The Heartless

David Putnam

Feb 2020 · Oceanview Publishing

About this ebook

Tough deputy Bruno Johnson can handle violent criminals, but his biggest challenge—his teenage daughter, who's fallen hard for a street thug

Former LA County Deputy Bruno Johnson is now a bailiff in the courts having stepped down from his role on the Violent Crimes Team to spend more time with his daughter, Olivia. Bruno fears his job decision may have come too late when he gets a frantic call to extricate Olivia from a gunpoint situation in a LA gang-infested neighborhood. His desperation escalates when he realizes Louis Barkow, a stone-cold killer awaiting trial, had orchestrated that deadly tableau.

When Barkow and three other criminals break out of jail and hit the streets, Bruno is plunged back into violent crime mode. Now, the agenda is personal—Olivia has become a pawn in the desperate chase of this sinister murderer.

The walls are caving in on Bruno as violence escalates in his hunt for Barkow and his heart strings are stretched to the breaking point as he struggles to protect his daughter not only from the criminal violence swirling around them, but from Olivia's own impetuous life choices.

Fans of Michael Connelly and Robert Crais will love the Bruno Johnson Crime Series

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 Ruthless
The Sinister (coming February 2022)

Ratings and reviews

L A County Deputy Bruno Johnson has taken a job as a court bailiff to give his daughter, Olivia, more structure in her life. Olivia is fifteen, rebellious and is attracted to a local gangbanger. Bruno is forced to go back to his old life in the Violent Crimes Team when Louis Barkow has arranged to escape from prison, using Olivia as bait. Louis continues his killing spree daring Bruno to find him. I have received this book from Edelweiss for free in exchange for an honest review. I couldn't put the book down. Bruno Johnson is an anti-hero. He likes to protect people but will cross lines in doing so. In this book, he tries to save his daughter from a life of crime and possible death. He gets a more stable job but she still wants to be with her boyfriend who lives the street life. The book is full of action from the first chapter and almost every page Bruno Johnson is a terrific character and is what every father should be. I am glad the book shows his vulnerability to his father, his daughter, and his potential love interest. The book is number 7 in the series. I would recommend the series if it if as good as this book

LA County Deputy Bruno Johnson has stepped down from the Violent Crimes Team and is now a bailiff in the courts. During the trial of Louis Barkow, a well known killer, Bruno receives a call from this teenage daughter. She tells him that there are people with guns and she's hiding in a closet. When Bruno arrives, he finds her location is in a gang-infested neighborhood and she's with her boyfriend, a young man that Bruno has warned him to stay away from his daughter. What really makes Bruno's blood run cold is that Barkow had arranged the entire thing, so as to make his escape from jail. His daughter needs protecting and Bruno needs to hunt down those who placed her in danger. It's gritty, it's dark, it's violent. The author brings a lot of credibility to this novel as he spent his career in law enforcement. There is a lot of drama between Bruno, his daughter, and his father.... sometimes with humor, sometimes not. It's a gripping romp with escalating violence ... and his daughter is smack dab in the middle. Although 7th in this riveting series, this one is easily read as a stand alone. However, I always recommend starting at the very beginning to catch those nuggets that make this a sensational read. Many thanks to the author / Oceanview Publishing / Netgalley / Edelweiss for the digital copy of this hard-boiled mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

During his career in law enforcement, best-selling author David Putnam has done it all: worked in narcotics, violent crimes, criminal intelligence, hostage rescue, SWAT, and internal affairs, to name just a few. He is the recipient of many awards and commendations for heroism. The Heartless is the seventh novel and the third in the "young Bruno" prequels for the acclaimed and best-selling Bruno Johnson crime series, following The Disposables, The Replacements, The Squandered, The Vanquished, The Innocents, and The Reckless. Putnam lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Mary.