and a love song to—the New York that lies, literally, beneath the surface that most visitors and residents see.... A memorable and unique book, exceptionally well written." – A.H. Wolfe
*"The joy of The Blue Rat is multifaceted. It's not just the story, which hums along and never drags, nor the writing, which is crisp and clever. Like all good story tellers, Hartnett imbues his book not only with the here and now of the story, but of its place in the greater history of a city he clearly loves, that stretches both above and below what we see, or think we see." – David W. Pearce
*“Stunning! Rarified! A Tour de Force!” – Joe Edd Morris, author of The Prison
*“The latest gem from one of the best novelists around. Thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking, Hartnett’s The Blue Rat defies convention while touching on matters that appeal the most.” –John Vance, author of Touched Back
*“A fun-on-every-page romp through the city that never sleeps. Hartnett at his best!” –Len Boswell, author of A Grave Misunderstanding
Drawn from the more than 50 Reviews on Amazon
*"Michael Hartnett’s novel, The Blue Rat is a tour-de-force on several levels. It’s a tour of New York City at a level few who aren’t cartophiles or cab drivers could achieve. It’s a history lesson about New York, which focuses upon the arcane more than the usual sights and places. It’s a pleasurable, comedic literary gem disguised as a mystery novel. Finally, it’s also a genuine suspense thriller with an unforgettable protagonist." – Casey Dorman
*"The story has more complexity than a 1,000 piece puzzle, and readers will enjoy finding out how the complex inner thoughts of the characters flow toward the ultimate goal of putting Tolland in his place. The book builds its story like a consummate artist. You don’t see the whole picture until it’s completed." – Sam B. Miller II
*"The Blue Rat is a well-crafted, wonderfully-entertaining story of the press versus an ultra-rich, narcissistic and ruthless developer who has no regard for the truth. In other words, this is truly a tale for our time." – Glenn H. Ickler
*"… what’s more mysterious in a riveting story like this one than underground tunnels, caissons, watery graves, hidden blueprints, and a thirst to discover what makes the eccentric Tour Guide (El Buscador) tick—a man who has disavowed twenty-first century modernism in communications for handwritten notes wedged in crevices of walls and face-to-face conversation (of all things)" – Darden North
*"The Blue Rat is, in a very real sense, a character study of—and a love song to—the New York that lies, literally, beneath the surface that most visitors and residents see.... A memorable and unique book, exceptionally well written." – A.H. Wolfe
*"The joy of The Blue Rat is multifaceted. It's not just the story, which hums along and never drags, nor the writing, which is crisp and clever. Like all good story tellers, Hartnett imbues his book not only with the here and now of the story, but of its place in the greater history of a city he clearly loves, that stretches both above and below what we see, or think we see." – David W. Pearce
