In The Ruthless, Bruno Johnson, the main character, has a LOT going on. He’s a Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy but he’s currently undercover for a sting operation buying guns and the public story is that he’s resigned from the police force. Then there’s the death a few months ago of his daughter Olivia (suicide, accident or murder?), the disappearance of one of her two very young sons, an ongoing issue with the baby daddy Derek Sams, the sting operation, the murder of a beloved judge and his wife, and on and on. This book is the 8th in the Bruno Johnson series, but the first one I’ve had a chance to read, and it took me a little bit to feel like I understood what was going on, but that’s not the author’s fault. I always feel it’s better to read a series in order, but now and then I will jump in midway like I did this time and it worked out just fine.

The story takes place in Los Angeles, but not the glitzy LA of Hollywood. This is Compton and the surrounding areas, a gritty urban area. I got sucked into the story, which had a lot of twists and turns. We also learn Bruno’s backstory. Bruno has a lot of inner turmoil, wanting to do the right thing but also wanting revenge. I loved Bruno’s dad and the dog, Junior Mint, who provided comic relief now and then. Putnam has a law enforcement background, which lends a lot of realism to the novel.

Note: It turns out that the first four books in the series are “current day” stories and books 5 through 8 are prequels. (Therefore, in order of Bruno’s life story, this book would be number 4.) I am very curious to read book one now, which follows this one chronologically, to see how Bruno fares after all the events of The Ruthless.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Ruthless is a crime thriller with a gritty authenticity that is born in the disquieting interface between crime and law enforcement. An engrossing plot and complex characters ensure that this novel is hard to put down. This is the eighth book in the Bruno Johnson series and while I now wish I’d read the previous books, I don’t feel I was short-changed reading this out of order. Bruno Johnson is a Los Angeles County Deputy Sherriff, resourceful and tough, who relentlessly pursues answers and justice regardless of the cost.

Bruno is working undercover as Karl Higgins on a gun sting operation that is being run out of Transworld Freightliners. The transition into this underground role has left him keeping secrets from those close to him and appearing to have broken faith with those that knew him from law enforcement. Just as things are heating up in the sting, he learns that his old friend Judge Connors and his wife are murdered in a brutal shooting. Initial investigation raises issues and now the obligation to see this through to find the killer has him hooked.

Bruno’s family situation is an unremitting stream of tragedy and heartbreak. His teenage daughter, Olivia, is found dead from an apparent heroin overdose, and one of her twins has disappeared. Bruno’s intuition is that her thug partner Derek Sams is responsible and knows where his grandson is, or what has happened to him. Sams is currently in the middle of a trial that Bruno is trying to keep tabs on.

With three main crime strands being developed I worried that it may be too much to maintain a balance, but they are wonderfully plotted and add to the sense of a relentless and committed role Bruno plays with his job. It is not surprising with the amount of stress and tragedy he endures, that psychological strain will surface. Bruno talks to his father for support and this provides the perfect counterbalance to the damage and bitterness that has dominated. The relationship Bruno and his father have brings a dimension to the story that adds colourful depth and background, with the sharing of advice, concern and the telling of how Bruno’s mother walked out on them when he was a child, resonates with his own partner and daughter.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that David Putnam had been in law enforcement for a large part of his career, as he pulls on all the authentic terminology and methods imaginable. The dialogue is clever and distinctive and creates a uniquely dark yet hopeful atmospheric thriller that captivates with great assurance in this unforgettable novel.

I would highly recommend this novel and I would like to thank Oceanview Publishing, David Putnam and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.

LA County Deputy Sheriff has enough going on in his personal life = his daughter is dead, his son in law has done something with one of his grandsons, and now a judge he liked has been murdered. Then there's his professional life- he's on a long term undercover operation that's finally beginning to pay off. These two worlds collide when he's asked (and wants to) help with the murder investigation. This has a lot of moving parts, including a revelation by Bruno's father that might mean more to someone who has followed the series. I read this as a standalone and by and large was fine with it that way. It's gritty, it's fast paced, and Putnam's law enforcement background is used to good advantage. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I'm going to look for Bruno again.

I appreciated that this book is a part of a series, but that it can be read as a stand alone. I liked the plot and how it wove all the different cases into one. Having more than one plot line from the beginning kept it interesting throughout. For the most part I liked the main character and I liked his struggle with vengeance. I didn’t like his worship of his dad as it got annoying. I did find the ending a bit abrupt with some missing closure, but as a part of a prequel series I figured it might be touched upon later. I would pick up another in the series sometime in the future.

Another winner by David Putnam! An action packed page turner that was even better than the previous book in the series. I couldn’t put the book down needing to know what would happen to Bruno Johnson. I can’t wait for the next book.

Although I have not read any of the novels in the Bruno Johnson series, I was drawn to author, .David Putnam.. He is an interesting author. He has a background in many areas of law enforcement in Arizona, Nevada and California additionally was a member of the real-live Hawaii Five-0 team. He served on an FBI sponsored Violent Victims crimes team ….etc. etc. to name just a few. Needless to say, he has firsthand experience with his fictional characters.

Story is based on the scheme where the crooks sell stolen property to other crooks. Only in this case they are law enforcement officers.
Bruno Johnson is a Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy and is using this operation to search for what really happened to his daughter. We learn early on that she was a teenage mother of twins and has been murdered.
Not going to give anyway away but the ending is GREAT!
This is the final Early-years Bruno novels. It seems they were prequels to the real-time Bruno series.
Next up in the Bruno series is “The Disposables”.

In every novel I read, I love reading the ‘Author’s Note” as well as their Acknowledgements. I believe this is always a secret inside story to the story!
Wow! This one is on the top of my favorite list. In fact, this is a story in itself!
I am now a big [author: David Putnam] fan!

Want to thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for this early release granted to me for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 2, 2021

The Ruthless
by David Putnam
Oceanview Publishing
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 02 Feb 2021 | Archive Date Not set

I picked this one up on NetGalley on a whim, and I'm so glad I did. Excellent book with likeable and interesting characters. I will go back and read some more of Putnam's books now.
Thanks, Ocean ViewPublishing!

5 star

The Ruthless is, according to the author's note at the back of the book, the fourth in the "early years" series featuring Bruno Johnson, and the current books are the series moving forward. I've not read any off the books in this series prior to this.

The book opens well - Bruno and a tweaker named Nigel, sitting in a stolen car, with Bruno holding several thousand in cash to give to a PI. The PI clocks Bruno through his used-for-a-sting name of Karl. Bruno (and Nigel) are arrested shortly after the encounter, and Bruno gets reamed out by his former boss, who thinks Bruno is a former cop - he isn't, he's just sitting in on a long, long sting.

We get a bit of backstory, including Bruno tracking down his son in law and breaking several of his fingers while trying to get said son in law to admit to abducting one of his twin sons. So we know that either Bruno doesn't have the greatest temperament, or he's allowing his emotions to get the better of him.

Wicks, his former boss, comes to talk to Bruno about joining in the hunt to figure out who killed a judge and his wife. They were shot down in their driveway, and Wicks is looking for more headlines, but needs Bruno to help him get there.

The bulk of the book is taken up by that search - following leads, asking tons of questions, an in general being a pain in the ass to criminals. The ending comes in hard and very fast, with a nonstop action ride, one very surprising action by Bruno's dad, and a conclusion that would be ambiguous were it not for the rather long author's note at the end.

Thanks to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy.

Three out of five stars.

I first encountered David Putnam’s LA County Sheriff Bruno Johnson back in 2018 in The Innocents, a book that was clearly labeled “The Early Years: Book One.” But, honestly, I didn’t think much about that label at the time. In The Innocents Bruno is a brand new sheriff’s deputy whose first assignment is to work his way inside a group of dirty narcotics cops to help bust them – not a great way to start off a law enforcement career. Little did I know that my next encounter with Bruno would be 2021’s The Ruthless, the fourth and final “Early Years” book.

The unusual thing about the Bruno Johnson series is that coming late to it may turn out to be as much a positive as a negative thing for readers. That’s because the first four books in the series (all published between 2014 and 2017) are “real time” novels in which Bruno is an ex-cop doing his best to save children from those who wish them harm. The “early years” books explain how Bruno became the man he is today, and why he is such a staunch children’s advocate. Consequently, readers who feel more comfortable reading a series in chronological order, may want to read the second four books in this so-far, eight-book series first.

In The Innocents, Bruno only learns that he is a father when his ex-girlfriend knocks on his door and hands him a baby girl just a few weeks old. Never one to shirk responsibility, Bruno, with the help of his father, begins to raise the little girl. Now, in The Ruthless, that little girl, Olivia, has twin baby sons of her own, fathered by a street thug the world calls her common-law husband. To make matters worse, one of the little boys has disappeared, and Bruno can’t get any answers that make sense.

Bruno Johnson is all about family, and as he sees it, not only has he failed to protect his daughter from the likes of Derek Sams, he hasn’t even managed to protect his innocent grandsons from the man. His home life already in tatters, Bruno is also on the outs with his longtime sheriff’s department partner, and is feeling guilty about the lies and half-truths he’s having to tell his father. And just when he thinks it can’t get any worse, two close friends of his, a superior court judge and the judge’s wife are brutally shotgunned to death inside their own garage. Bruno wants to fix all of it – or at least make someone pay – even if he ruins the rest of his life in the process.

Bottom Line: Bruno Johnson is one of the most interesting and complex series characters to come along in a while. He is a man with a strong moral code who is willing to break that code for the greater good when it comes to that. He is a family man who loves his daughter, grandsons, and father more than he loves life itself. He is a black man operating in a world in which it sometimes seems that those on neither side of the law enforcement equation really trust him. And he’s definitely a man I want to know more about, so luckily for me I’ve barely scratched the surface of this intriguing series. I'll let you decide where you want to start the Bruno Johnson series, just get started, because this is not a series you want to miss out on.

This is my second journey into Bruno Johnson's world and I'm hooked. The story grabbed me at the start and didn't let up. If not for RL responsibilities, I would have finished this in one sitting. I felt all of Bruno's anger and torment. I can't really say more without giving anything away.

David Putnam is retired from various law enforcement agencies and he knows how to write. The authors notes are always informative and a great read.

Hell of a book. Admittedly it’s the first in the series that I’ve read, and I requested it on Net Galley on a whim, but I’m not sorry I did. I read the whole thing in about a day- I had a hard time putting it down to be honest. The main character Bruno is so immensely likable and easy to connect to that you just want to read more about him. Fabulous book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Bruno Johnson is a tough cop that is working an undercover illegal gun sting operation. He also gets involved when his good friend, a superior court judge, and his wife are murdered. Meanwhile his late daughter’s baby daddy is a thug who wants custody of Bruno’s grandson and may have been responsible for her death.

4.5 stars.

This isn’t a really long book but there is a lot going on. I liked the LA setting, I always like cop novels set in around LA and I liked the characters. While this was fine to read as a stand-alone I feel like I would have been more up to speed with what was going on in Bruno’s backstory had I read the other books in the series. It is clear that the author knows the police world and the LA area well and that added a lot of authenticity. This was my first read from this author but I will definitely pick up more installments of this series.

When I read David Putnam's dedication page and learned that he received more than 156 rejections before he found a publisher for his first book all I could think was, "Dumbasses!"

Because to read David's writing is to be transported, mesmerized and held captive. David's real-life experience in law enforcement comes through in all of the details that separate brilliant writing from the mediocre. The dialogue is perfect, the gallows humor works, and the descriptions and depictions of the ugliness our men and women in blue face every single day rings so true that you feel you are doing a ride-along.

I don't want to say too much about the particulars of this installment but in general it is a brilliant meld of Bruno's professional and personal lives colliding in ways that are excruciating and brutal...but never hopeless.

If you have not yet hopped onto the Bruno Johnson train what in the world are you waiting for?

Thank you to David Putnam for gifting me a copy of this book. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.

Jump on the roller coaster whipping through the streets of L.A. in this gritty street tale through the masterful pen of David Putnam. Action unfolds through the emotions and actions of Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy, Bruno Johnson, who won't let anything stand in the way of justice for his family and friends. His name is used on the streets with reverence when uttered by his adversaries ... he is known and respected for his unwavering tenacity and violence in the quest for justice. This novel rivals the exploits of Michael's Connelly's Detective Harry Bosch in excitement and authenticity. Bruno's life is in turmoil ... he has just faked his resignation in order to go undercover in a Federally run gun sting, while his dreams are nightly haunted by the unlikely suicide of his daughter ,Olivia and the suspicious disappearance of his grandson, Albert. He suspects Olivia's thug-like common-law husband, Derek Sams is somehow connected with both.. Olivia's dog Junior Mint has become his almost constant companion in his relentless battle against evil to seek justice. To further complicate his multiple ongoing investigations his good friend, Judge Connor and his wife are brutally murdered by close range shotgun .... execution style.
David Putnam proves to a masterful storyteller as he weaves an intricate and convoluted series of catastrophic events together in a fast paced page-turner, that benefits from a cast of multidimensional characters. A portrait not of vengeance, but of the obtainable righteous justice, that we all hunger for. Be prepared to enter a web of chaos and enjoy Putnam's expert unravelling skills. Thanks to NetGalley and David Putnam for providing an Uncorrected Proof of this gem , in exchange for an honest review. Excuse me, while I go download another Bruno Johnson tale. (at readersremains.com)

Another compulsive page turner from a under rated crime writer. If you want to enjoy a police procedural series climb into Putnams work and enjoy a great author. Read on!

Excellent mix of professional and personal lives of protagonist Bruno. Lots of day-today activities in the struggles to balance life as a family man and a police officer.

The Ruthless by David Putnam – 5 Stars
Publisher: Oceanview
ISBN: 9781608094066

The Ruthless is another gritty story in the Bruno Johnson series that is set in the dark and dangerous streets of Los Angeles, the ones the tourists never visit. Having read all of the books in this series, I enjoyed learning more about Bruno’s earlier life. I loved Junior Mint, a big, intelligent and loyal dog. He is loyal and friendly but hates bad guys and lets them know it. That describes Bruno as well, so Junior is the perfect companion. As always, the events are tense and authentic. After reading the author’s notes at the conclusion and learning about the author’s experiences in law enforcement, it is obvious David Putnam knows the world he writes about. Bruno’s life has been tragic in many ways, but he stays true to his quest to help those who can least help themselves and does his best to set the world right. He doesn’t always get it correct and sometimes things don’t go as planned, but he keeps fighting. Each book has been an adventure, a raw and powerful look into a scary all too real world.


Reviewer: Nancy