Rat: A Cop's Secret Weapon
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ïŧŋRat is the street name for a confidential police informant. Police Officer Norm Strom had several and counted on them for important information in narcotics and criminal investigations.Â
Stories about these individuals give an insight as to who there are, where they come from, and the dangers they face helping the police. People snitch for a variety of reasons, and receive cash or consideration for their own criminal charges in return. Some become police agents under contract.Â
Rat takes you into the underbelly of society, where drug dealers, prostitutes, and murders ply their trade. It also gives an insight to the men and women who hunt them for a living. Follow Norm Stromâs storied career and learn how he used his arsenal of informants to fight crime.Â
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Edmond Gagnon grew up in Windsor Ontario, in Canada. He joined the Windsor Police Department in 1977, a month before his nineteenth birthday. After almost two years as a police cadet, Ed was promoted to Constable and walked a beat in downtown Windsor. He spent the next thirteen years in uniform working the street.
 From there, he transferred to plain clothes where he worked in narcotics, morality, property crimes, fraud, and arson. He was promoted to Sergeant and later, Detective. During that time, Ed investigated everything from theft and burglary to arson and murder. He retired with a total of thirty-one years and four months service.
 Within weeks of retirement, Ed took to travelling the world, visiting countries in Southeast Asia and South America as well as riding his motorcycle all over Canada and the United States. He kept in touch with family and friends through email, sending them snippets and stories of his adventures.
 The recipients of his musings suggested he write a book about his travels and Ed complied by putting together a collection of short stories in his first book, A Casual Traveler. The book was a success. Bitten by the writing bug, Ed decided to share some of his police stories. Â
He created the Norm Strom Crime Series, based on events and people he encountered during his years in law enforcement. In that series, Ed wrote and self-published Rat, Bloody Friday, Torch, Finding Hope, Border City Chronicles, and Moon Mask. He joined fellow authors Christian Laforet and Ben Van Dongen and put together a crime anthology, All These Crooked Streets.
 Edmond Gagnon continues to write, adding Trafficking Chen to his Norm Strom novels and the spin-off series: the Abigail Brown Crime Series. He also wrote a science fiction thriller called, Four. Ed still travels frequently and resides in Windsor, with his wife, Cathryn.
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