I read the book Rat Bastards in my research of the criminal world while I was writing my book The Rage. I am still researching this topic because I imagine I’ll continue to at least touch on organized crime as I write more wonderful, compelling novels. Most of my comments will be about the person and life of Shea, but I will provide a bit of a review first.

First of all, if you are looking for a book that will give insight into the thinking of a gangster, I highly recommend Rat Bastards. The whole book is told from the perspective of John “Red” Shea, an Irish gangster who worked under Whitey Bulger in Boston, who as a very young man took on a significant role with the drug trade in Bulger’s racket. As the law moved in on the organization, Shea alone held to the code of not becoming an informant, only to learn the man who taught him how to be a gangster and instilled this code in him was himself an FBI informant, the man Whitey Bulger. The book’s title is the theme, and Shea’s feelings toward those who “rat” out their fellow gangsters are expressed throughout. While there are not a lot of details of crimes, that isn’t really what this book is for, and that should be understood since Shea shouldn’t be expected to divulge those details after spending 12 years in prison for keeping his mouth shut. However, you will definitely get inside the thinking of a successful gangster. Well, as far as I know—I have no ties to organized crime so I personally can’t verify the perspective!

As the book came to a close, I grew a strong distaste for Shea’s bullying personality. In particular, he enforced the idea that being a man meant getting into fights you knew you couldn’t win—he abandoned friends when they backed down from fights to avoid spending more time in prison, even forcing one to opt for solitary confinement. Granted, I understand the dangerous need to assert oneself among hardened criminals, but I also detest this idea that men must assert themselves with violence (even verbal or emotional) rather than work toward peaceful resolutions. I’ve seen this view in security and the military, and I see this view in the belief that leaders shouldn’t admit they are wrong because that is weakness. I’ve seen people play the fool trying to be this kind of “man” and “leader.” Real men admit they are wrong, real men compromise and work toward peaceful solutions, real men stand by their morals even if it means social ridicule; Shea’s false ideal of manhood is based entirely on the perception of others, and on violence.

However, I had to remind myself that he was taught to be like this from his youth. He was behaving in accordance with the values and perspectives instilled in him. As I continued reading, Shea spoke of heaven and God and forgiveness, admitting he believes he won’t be forgiven and expects to spend eternity in hell. This saddened me because I know so many people have this misconception of the grace of Jesus.

I want to point out Shea’s character strengths. He was hard-working and gave his all to what he did, never doing the minimum to get a job done but pursuing excellence. He was a learner, eager to glean Bulger’s wisdom and advice and implement it in his life. He was confident and intelligent. He was competitive, always striving to be the best. He had a very positive attitude; even in prison he attempted to lift the spirits of others. He was a leader, unafraid to step up and take charge. He had the mettle and foresight to not only acknowledge that prison was a potential result of his life of crime, but to accept it when it came—without excuses.

He held to a moral code, admittedly limited to physical courage and not being a rat. He was willing to sacrifice so much, holding to this code while facing years of prison even after learning of Bulger’s betrayal. If we Christians could be so faithful! Unfortunately, Shea’s code didn’t prohibit lies, theft, racism, violence and murder. There was little respect for others, their persons or values or perspectives. There was no sympathy, kindness, gentleness, humility, or sexual purity. But the code he had, he lived by without hypocrisy. What would his life have been like if he had a positive male role model who instilled better values in him?

But he didn’t have that. He had a father who wasn’t around and didn’t even try to be a part of his life. And he had Bulger instilling gangster values. This is how I try to see people—I try not to look at all the things they do that upset my religious sentiments, but look past their actions to see what motivated the actions. If you can’t see that, then you’ll never be able to understand a person, or help them. Judgment doesn’t help people, grace does (Rom 2:1-4).

If I could tell Shea something, it would be that heaven has not closed its doors to him. No matter how “bad” you’ve been, God’s redemption is always available to you (Eph 2:8-9). It does require humility and submission, but if you recognize that you are submitting to the God of the whole universe, it can’t be that bad, right? The blood of Jesus was shed for all, including John “Red” Shea. I hope Shea reads my book The Rage because I believe it will hit him right where he needs to be hit.

You can find both books here:

Rat Bastards

The Rage

Be blessed