The Disposables by David Putnam
“The bell above the door jangled. I looked up from the open Wall Street Journal on the scarred,
grimy counter. A kid came in with a brisk blast of Southern California winter,
his ball cap skewed on his head, pulled down over the top of his hoodie. He was
black with dark skin that made him difficult to recognize under the navy-blue sweatshirt
hood. Both hands were in his pockets. The kid was about to die.”
The
scene is set, and Bruno Johnson moves into action. This is South Central LA Noir; gritty, fast
paced and full of the tragedies we see on the evening news.
Bruno, a former member of the Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s elite Violent Crimes
Team, served a term in prison and is out on parole. He struggles with the hard realities of life
as an ex-con like trying to make a living with most doors of employment closed
to him. He is hassled by his former
brothers in arms, the police, at seemingly every turn. He lives in an area that will be described as
an American battle zone in the history books of our future.
There
is a bit of sunshine in the somber world of Bruno Johnson. He is loved by Marie, a physician’s
assistant, who saved him from despair in the 4:00 a.m. stretch of his soul’s
dark night. He lives for the light he glimpses at the end of the tunnel,
redemption in the form of saving some lives for those lost, for the one he
took. He and Marie share a mission, they are working secretly to save what they
can of The Disposables, abused,
neglected children that fall through the great crevices in our society’s safety
net for the young and vulnerable.
In this
first volume of the series, a chance encounter with his former partner, Robby
Wicks (now a high ranking detective), thrusts Bruno into helping investigate a
high profile case. This is ‘unofficial’
of course, and made all the more dangerous by his inability to be sure who is
really friend or foe.
This is
not a cozy book. The subject matter is
in the stygian gloom at the edges of our lives.
We all know crime exists in the bright, clean new suburbs of our cities.
But if you have never lived or worked in the older, decrepit areas of town, you
have never had a good look at the crumbling, blighted lives that exist there.
This book has a clear-eyed view of the many people who are hungry, hurt,
terrified and truly in need of help in our land of plenty. This book has some hard subject matter, but
read it. There is hope here and a truly
fine hero rising from the ashes of his former self. Highly recommended.
"I really loved The
Disposables. It's raw, powerful, and
eloquent. It’s a gritty street poem recited by a voice unalterable committed to
redemption and doing the right thing in a wrong world. I’ll be first in line
for the next one from David Putnam.” Michael Connelly, New York Times best-selling author of The Crossing
No comments:
Post a Comment