The Vanquished: A Bruno Johnson Novel (Bruno Johnson Series) by David Putnam
- tarascates
- Jan 19, 2017
- 2 min read
Former cop and ex-con Bruno Johnson and his wife Marie, living in their safe haven in Costa Rica with the children they illegally rescued from certain death, find a message from their outlaw motorcycle gang enemies―written on the back of one of their beloved children. The motorcycle gang, Sons of Satan, out for revenge, will stop at nothing to lure the now furious Bruno back into their web. Bruno and Marie, forced to return to Southern California, battle additional demons in the form of an ex-spouse's entanglements.
The FBI, watching the Sons of Satan, recognizes Bruno's unique skills and ties. They recruit him to recover a stolen military drone armed with Hellfire missiles, while Bruno struggles to keep pregnant Marie out of the crossfire. Ultimately, Bruno's inability to ignore a woman in peril yields unspeakable consequences.
The synopsis sounded interesting and thankfully the book did not disappoint. I liked how Putnam portrayed this couple and it was really sweet to see an example of such strong commitment and family.
However, this is NOT just some sweet Leave It To Beaver kind of family story. You will be taken on one heck of a roller coaster because this author has an incredibly descriptive style that makes you feel as if a movie is playing before you on the pages. As good as this is, don’t read this if you have a weak stomach because you will feel the brutality down to your bones. Every time you think you can take a breath another dangerous surprise pops up.
The roller coaster will take you to the end via twists and turns you never see coming, it’s the perfect action thriller and very well written as the numerous stories blend together to form one perfect book. The character development and interactions between characters will leave you in awe because it blends so well with the action scenes it’s very much a symbiotic relationship between the story lines.
Later when I decided to look more into the author I found out this book is part of a series but it was good enough that I did not feel like I was missing out by not reading the early novels however now that I know they exist I want to check them out and see if they’re just as good.
*synopsis and pic from amazon.com
Thank you Netgalley and Oceanview for allowing me to review this book.