Published by Oceanview Publishing Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, suspense, thriller
Format: ARC, eBook
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
― Friedrich W. Nietzsche
Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy Bruno Johnson a.k.a. Karl Higgins, has been working undercover on an illegal gun sting. No one in his life knows what he is up to. Many believe he has turned his back on his career in law enforcement. He is walking that delicate step between keeping himself safe, his family safe, getting close to criminals and keeping secrets. Bruno has a lot on his plate which is about to get fuller when he learns that his friend, Judge Connors and his wife have been murdered. He cannot let it go, he won’t…. but how can he reman undercover on a fencing sting and catch a killer at the same time? Plus, because things can only get worse, he has deeply painful things going on in his personal life. These combined things serve as the perfect storm to wreak havoc on his life.
How to remain focused when you are grieving? How to pursue criminals when your whole world is one big ball of pain? In coming to terms with his present sad state, he and his father look back on the past as his father shares with him the truths about his own early months.
As Bruno navigates the cold (hot) hard streets of Los Angeles, he must remain ruthless, courageous, alert and tough as nails. This is a gritty and realistic book about a man pushed to his limits, trying his best, while kicking some you-know-what. I loved how the author used his personal knowledge and experience in law enforcement to create a realistic, believable and gritty world. His author’s note at the end is not to be missed!
Another plus is how he blended his two storylines – that of the fencing sting and the one about Bruno’s daughter Olivia and her twins together. I knew eventually that they would blend and collide somehow and as they say, it all comes together in the end.
Bruno inhibits a violent brutal world which is shown not only in the dialogue, but in the scenes and locations in which the book takes place. I love when environments and locals also become characters in this book. You can almost feel the heat coming off the pavement, feel the street breathing and feel weighed down by the tension in the air. Crime is not pretty, and neither is the crime in this book. This book is raw, realistic and riveting. I found it to be well written, dark and riveting. I love a good gritty crime novel and “The Ruthless” does not disappoint!
I have no doubt that those who enjoy crime novels will enjoy this one. You can tell by the title that this is the eighth book in the series, but it is the first one I have read, and it did work beautifully as a stand-alone book for me. Plus, it has a dog named Junior Mint in it – that is reason alone to pick this one up. Dogs are always the best characters!
Thank you to Oceanview Publishing and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own