Description
Book SynopsisBest-selling author of the Bruno Johnson Crime SeriesBooklist sums up Putnam's Bruno Johnson series: “Bruno Johnson believes so passionately in justice that he'll lie, cheat, and steal to achieve it—and he'll pulverize anybody who gets in his way.”
The Early Years: Book One Bruno Johnson, a newly minted L.A. County Sheriff Violent Crimes detective, gets the worst assignment possible—infiltrate a sheriff's narcotics team that may be involved in murder for hire. Gain their trust and be brought into the scheme. If he succeeds, he will have to arrest and testify against his fellow deputies—if he lives that long.
To make matters worse, before Bruno leaves home on the first day of this assignment, he answers the door to find an ex-girlfriend. Without explanation, she hands him a baby girl only weeks old. The child is his. Stunned and terrified, he now faces immediate fatherhood as well as the traitor-like charge to take down his colleagues.
Juggling his complex home life, Bruno tackles his assignment to discover that no one is who they seem to be and that his boss, Lieutenant Wicks, might be involved. His mission is further complicated when an attractive female deputy, recently transferred from Public Affairs, is also put on the case. She has no street experience, and Bruno carries the extra burden of watching her back—a tough assignment made tougher by personal attraction.
As Bruno gets deeper and deeper into the corruption, he doesn't know whom to trust, and in the end, confides in the wrong person.
Michael Connelly says Putnam’s crime fiction is: “. . . a gritty street poem recited by a voice unalterably committed to redemption and doing the right thing in a wrong world.” While all of the novels in the Bruno Johnson Crime Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:
The Disposables
The Replacements
The Squandered
The Vanquished
The Innocents
The Reckless
The Heartless
The RuthlessThe SinisterTrade Review" The Innocents is a terrific read reminiscent of the best of Joseph Wambaugh. David Putnam provides an insider's knowledge of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. His characters and settings are rich and authentic, and his dialogue is spot on accurate. A great novel for lovers of the mystery genre that blurs the line between good and evil and will keep you guessing until the final pages." Robert Dugoni , New York Times best-selling author
"Putnam has again come up with a winning combination, a page-turning story and Bruno Johnson, his everyman hero intent on doing the right thing no matter what. Bruno is the guy you want on your side when the chips are down. Do yourself a favor: read this book." Harry Hunsicker , Shamus and Thriller Award nominee
" The Innocents tells a story so fast and so taut it never touches the ground, and the people stay with you long after you put it down. David Putnam is one of the few writers who can bear comparison to Joseph Wambaugh." Timothy Hallinan , Edgar, Shamus, Macavity, and Lefty Award nominee
"The scenes feel authentic and tense thanks to Putnam's decades of law enforcement experience. Great reading for crime-fiction fans." Kirkus Reviews
"Putnam's knack for creating powerfully cathartic action scenes provides just what we need after spending time in a world that's like a '40s movie, where everybody's a rat fink. Except Bruno Johnson." Booklist
"In a dry, Dragnet -style 'just the facts, ma'am' manner, this prequel to the Bruno Johnson series keeps readers engrossed with plenty of energy and surprises." Library Journal
"With his clipped prose, authentic dialogue, and the brutal reality of his plots, David Putnam's Bruno Johnson series is [an] exceptional one to follow. The Innocents ... hums with moral contradictions, terrible choices and a lot of testosterone." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Another riveting novel by an author with a genuine flair for narrative driven fiction." Midwest Book Review
Praise for the Bruno Johnson Crime Series "I really loved The Disposables . It's raw, powerful, and eloquent. It's a gritty street poem recited by a voice unalterably committed to redemption and doing the right thing in a wrong world." Michael Connelly, New York Times best-selling author
"Dark, disturbing, and all too believable, this is the tale of one man's quest for atonement in a world where innocence is a liability." T. Jefferson Parker, New York Times best-selling author
"Reading a novel by David Putnam is almost as good as riding shotgun in a patrol car. He writes what he knows and what he knows is that justice on the mean streets isn't always black and white." Robin Burcell, New York Times best-selling author
"This is a police procedural that dazzles with authenticity, sharply-drawn characters, crackling dialogue, and insider details that only a real cop could bring to the page. Putnam can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Joseph Wambaugh and Michael Connelly." Lee Goldberg, New York Times best-selling author
"Putnam is a master of the gritty realism of law and order at street level. I guarantee that The Ruthless will grab you by the throat, shove you against the wall, and won't release you until the final, satisfying page." William Kent Krueger, New York Times best-selling author
"Putnam puts his years of law enforcement experience to good use in The Squandered , a shocking and intense tale of brotherly love and redemption realized in the midst of moral decay. It's a raw and gritty story I couldn't put down." C. J. Box, New York Times best-selling author
