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
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