The Hard Word: "THERE ARE LOTS OF SECRETS IN THE NEVADA DESERT.": AN INTERVIEW WITH THE BLUE HORSE'S BRUCE BORGOS

 The Hard Word: "THERE ARE LOTS OF SECRETS IN THE NEVADA DESERT.": AN INTERVIEW WITH THE BLUE HORSE'S BRUCE BORGOS

Review: The Blue Horse: A Porter Beck Mystery by Bruce Borgos

 

This comes out Tuesday... 

The Blue Horse: A Porter Beck Mystery by Bruce Borgos begins in September 2020. Covid is making an impact and will directly affect the good sheriff of Lincoln County, Nevada, in the coming days and weeks. But in the here and now of this beautiful September morning, Sheriff Beck and Chief Deputy Tuffy Scruggs are on horses are chatting and watching as wild mustangs are being herded for capture.

 

Sheriff Beck, 48, and with worsening eyesight problems that make him almost blind at night, is soon to be Chief of the Investigative Division of The Department of Public Safety. He is looking forward to the new job though he hates to move on from what he does now. That loss is mitigated by the fact that the new job means he will get to see his girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse, a state police detective, a lot more. He is also happy to turn over his current job to Tuffy Scruggs who will be the new sheriff.

 

With drought gripping the land, the Bureau of Land Management ordered an emergency roundup of the wild horses in the area. The goal is to remove almost fifteen hundred stallions, mares, and foals from the surrounding public land. Protestors have made their presence known, but they are not close to where the helicopter today is herding about forty wild horses known to the locals as the “Willow Creek Band.”

 

The horses are being herded into a nearby canyon with high limestone walls. Those walls hide the view as the helicopter makes multiple passes above and below the rim as the pilot expertly maneuvers to herd the horses for capture. Those same walls hide the view as the helicopter maneuvers down out of sight, but the noise of it crashing is heard loud and clear. Sheriff Porter Beck also believes he heard a gunshot which would mean it was not mechanical failure or pilot error.

 

Riding their horses, it takes two minutes for Sherriff Beck and Chief Deputy Tuffy Scruggs, to arrive on scene. It is instantly clear from the wreckage that nobody could have survived. It also does not take long to verify that Sherriff Beck was right that the pilot was shot and killed in order to cause the helicopter to crash.

 

That murder leads to a complicated case of politics, natural resources and land use, and quite a lot more. It won’t be the last death in this complicated and very enjoyable read.

 

As it is the third book in a very good series that began with The Bitter Past: A Novel, there are various references to earlier books and events. Sheriff Beck has been coping with a lot, personally and professionally, and all that was child’s play compared to what is in store for him here in The Blue Horse: A Peter Beck Mystery by Bruce Borgos.

 

It is also one heck of a good read. Strongly recommended.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4lvbutj

 

 

My digital ARC came the publisher, Minotaur Books, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Review: Shades of Mercy: A Porter Beck Mystery by Bruce Borgos

Shades of Mercy: A Porter Beck Mystery by Bruce Borgos is the second in the series that began with The Bitter Past: A Novel. This one might be better than the first. 

Among other things, massive wildfires are ripping through the Nevada countryside and adding to the long list of Sherriff Porter Beck’s worries. The government helicopter arriving to land near his house means even more trouble.

Aboard the helicopter is Special Agent Ed Maddox of the Office of Special Investigations. OSI is the equivalent of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Department. He wants Beck’s help in locating a piece that came off an aircraft last night. He has a general idea of where it went down and wants Beck to ride in the small unmarked chopper to go look.

Once onboard the helicopter, Maddox reveals the impact site is out at the Double J Ranch. Owned by a childhood friend who has moved back home, Beck coming along should help smooth the way. It might have if they were still close. They aren’t and a lot has changed at the ranch that has existed for decades.

It is also clear that the impact was not a piece of the aircraft. Maddox claim a fuel tank did it. There is no way. Beck is ex-military and knows missile debris when he sees it.

Maddox finally admits that they lost control of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft the night before. It was hijacked and flown way off course. It ultimately fired a missile at the prize bull at the ranch. Somebody targeted the bull of the owner who just happens to be a guy Beck grew up with a long time ago. Who would want Jesse Roy’s prize-winning bull exploded into pieces? What are they planning to do next? And the biggest question of all – how did they take control of the RPA?

Those three big questions and many others are answered in the incredibly entertaining, Shades of Mercy: A Porter Beck Mystery. This review only carefully scratches the surface as much is in play here and I am not going to spoil any of it for readers.

Additional character development, multiple complex story lines, and plenty of action make this second in the series a very good book.

For a more in-depth look at the very good read, make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s review. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3SFeNS7

 

My digital ARC reading copy came by way of the publisher, Minotaur Books, through NetGalley.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

Lesa's Book Critiques: SHADES OF MERCY BY BRUCE BORGOS

 Lesa's Book Critiques: SHADES OF MERCY BY BRUCE BORGOS

Do Some Damage: Guest Post: Bruce Borgos on Folks Who Help You Along the Way

Do Some Damage: Guest Post: Bruce Borgos on Folks Who Help You Alo...: Today I’m delighted to welcome Bruce Borgos to the blog. I was lucky enough to get an early read of his new mystery,  The Bitter Past , seve...

Review: The Bitter Past: A Novel by Bruce Borgos

The Bitter Past: A Novel by Bruce Borgos takes readers to Nevada and Lincoln County. Retired FBI Agent Ralph Atterbury is most definitely dead. It also was certainly not a peaceful death. The 71-year-old man has been found strapped down to his recliner. He has had patches of skin stripped off, every finger is broken, and his teeth were pulled one by one. All this and quite a lot more was done as he was tortured for reasons unknown by a person or persons unknown.

It is a brutal case and one that Sheriff Beck knows is going to be bad. He is ex-military so he knows a thing or two about what people can and will do to others. He has seen the work of the Taliban and this far exceeds what they are known to do.

It is not long before Sana Locke of the FBI shows up. She is beautiful and intriguing on many levels, but there is something a little off about her. Not just because she claims to be from nearby Las Vegas when it is far more likely she is out of Washington. He does not have long to contemplate what is off about her as she makes it very clear that wants to see the crime scene and the body.

What follows is a complicated read that moves back and forth between current times and the late 50s and the Cold War. Nevada was the site of the nation’s nuclear testing program. That program is a significant part of the book as the current case has links to what happened then. I will leave it there as this is one of those books where it is better to do a less is more approach to the review so as not create spoilers and ruin the read for others.

The Bitter Past: A Novel by Bruce Borgas is a very complicated read and one that is incredibly good. I suspect it will collect award nominations and some hardware. One hopes that this is the first book in a series. Regardless of that fact, this is a book you really need to read. 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4j0SAc6 

 

My reading copy came by way of a NetGalley digital ARC. Big time thanks to Lesa Holstine for pointing it out to me on NetGalley and suggesting that it might be a read for me. It certainly was. You should also read her review here. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

PressRelease: 2018 Left Coast Crime “Lefty” Award Nominations Announced

January 14, 2018 — Reno, NV — Left Coast Crime 2018, “Crime on the Comstock,” will be giving four Lefty awards at the 28th annual LCC convention, to be held in Reno in March: humorous, historical, debut, and best. The awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 24, at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno/Sparks, Nevada. The award nominees have been selected by this and last years’ convention registrants. The nomination period has just concluded, and LCC is delighted to announce the Lefty nominees for books published in 2017:

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel. The nominees are:
 • Donna Andrews, Gone Gull (Minotaur Books)
 • Ellen Byron, A Cajun Christmas Killing (Crooked Lane Books)
 • Marla Cooper, Dying on the Vine (Minotaur Books)
 • Cynthia Kuhn, The Art of Vanishing (Henery Press)
 • Cindy Sample, Dying for a Diamond (Cindy Sample Books)

Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bruce Alexander Memorial) for books covering events before 1960. The nominees are:
 • Rhys Bowen, In Farleigh Field (Lake Union Publishing)
 • Jennifer Kincheloe, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk (Seventh Street Books)
 • Renee Patrick, Dangerous To Know (Forge)
 • Priscilla Royal, The Proud Sinner (Poisoned Pen Press)
 • Jeri Westerson, Season of Blood (Severn House Publishers)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel. The nominees are:
 • Susan Alice Bickford, A Short Time To Die (Kensington)
 • Kellye Garrett, Hollywood Homicide (Midnight Ink)
 • Wendall Thomas, Lost Luggage (Poisoned Pen Press)
 • Nancy Tingley, A Head in Cambodia (Swallow Press)
 • Kathleen Valenti, Protocol (Henery Press)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories). The nominees are:
 • Matt Coyle, Blood Truth (Oceanview Publishing)
 • William Kent Krueger, Sulfur Springs (Atria Books)
 • Louise Penny, Glass Houses (Minotaur Books)
 • Terry Shames, An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock (Seventh Street Books)
 • James W. Ziskin, Cast the First Stone (Seventh Street Books)

 
The Left Coast Crime Convention is an annual event sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. Usually held in the western half of North America, LCC’s intent is to host an event where readers, authors, critics, librarians, publishers, and other fans can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their mutual interests. Lefty Awards have been given since 1996.

The 28th annual Left Coast Crime Convention will take place in Reno, Nevada, March 22–25, 2018. This year’s Guests of Honor are authors Naomi Hirahara and William Kent Krueger. Author Todd Borg will serve as Toastmaster.

Left Coast Crime is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation holding annual mystery conventions in the West. Each LCC convention raises money to support a local literary organization and is staffed entirely by volunteers.

For more information on Left Coast Crime 2018, please visit http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2018/

Crime Time : SUN MOUNTAIN -- Richard S. Wheeler

Crime Time : SUN MOUNTAIN -- Richard S. Wheeler: I'm finding myself more and more fascinated with history the older I get. Maybe part of the fascination has to do with the fact t...