I first saw The Scorned by David Putnam in a tour. His name was familiar, but when I saw this cover, I was determined to do everything I could to win the giveaway. Karma was on my side, and I won the fabulous package below.

I know I am starting this out of order, but The Scorned by David Putnam is his latest release, so I am going to share that one first. As you can tell, I don’t have all of the other nine, but the main thing is….I have The Disposables, Book I, that I will be reading next.

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

First off, The Scorned by David Putnam is Book 10 and I have not read the previous books. The more I read of The Scorned, the more hooked I became and I will be going back to the beginning, The Disposables.

In the opening pages, David Putnam describes something that I find true, living in a tropical climate:

The humidity so thick words hung suspended a moment longer before dissipating.

I love the whole ex-cop, ex-con concept. Books that deal with trafficking in women and children hit home for me. I want to know the villains will get their comeuppance, at least in fiction. All too often, in reality, that does not happen. It does cause all my emotions to come into play.

Bruno Johnson and his bud, Karl Drago will face the villains…head on, raining hell down on them. I felt I knew Bruno, but Karl…it was a pleasure watching him grow and develop into a more complete individual. I would definitely want him on my side…and his crusty dog too.

The characters, even the good ones, do not walk the straight and narrow. Sometimes, to make things right, stepping outside the law is the only answer. Other times, we don’t always have the full story, so rushing to judgment can have you eating crow.

Most of the time, this action packed thriller was full of horrendous happenings, drugged and trafficked women, stolen babies, and meth heads. Other times, the good guys confront them, holding them accountable for their actions, showing no mercy and occasionally, even having some light hearted moments.

The more I read of The Scorned, the more it drew me in, feeling anger and fear, wondering how it will all end and if all my ‘friends’ will remain standing. I missed learning how the characters came to be in the situations we find them in…on the run, evading the law, forced to leave the United States and relocate to Costa Rica, though David Putnam did address it, filling in some of the blanks.

The children…the amazing actions taken to save any and all….

In the beginning, the story had an old time feel to it, the writing style making we wonder if the Bruno Johnson series was really for me. I kept at it and lost myself. I can hardly wait to go back to the beginning, The Disposables, and find out how it all started.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Scorned by David Putnam.

GOODREADS BLURB

Ex-cop, ex-con Bruno Johnson stumbles into a criminal organization that exploits women and children—he must fight his way out and home

Bruno Johnson is hiding out from the U.S. law in Costa Rica with his pregnant wife, Marie, and the ten kids they rescued from toxic homes in South Central Los Angeles. When Marie encounters a difficult labor and delivery, their good friend Dr. Vargas rescues both her and Bruno’s infant son. So Bruno feels indebted when asked to escort his daughter Layla, a college student in Los Angeles, back home to Costa Rica.

When Bruno arrives in Los Angeles, he finds the problem with Layla is complicated and dire. Layla has fallen in with Johnny, the leader of a vast and notorious criminal empire that exploits women and children. She says she’s had his child and that he has taken the baby.

Bruno enlists the help of his old friend Karl Drago—and his dog, Waldo—to aid in his search for Layla’s baby—a baby her parents disavow. Bruno soon discovers things aren’t as they appear, but he will stop at nothing to save the innocent baby and return to his family and newborn son in Costa Rica—providing he can evade capture while on U.S. soil.

Perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and David Baldacci

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
The Scorned
The Diabolical (coming 2024)

• Thriller, Mystery, Internations, Suspense

352 pages, Hardcover

Published February 7, 2023

ABOUT DAVID PUTNAM

Best-selling author David Putnam comes from a family of law enforcement. During his career, he did it all: worked in narcotics, served on FBI-sponsored violent crimes teams, and was cross-sworn as a US Marshall, pursuing murder suspects and bank robbers in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Putnam did two tours on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s SWAT team. He also has experience in criminal intelligence and internal affairs and has supervised corrections, patrol, and a detective bureau. In Hawaii, Putnam was a member of the real-life Hawaii Five O, serving as Special Agent for the Attorney General investigating smuggling and white-collar crimes.

Putnam lives in Southern California with his wife, Mary.

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