The Innocents

By David Putnam

Reminiscent of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch

The Early Years: Book One

Bruno Johnson, a newly minted LA County Sheriff Violent Crimes detective, gets the worst assignment possible—infiltrate a sheriff’s narcotics team that may be involved in murder for hire. Gain their trust and be brought into the scheme. If he succeeds, he will have to arrest and testify against his fellow deputies—if he lives that long.

To make matters worse, before Bruno leaves home on the first day of this assignment, he answers the door to find an ex-girlfriend. Without explanation, she hands him a baby girl only weeks old. The child is his. Stunned and terrified, he now faces immediate fatherhood as well as the traitor-like charge to take down his colleagues.

Juggling his complex home life, Bruno tackles his assignment to discover that no one is who they seem to be and that his boss, Lieutenant Wicks, might be involved. His mission is further complicated when an attractive female deputy, recently transferred from Public Affairs, is also put on the case. She has no street experience, and Bruno carries the extra burden of watching her back—a tough assignment made tougher by personal attraction.

As Bruno gets deeper and deeper into the corruption, he doesn't know whom to trust, and in the end, confides in the wrong person.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
• Release date: Feb 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781608092581

David Putnam

During his career in law enforcement, best-selling author David Putnam has 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. A Lonesome Blood-Red Sun is the second novel in the Dave Beckett, Bone Detective series. Putnam is also the author of the very popular Bruno Johnson series. The Sinister is the ninth novel in the best-selling Bruno Johnson Crime Series, following The Disposables, The Replacements, The Squandered, The Vanquished, The Innocents, The Reckless, The Heartless, and The Ruthless. Putnam lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Mary.

Reviews for The Innocents

[gatorhater · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had a hard time connecting with these characters, it was a bit dry and drawn out for my taste. The story line took a long time to develop which made my mind wonder as the plot thickened. It might have been because this was the fourth book with is character.

[bah195 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I'm sorry to say I had a very hard time getting into this book and I never connected with the characters. There were too many police terms that I didn't understand. I guess this is not my kind of book.

[rob80ert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the plot but it was a bit dry in my opinion. I may look for more Bruno Johnson books in the future.

[jgoto_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Innocents is a mildly entertaining crime drama. It is part of a series with Bruno Johnson starring as a young cop in Los Angeles. I have never read any other books in this series and probably never will. Bruno is a 25 year old man quick to believe anything anyone tells him and quick to judge others. Not a character with whom I can sympathize much. The plot of The Innocents revolves around dirty cops (lots of them!) and a newborn baby that is dropped off at Bruno's by an ex-girlfriend without notice. The baby is mentioned six or seven times in the story, with Bruno professing great love and responsibility for his new found daughter - when the action stops long enough for him to remember she exists. Baby Olivia could have made this story complex and interesting, but she ends up being a minor, token character. On the whole, the book was easy to get through, but not one I would recommend.

[alohaboy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first Bruno Johnson book I have read. It turns out to be a prequel with a young Bruno Johnson, just promoted as a LA County Sheriff Violent Crimes detective. The book starts out with Bruno enjoying an early morning shower with his captain's secretary, the doorbell rings, Bruno answers and is handled a baby that his ex-girlfriend tells him is his and she can no longer take care of her. After sorting through the ex, and the secretary, Bruno leave the baby with his dad and heads to his first day as a detective. He is assigned as an undercover cop to investigate internal corruption within the sheriff's narcotics unit. But right from the beginning, Bruno finds things are complicated, particularly when a female neophyte cop is transferred to the unit and he must watch her back. Who is corrupt--the supervisor who assigns him, the racist cops he infiltrates, or somebody higher up the law enforcement ladder--and will Bruno end up corrupt as a result of the assignment?I enjoyed the book. The action is well plotted, the characters appear to be realistic composites of law enforcement personnel the author interacted with, and the action is intense. The author's time in law enforcement clearly comes through in the dialogue, the tensions between family and the job, and the situations Bruno finds himself in. One blurb refers to the author as reminiscent of Jospeh Wambaugh's work. I agree.I will go back and read the earlier books in the Bruno Johnson series now.

[darcia_10 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I'm clearly in the minority, but, for me, this story was a mess.Right at the opening, Bruno's ex-girlfriend shows up at his house and shoves a two-week-old baby at him, saying it's his and she doesn't want the kid. Then she leaves. This should be dramatic. A huge deal. But it's not. She could have been dropping off a turtle or a load of laundry for all the trouble it caused him. At no time does Bruno shop for baby stuff. The car seat, crib, diapers, formula, clothing, etc., must have appeared magically, paid for with Monopoly money. He never misses work. His social life doesn't suffer. He doesn't check in, arrange child care, worry about pediatrician appointments or vaccines or colic or diaper rash or sleepless nights. He just does what he wants. He supposedly loves this child and worries, though I don't know exactly when this connection happens. I certainly didn't feel it.Bruno's father immediately takes over child care, no questions asked, which either makes him a saint or an idiot. He hires a full-time nanny right away, because, as any working parent knows, that's simple and inexpensive. (Yes, that was sarcasm.) Then either Bruno moves in with his father or just hangs out there when he visits his kid. I don't know, because it was all unclear. The baby issue was far more of a distraction for me than for Bruno. As the story moved on, I kept wondering about the baby. Who has her? Why doesn't Bruno ever check in? Does he even think about custody issues? A court order? Something! The whole baby angle was a pointless part of the plot that simply didn't work.Then we have Bruno's job, which is a high-octane game of cops and robbers. Bruno's career goes at lightning speed. Dirty cops and questionable shootings and no one ever sleeps. There isn't a lot of character development. Bruno comes off as immature. He flies off the handle at his superiors. And what about the baby?We spend a whole lot of time and detail on stake-outs and shoot-outs and take-downs. Every little nuance of these situations is covered.But what about the baby?The baby didn't matter. Not even in the end. So what was the point of it all? I don't know.*I received an ebook copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*

[sherripo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I have read by David Putnam. I found the part of the book referring to Bruno finding out he had a daughter when the baby is dropped off by the mom a little distracting from the rest of the plot. That part of the story line didn't really fit with the rest of the plot because Bruno didn't seem to even remember he had a daughter for most of the book. I would read another one of his books in this series but I hope in the next one the baby part of the story is more developed. Otherwise, I'm not sure what the point was. The rest of the book regarding the police cases, etc kept my interest.

[jessinikkip · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a great book. I'd never read any of the books starring Bruno Johnson before, but this one worked well as a stand alone option for someone just coming into it. At the start of the novel, I thought that I knew what all was going on and who exactly the bad guys were. I cheered along as Bruno held his righteous anger against all the bad guys and booed when it seemed they might win. I wondered along with him whether Wicks could possibly be involved and worked to find out where Chelsea really came from. In the end, I was surprised by the ending, something that few novels are able to do for me. Usually there is way too much given away through the course of the novel that the twist isn't a big surprise. The language used was very specific, but things that an average reader wouldn't know was always explained and I loved how into the characters lives you could become, following along with Bruno and feeling so invested in him that you want him to solve the crime and win in the end.

[norinrad10 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books that ring with authenticity yet the plot has holes you can drive a truck through. Bruno Johnson is an interesting enough protagonist, though his response to everything seems to be to lash out. The boy has anger issues and not of the interesting kind. In this case, Bruno goes undercover to catch a couple crooked vice cops engaging in a murder for hire side business. Best I can tell he spends most of that time being pissed off and lashing out at people that could probably help him. The book is not terrible, but I'm not sure it qualifies as good either. It kinda strikes me as a tier or two below Ace Atkins. If you like Atkins you might enjoy this book.

[samsattler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I come, as usual, late to a relatively new crime fiction series, this one featuring 25-year-old policeman Bruno Johnson, but I'm happy that I finally got here."The Innocents" is book five in the Bruno Johnson series, and in this one Bruno learns that he has an infant daughter only when she is handed to him by the baby's stressed out and exhausted mother. That proves to be a problem, but because Bruno's father is thrilled with the addition to his family, it is not one that defeats the young policeman.While trying to cope with the idea that he is a new father, Bruno takes on an extremely difficult assignment, one that sees him going undercover in an effort to nail two of the most ruthless cops imaginable, cops so bad that they have become on-the-job contract killers. As Bruno tries to gather enough evidence to nail the two killers, he comes to the realization that he can't trust anyone, including his handlers, because no one turns out to be what they appear. Now the question is will he live long enough to see his daughter reach her first birthday? And if he does, will he still be with the police, or will he be in prison?This is a fun ride, and I now fully intend to go back and find the first four books in the Bruno Johnson series because I want to enjoy all of the ride, not just part of it. Good stuff.

[wazeau · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this as part of the Early Reviewer program.This is a prequel to the Bruno Johnson series, showing Bruno as he first joins the LA County Sheriff Violent Crimes division. He is quickly thrown into an undercover assignment trying to get evidence on what seems to be a murder for hire police squad. Not only that but he also has a newborn baby thrust into his arms from a woman he used to love. He has to navigate a very corrupt group of policemen, while fighting his own inner rage which may drag him into his own brand of corruption.I wanted very much to like this quick paced thriller. The story is engaging, the writing tight and well done. But for some reason, I didn't quite buy the whole "new daughter" scenario as having much of an impact on the detective. The very day he gets her he dumps her on his father and a woman his father finds to watch her, and off he goes to risk his life in a very chilling undercover situation. I realize he is all about finding justice but that annoyed me. It was very interesting to read the police procedural stuff knowing the author was very well versed in that subject. The characters were well fleshed-out and believable. I think I would have liked it a lot better if the baby wasn't thrown in there at the beginning.

[grumpydan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bruno Johnson get assigned to LA Sheriff’s violent crimes division and then is sent to the narcotics division to infiltrate what could be a murder for hire within that department. But before all this happens, his ex-girlfriend drops of his daughter (one he did not know about) because she can’t handle the newborn. So now not only does he have to take care of his daughter he must spy on other cops. Relying hard to keep his honor and integrity, he doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe. This is my first encounter with the Bruno Johnson novels, and although at times it is a little over the top (great for an action movie), it is a great read. Characters with depth, intense situations and a fast-paced narrative makes me want to read more. It certainly kept me on the edge.

[jfe16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received a free copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Readers programBruno Johnson, newly assigned as a Los Angeles Sheriff Violent Crimes detective and tasked with infiltrating a narcotics team believed to be involved in murder for hire, is reluctant to trust anyone. Will he find a way to stop the killers or will his efforts end his career?But Bruno has more than work on his mind. He’s just learned that he has a newborn daughter . . . when her mother handed him the baby and left. So he’s on the fast track for learning how to care for an infant and discovering how having a child changes both his life and his perspective. But there’s still the officers that may well be contract killers. And Bruno needs to find the answers before it’s too late.Fast-paced, gritty, and filled with suspense, this well-drawn police procedural offers believable characters, a twisty plot, and an insight into the dangers faced by those who choose law enforcement careers. Although this is the fifth in the Bruno Johnson series, it looks back to the early days of his career. Readers will find much to appreciate in Bruno’s introspective musings as he struggles with his assignment. The ever-increasing tension leads to an unexpected reveal late in the story; readers will find it difficult to set this one aside before reaching the final page.Recommended.

[larxol_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Author David Putnam’s experience in law enforcement informs his novel The Innocents with rich detail of the gritty interplay of cops and robbers on the streets of Los Angeles, including what happens when characters don’t fit neatly into labels of good guys and bad guys. While this is the fifth book in the series featuring detective Bruno Johnson, it’s a prequel set early in his career with LA Sheriff’s Department. He’s dropped into an internal affairs investigation into a murder-for-hire operation that seems to involve someone in the department. The suspense builds through the story as he tries to figure out who, if anybody, he can trust.The book also explains how Bruno came to be a single parent, when a former girl friend drops off a surprise baby daughter in the first few pages. The intent seems to be to show the tension between Bruno’s job and his new family responsibilities, but this baby seems to require less attention than a new African violet and doesn’t really get worked into the story very well.

[melany30-22509 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was ok. I don't like that it was the 5th book in the series. I like to read from the very beginning so I know everything that is going on. But other then that it was an ok book. It didn't have me on the edge wanting to change the page so bad. But it was an interesting read