Peter Z, Petros, Mantarakis' City Rats introduces Nick a fourteen-year-old  who, when a reckless moment costs him both his eye and his best friend.

Nick, the son of Greek émigrés lives in the rough tough area known as Hell’s Kitchen on the upper East Side of Manhattan.

A neighborhood gang of young boys: Frank, Nick, Cat, and others, the older, tougher Irish Byrne brothers, Molotov cocktails, a burnt-out building and hordes of Rats all appear in the narrative.

Mr Kelly who lost a leg during WWII keeps an eye on Nick as the youngster plays stickball, or with his best friend Frankie throws water balloons or eggs from the rooftop onto the unsuspecting pedestrians passing below.

When Nick stumbles over a printing press and stacks of counterfeit money a devious plan begins to form in his young mind. Then after Nick inadvertently discovers a .32 pistol, a deadly planned is hatched.

A gang war fought with potatoes made lethal with razor blades inserted into them, a noisy German shepherd, and a knife man who plies his trade with a sharpening wheel are part of the memories for the lad growing up in one of the roughest areas of the city.

The building super, coal truck deliveries, wrestling or Gunsmoke on TV, playing on the roof and gambling; playing poker with girlie cards on the steps of stairs move the narrative forward. A trip to Dr Glickman, dentist, becomes a near death experience for the teenaged Nick.

Thieves looking for gold, rob money from patients before taping them to chairs before returning their attention to the dentist they are certain has a fortune in gold hidden somewhere in the office. When Nick grows closer to Cat, Nick is offered the opportunity to ‘work’ for Cat’s uncles ‘delivering packages.’

In time Nick hopes to be able to break away from Dom and Tony before his dealings with them take him straight to jail. The plan Nick devises is extreme and effective.

Peter Z Mantarakis presents a highly readable work in City Rats. The reader is offered a peek into a slice of life most of us have little awareness of or understanding for.

City Rats is not the story of a particular crime or criminal so much as it is a portrayal of the life experienced by those living in the upper East Side of Manhattan area during the 1950s and 60s where escapades skirting along the edges of criminal were a way of life.

Writer Mantarakis weaves an enigmatic, keenly focused tale filled with colorful character who converse in prickly discourse by capturing the essence of the time and place that was Hell’s Kitchen.

Generously depicted settings draw the reader into the action from the opening lines as we sit with Nick and listen to the doctor discussing whether or not he can save the boy’s injured eye.

Reader interest is maintained page after page in this well written fast paced work as we follow a young teen through his tumultuous high school years to his coming of age, awareness and decision that crime is not the life for him.

A narrative inside an environment of numerous narratives and remarkable characters City Rats has plenty of action sure to please the most demanding reader.  

Good book for a sultry afternoon spent lazing, reading and enjoying life. 

 Enjoyed the read, recommended for those who enjoy the genre.

Available as Kindle and Paperback 

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Reviewed by: Molly Reviews  Books    molly martin

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  On line Biography:  Peter Mantarakis, the son of Greek immigrants, grew up on the streets of New York City.

He developed a love for writing and the arts attending Brooklyn Technical High School .

In 1966, he left New York to attend the California Institute of Technology where he earned a B.S. and M.S. in Astrophysics. He pursued a career in industry where he received ten patents for various inventions and became president of several large corporations.

He has written a number of articles for scientific journals, and in 2004 published his first novel, CityRats.

He has authored a book on collecting antique glassware that was published by the Heisey Museum in Ohio. He also enjoys painting, sculpting and gourmet cooking. Mr. Mantarakis started painting twenty-five years ago as a hobby.

He is self-taught and works with oil on canvas. He prefers a representational style with a wide range of subjects. His prevalent motif is to use his art to tell a story.