In the depths of the Great Depression, drifter Patrick Kane walks into Maryd with nothing but a desperate need for work. Taking a job in the newly reopened Maryd Coal Company mine, he soon finds more than just a paycheck - he discovers a community bound by hard work, friendship, and a tension that shakes the very ground beneath his feet. As the town welcomes him with open arms, Patrick wonders if he's finally found a place to call home-as long as no one pokes too far into his past.
To Ruth Flannigan, Patrick is the perfect temptation at the worst time. Her alcoholic husband, Jack, has left her alone with three children and one on the way. She doesn't know if he is alive or dead, if he'll come back or stay away forever. She does know that she has to survive by any means necessary, even if that means opening her home to strangers and keeping her allies close.
All around town, the conflict between bootleggers and the coal company grows. Glasses rattle off of shelves as blasts go off beneath houses. The new strip mining shovel threatens to scrape away the residents' backyards. The law says there is nothing they can do. But Ruth and the other residents won't accept that. When Jack makes an unexpected return, Patrick and Ruth are faced with the questions of who will stand strongest in the fight for the town, family, and love.
This gripping tale of courage and community is based on the true story of Mary D, Pennsylvania, the town that refused to succumb to corporate greed. It is a tale of courage, loyalty, and above all else, the power of community to create change.
By award winning author J.A. Stein, this tale from Schuylkill County Pennsylvania will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page turns. Start reading now to find out how the generations before us enacted change.
About the Author :
J.A. Stein grew up exploring the woods surrounding her Pennsylvania home. It was there that she learned to let her imagination run wild. Love of the outdoors led to a career training horses, now shared with her passion for writing, for which she has a bachelor degree. Her novels Knightess and The Last Farm are winners of a Royal Dragonfly Book Awards. She spent a great deal of time at her grandparents' house in Mary D, and family stories inspired much of this book.
Review :
"Stein's novel brings the bootleg coal era to life in vivid detail. It's also a love letter to the little coal patch if Mary D. Its characters make you feel events in a way straight history cannot, and their unwinding story tells the secret of how a small town can pull off major events, unthinkable in other times and places, and succeed." -Mitch Troutman, author of The Bootleg Coal Rebellion
"Patch Town is a meaningful, well researched, and engaging read. For anyone connected to coal region history-or simply interested in stories of community, perseverance, and justice-it is a book well worth picking up." -Diana J. Prosymchak, Executive Director of the Schuylkill County Historical Society
"J.A. Stein has nailed it again.... The scenes underground gave me the shivers with the damp, stale air, constant dripping water, and cave-in dangers. Stein is an expert storyteller who weaved complex plots and their accompanying twists you don't see coming. Her characters are nuanced, people you can't help rooting for as they face life's problems. This is a wonderful novel I couldn't put down." -Dean Alan Conrad, Author of Welcome to Mammoth
