I read a lot. And I mean A LOT. So as a service to those who enjoy a good book, both fiction and nonfiction, I will do a periodic book review as I complete my latest tome.

The latest book I finished is called "Rat Bastards: The Life and Times of South Boston's Most Honorable Irish Mobster". The basic plot of the story is about one of South Boston's most notorious mobsters, John "Red" Shea, and his mentor, the undisputed king of the South Boston Irish Mafia, Whitey Bulger.

The story chronicles the life of Red Shae as he rises in the group to be the second in command to Whitey, all the while not being aware that the entire time he was listening to the advice of his mentor, Whitey, Whitey was an informant for the FBI. When everything hit the fan, there is only one thing a guy can hang on to and that's being a stand up man. One of the laws of the mafia is not ratting on your fellow man. Red Shea did just that, he wouldn't rat no matter how much time he would have to spend in federal prison.

I can't help but draw the parallels to the movie "The Departed". There are far to many similarities to be a fluke. What is also interesting is that Mark Whalberg, who starts in "The Departed", wrote the forward for the novel and also reportedly has purchased the rights to the film. Overall I thought the book was only mediocre. There is only so much you can say about being a standup guy, and with the lack of interesting plot line after Red is put into jail, I was quickly bored by the prose. There are a few interesting anecdotes, but the second half of the book is a snoozer. I do applaud Red for standing up for what he believed in, but get someone better to help you put it into writing, your editor stunk.

All in all this book gets a 3/5 donkey rating. Read it if you don't have anything better lying on your bookshelf.