Bruno Johnson left his job as a county deputy so that he can spend more time with his daughter Olivia. Now Bruno is a court officer. He gets a phone call from his daughter that she is in trouble. Bruno thinks nothing of leaving his job to go find his daughter. Olivia has been hanging out with Derek, a known gang member. Bruno has tried his best to get Olivia away from Derek. Olivia is only fifteen and Derek is older, but Olivia loves him.  

Now his daughter is being used as a pawn so that a known murderer can get out of jail. Barkow has planned a prison escape along with several other prisoners. Barkow gets his girls to help with the escape. Now he is out and everyone is looking for him. Bruno goes back to his old unit to get this scumbag before he hurts his daughter.   

Now Barkow is holding Olivia hostage, telling Bruno he will let her go if he delivers one of the girls that has betrayed him. With all this going on, Bruno also is involved with Nicky a lawyer who just happens to be married to a cop. Nicky claims that they have been separated for six months. Bruno finds out that this is a lie. Will Bruno get to his daughter and save her before it is too late? Will things work out with him and Nicky? Only time will tell.  

David Putnam writes a really good thriller in THE HEARTLESS. Not only does Putnam show what a father would do for his child, but also, a little romance. I see that this book is one in several of the Bruno Johnson series. I will have to find some of the other ones just to get a little more background on Bruno's life.    

At times this book did get a little slow, but then it picks right back up.  I also like the way that Putnam had the judge get involved with finding the daughter; the judge was fearless. THE HEARTLESS is a great read.