The Scorned by David Putnam Book Review

About the Book:

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.

My Review:

It took me a while to get into this novel. It is down the line in a long series and there is much from the previous books that is important at the beginning of this one. Bruno is a rescuer and this plot deals with some serious issues such as human trafficking. Bruno is a flawed hero, having murdered before. He is not a gentle man when it comes to rescue. He and his sidekick inflict some serious damage when necessary. This novel is not for cozy mystery readers.

Putnam's writing style reveals his experience in law enforcement. The novel is full of action yet shows the human side of Bruno and his concern for people. He is not my kind of hero, however. This is a novel for readers who are not put off by violence.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

During his law enforcement career, “Deputy Dave” Putnam worked primarily in California on teams for Patrol, Investigations, SWAT, Narcotics (street level and majors), Violent Crimes, Criminal Intelligence, Internal Affairs and the Detective Bureau.

He rounded out his law enforcement career with a few years in the Hawaiian Islands as a Special Agent–part of a real-life “Hawaii-50” team.

He’s now retired from law enforcement and spends his time growing organic California avocados and writing, with his wife Mary and their three dogs.

Oceanview Publishing, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)