Excellent reading.
The book is set in two parts, 1979 and then 1988.
In 1979 Dave Beckett is the new guy in his police department, just finished his training, now on probation for the next 6 months, he has his own squad car and his own beat to patrol. While his the rookie and on patrol, he see’s more violence and mayhem than the average officer would see in there whole career, to see almost everything straight up must have a huge impact on your emotional state. We see through the eyes of Beckett what he thinks, see’s and feels.
I did have to laugh at one point where Becket in 1988, has a pager, and his boss is repeatedly paging him to ring him. Beckett say’s “ technology, what will they think of next” it makes you realise the vast difference between times.
The author has captured the character and feelings very well, so your actually feeling and seeing from Beckett’s view, not just the crime itself.
I enjoyed this book very much.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this novel. My review is voluntary.

Okay, so one of the things I loved about this book was the fact that you learn that the cases that the character worked on are actually real and cases he worked on when he worked in law enforcement. Some how for me, that just made this book even cooler, especially as it is not written as a memoir or a bio, but with his cases mixed in with some he has made up for the purposes of this being a work of fiction.

The writing style took me a couple of chapters to get used too, but once I had I found it smooth and seamless to to read. I liked the character, how he starts off so innocent or naïve I should say, and then after a brief time skip, he is much more jaded by his job.

This was an intense book, once things start to get laid 0ut and you can see where they are going, you can not help but feel sorry for the main character and his wife.

I do hope there is a sequel to this book to come.

this was a great start to the Dave Beckett series, it had what I enjoyed from previous works by Mr. Putnam and from other mystery novels. I was invested in what was going on with Dave Beckett and the other characters in this world. The story was what I was looking for in this type of book, and thought this was a wonderfully done detective novel. Overall this was a pleasure to read and I look forward to where this story goes from here.

"I had confidence in my ability to take the shot. Even so, in a blink, a thousand thoughts spun through my brain. In marksmanship I rated number two in the academy behind an ex-marine from Palm Springs PD. But was the sliding glass door I’d have to shoot through the new safety glass that would shatter and not deflect the round. Or was it the old type, solid, the kind that sheered. If so it would be anyone’s guess where the bullet would end up."

This book was sent to me by. Etgalley for review…thanks to the publisher for the electronic copy…mystery and intrigue…this book reads like true crime or a television series…this gifted author has written a novel that is intriguing…although the story moves slowly, at times, it does come to a resounding ending…

I loved the Bruno Johnson series by Mr. Putnam so I was thrilled to receive this ARC. Once again, Mr. Putnam introduces realistic, well written characters and great dialogue.

I love the writing style; it puts me on location with the boys. Looking forward to this series.

A Fearsome Moonlight Black by David Putnam -- 5 Stars
Publisher: Level Best Books
ISBN: 978168121501

This novel is divided into Book 1 and Book 2. In book one, we meet Dave Beckett, a young man serving his six-month probationary period as a police officer. He naively finds himself involved in crimes of murder, suicide, family disputes, and missing persons. Some of these result in fights for his life. They eat away at his personal beliefs. In book two, 8 years later, Dave is a seasoned detective. His views of life have changed. The action becomes more intense as the events of his rookie years resurface, and tie together. The previous crimes and his fellow officers are not as they appeared when Dave was younger. The plot becomes complex and surprising all the way to the conclusion.

I absolutely enjoyed this novel, both book one about a young officer’s experiences and book two when as an older detective he is confronted with his past. I am a fan and anxiously wait for the second book in the series.


Reviewer: Nancy