"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
“With enough drama to start a crime show, The Innocents is a fun, quick read with a little peek into the world of Bruno Johnson. David Putnam’s real feel take on the life of a deputy flow and moves like silk across the page.” —Killer Nashville
“A fast-paced, thrilling adventure… The Innocents is a wonderful roller-coaster ride, full of twists and turns on every pages that will keep readers holding their breaths to the very end!” —InD’Tale Magazine
Praise for the Bruno Johnson series:"The Vanquished takes you onto the mean streets so you feel like you're there with Bruno, fighting and grieving alongside him…authentic storytelling from someone who's been there and done that." —Marc Cameron, New York Times best-selling author
"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. I'll be first in line for the next one from David Putnam." —Michael Connelly, New York Times best-selling author
"[The Disposables] is 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
"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 - -
2017-11-13
Bruno Johnson, an African-American detective in LA, goes undercover to figure out if a group of cops has gone rogue.Bruno's white former girlfriend, Sonja, knocks on his door one day and stuns him by handing over their newborn daughter to raise, a child he didn't know existed. He and his father welcome the baby's presence, but life turns dicey when Bruno is assigned to the LA County Sheriff's Violent Crimes Team. An early case results in the unnecessary death of a suspect, and his boss, Lt. Robby Wicks, invites him to a barbecue "to celebrate the team's first kill." "A man died," Bruno says. "That's nothing to celebrate." But the barbecue is an excuse to have him meet Deputy Chief Rudyard, who wants him to go undercover in a police narcotics squad that's operating a murder-for-hire ring and identify "the dog heavy"—that is, the person running the operation. Bruno is a likable and principled character who knows he's being sucked into a bad situation and can't do much to avoid it, even becoming an unwitting accessory to murder. Some of his racist colleagues hate him—one refers to himself and Bruno as "a white guy and a smoke," and Bruno struggles to contain his rage. Whether a white author can truly understand a black cop's feelings about racism is hard to know, but Putnam (The Vanquished, 2017, etc.) creates a sympathetic hero. Meanwhile, people may not be who they say they are, and no colleague is above suspicion. "They need to get you dirty more than ever," Wicks tells Bruno in the middle of the operation, and "they" are on the brink of succeeding. The scenes feel authentic and tense thanks to Putnam's decades of law enforcement experience.Great reading for crime-fiction fans.
