A 17th birthday party of Shiloah Roy is disrupted by a fireball in the sky, the explosion of a remotely piloted aircraft 92,000 feet above the Double J Ranch. The bizarre accident momentarily distracts Shiloah’s father, Jesse, from his attention to his daughter. Meanwhile, Sheriff Porter Beck is responding to a distress call at the Pioneer Hotel. Though Lincoln County features ranches and wide-open spaces, its proximity to Las Vegas brings problems like the fatal drug overdose of Beck’s closest friend, Cash Conrad, at the Pioneer. Soon, Special Agent Ed Maddox of the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations arrives, seeking cooperation from Beck. The only casualty of the initial incident at the Double J is a bull, but later victims will include 30 dead steers. Because these crimes have a tech element, suspicion falls on Shiloah’s friend Mercy Vaughn, a brilliant 16-year-old hacker who’s currently in a juvenile detention facility. At the same time, he now has an opioid crisis on his hands. People are dying left and right from harmful, illegal drugs for pain that are being imported into his corner of Nevada. However, he also must figure out who had intercepted a remote-controlled aircraft being piloted by the U.S. government and shot a missile at a steer that his friend owned, which was worth a heck of a lot of money. the Feds are involved and are moving in on Beck’s territory as they assume that the hacker was using the mountains to get a good signal to the satellite controlling the plane. If that wasn’t enough, it would turn out that the whole hack job is tied to the Chinese government but was seemingly done by a young girl named Mercy. But how did she do it? She was serving time in a youth detention center in Beck’s jurisdiction, and there was no way she would have access to a computer. So, what happened? Will Beck find out? Mercy disappears while out working in a road crew. Where is Mercy? Will she be found?

The author has written a suspenseful and action-packed novel. It is the perfect blend of crime fiction and police procedural. I found myself engaged and attached to the characters in the novel. I can’t wait to read the next book.

This is book 2 of the Porter Beck series. Porter is now the Sheriff of the same small town his father was. Now, opioids have hit the small town and is causing a lot of deaths. A hacker has also managed to attack his childhood friend. Porter must try to stem the flow of drugs and find the hacker before more people die.

Porter Beck, sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, and his twelve person department cover a large area that's usually very quiet. Beck is 46 years old and losing his night vision from retinitis pigmentosa so he, and we, have to wonder how much longer he can do this job. A childhood friend—now an enormously successful rancher—is targeted by a military drone which has been hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. Beck's investigation leads him to teenager Mercy Vaughn and when Mercy disappears Beck understands that she's in danger and time is running out for all of them.

This is the second book in the Porter Beck series but I read it as a standalone and don't feel like I missed anything by not reading the first book. The characters are fleshed out and I especially loved Frank Columbo, Beck's dog, an English lab. The story is well written with much action and suspense. There are many plot lines to follow including some timely threads, like opiate overdoses, wildfires, computer hacking, etc., but there's also lots of violence and death (including a large number of cattle). The ending left lots to the imagination and many directions in which the series could go.

My thanks to Sara Beth Haring, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books via Netgalley for inviting me to read an advance copy of this excellent novel. I apologize for not getting it finished before the publication date. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 16, 2024

Wildly Divergent Storytelling From First Book In Series, Still Great. The Bitter Past, the first book in this series, was a dual timeline almost historical fiction/ spy thriller, and it worked beautifully - to summarize my review of that book. This time, we get a lot of solid character work and even more solid action pieces (particularly towards the end, but also an intriguing prologue to bring us into the tale), with plenty of "what the hell is going on here" in the middle. Whereas the first book looked to the past to tell its tale, this one actually reads as though it is bringing the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war into a tale set in rural Nevada. There's some innovative action sequences one would expect more in a Vin Diesel XXX movie or one of the GI Joe live action movies than in a tale of a small town Sheriff... even if this particular Sheriff *is* a highly trained former soldier. (And yes, this comes into play as well.) Borgos does well to show Beck's strengths *and* weaknesses, and it is the combination of both that make Beck feel like a fully "real" human rather than just another action hero.

Overall a solid tale more in the mystery/ action space than its predecessor, and yet it does its job of making the reader *need* the next book perfectly.

Very much recommended.

Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos is the second in the Porter Beck series set in the high desert of Nevada. With intriguing characters and a very twisty plot this book kept me up late to finish it! When people start dying of opioid poisoning and Porter seems targeted by someone hacking military drones and pointing them at him, he becomes involved with a teenaged hacker, supposedly locked up with no access to computers. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

I loved The Bitter Past, which introduced Porter Beck, sheriff of Lincoln County, Nevada, so I was excited to see another book in this new series. beck is a great character - a former Army intelligence officer who speaks several languages, and son of the former sheriff, he is dealing with a gradual erosion of his eyesight. He’s okay for now during the day, but has pretty much lost his night vision (from retinitis pigmentosa). This is a huge challenge for someone in his line of work!

In Shades of Mercy, Beck is confronted with a number of deaths from illegal fentanyl pills, including an old friend. Then, there’s apparently a super-talented hacker who has commandeered a remotely piloted aircraft (drone) from the Air Force, whose secret testing facility is nearby. And there are wild fires. There’s a lot going on in this novel!

Beck’s newest “partner” is an adorable dog named Columbo (ha!). Columbo has flunked out of a couple of training programs, but is a great companion to Beck and proves his worth over the course of this book.

The story took a lot of twists and turns and kept me guessing the whole way. The side characters are wonderful too - from his adopted sister, Brinley, to a native American state police officer, to Beck’s other officers. The bad guys are definitely bad! Borgos writes beautifully, with a strong sense of place. His phrasing made me smile in a number of places: “Beck slept about as well as a deer during hunting season.” “…with the natural springs in the area drying up like good ideas in Congress.” “Her accent was midwestern, somewhere in the Bob Evans breakfast belt.” (All quotes are from a review copy and may not be exactly the same in the published book.)

You could definitely read this one as a standalone, but why not start with the first book, The Bitter Past?

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4.5 Stars
Porter Beck, the sheriff of Lincoln County, Nevada has his hands full policing his large territory, even with the small population that resides there. His is a small department. Beck is called out when his high school friend, Cash, hooked on pain meds after an old football injury, overdoses on a nasty concoction of Fentanyl that’s been making its way through his county.

Also, the government arrives to retrieve a part of an aircraft that fell off in testing at Jesse James Roy’s Ranch, another high school friend of Beck’s. Beck hadn’t seen Jesse in years and is surprised to see how prosperous his ranch has become. It raises questions.

Beck’s investigations intersect and the government involvement adds an extra layer of difficulty as their motives are purposely unclear.

Shades of Mercy is the second installment in the Porter Beck mystery series and though it has a mystery that’s introduced and solved here, I recommend starting with the first book as it establishes Beck’s history. Also, because it’s sooo good!

This was another action-packed mystery with Beck coming head-to-head with some very bad people. I was on the edge of my seat in spots! Beck’s sharpshooter sister, Brinley, his police team and other allies were aiding along the way. Plus, Beck has a sweet new addition to his crew: Frank Columbo, a dog! Loved Frank and he was very helpful!

Porter Beck has taken over the same job his father once had now that he has returned to the deserts of Nevada. He's in charge of a twelve person department that covers a large area but the area usually doesn't have to many problems. Recently there has been an up tick in a very strong opiods. He also has a childhood friend that has been targeted by a drone that has been hacked. He needs to find out who the hacker is and why they have targeted his friend. He makes his way to the only hacker known in the town but when she later disappears he knows time is not on his side. Can he put all the clues together and figure out who is behind everything?

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, Bruce Borgos, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Shades of Mercy is the second book in the Porter Beck series. I do think you can read this book as a stand alone, though it might take a few chapters to get your bearings so to speak. I do think the first book is worth reading, both because it's a good read and because having read it makes this book more enjoyable as well! But feel free to start here!

Shades of Mercy is a really solid crime thriller. It has all the fast-paced action and twists & turns you could want to make this a book you won't want to put down! If you like mysteries or police procedurals this is absolutely a book you should consider checking out!

Sheriff Beck is a well-written character, one I appreciated getting to see more of in this book. He's not so relatable for me, but definitely a character who feels like a real person and I appreciate that in any story! I also personally loved the desert setting a lot!

Overall I really liked what Borgos has done with this installment in the Porter Beck series and I can't wait for more from him!

Holy hell, what a ride! There is a lot going on in this book. Once things started moving, there was no stopping. I was frantically turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. I loved the twists that were thrown in and felt they were perfectly placed. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕪
𝗔 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆
𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐬
Police Procedural/Mystery
352 pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs
A sheriff and his twelve-person department are in trouble as an old friend brings some serious problems to the town.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs
Shades of Mercy is entertaining. It kept me turning pages well into the night. This spine-tingling story offers witty commentary, riveting action, and mysterious characters.
Although this was my first run with a Porter Beck story, I read it as a standalone without issue.

Porter Beck is a sheriff in Nevada’s desert. He is quite a fascinating character, braver than he should be at times. I felt a bit tense as he jumped into scary situations, mainly because he was so likable that I didn’t want him to be harmed.

As he removes the corruption from his town, he puts himself in danger more than once. I like seeing that he has flaws too. It makes him more believable.

💕Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

This was an exciting ride from start to finish! Great characters, fast paced and captivating! Beck is a great lead that keeps you hooked throughout. He’s relatable and you can’t help but root for him every step of the way.

The second in this series follows Porter Beck as he takes on an international mystery again. The book begins with a bang on the 4th of July and doesn't let up. There is a lot of violence, but the action doesn't stop. I will definitely read more of this series!

Despite his eyesight becoming ever more tenuous and his tenure as sheriff as well, Sheriff Porter Beck is still a keen observer of human nature, drawing on his experience in military intelligence to take on, what at first seem separate cases, the death of long-time friend, Cash, and the missile strike on another old friend’s very expensive bull. Along the way, he meets hacker Mercy Vaughn who is being held by the state. Of course, she couldn’t have hacked into the drone carrying the missile because she doesn’t have access to a computer, but Beck isn’t so sure. The whole situation is adding up wrong, and he’s determined to solve the mystery in Bruce Borgos’ exciting, Shades of Mercy.

Shades of Mercy, the second in the Porter Beck series, is a page turner with lots of curve balls thrown in with interesting old and new characters as well. The character of Mercy Vaughn is delightful in that way that Liz Salander is, albeit more charming and less morose. If Bruce Borgos wanted to write an entire series of books about her, I’d be there in an instant.

One thing I like about Shades of Mercy, as well as the first book in the series, The Bitter Past, is that these start out as seemingly simple mysteries that become layered as you turn pages. A murder mystery turns into a book about espionage and hackers and all kinds of secrets, and I love it.

Besides Mercy Vaughn, Shades of Mercy introduces Charlie Blue Horse (who Beck continuously calls Charlie Blue Horse because she has a really cool name (which the author has also named his dog, just to prove it’s really cool)), who is a native American police officer assigned to find Mercy Vaughn. I hope that she appears in future novels because she is the perfect blend of snarky and get-it-done and, of course, she has a great name.

What also has my curiosity piqued is how the future is going to work for Porter Beck, whose night vision is non-existent at this point. His dog is also a great character but not quite the perfect seeing-eye-dog type. Yet. Anyway, I’m excited to read further installments of this series for more quirky characters and revisiting my favorite genre, the twisty mystery.

If you’re looking for a new series, smart and different, you might want to give the Porter Beck series a try. I highly recommend.

Many thanks to Minotaur for sending me a copy.

I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the style of writing in this story involving cowboys, international espionage, teen hackers, and old friends gone wrong. I would give it five stars, except I felt there was too much violence, with everybody shooting everybody else. Since I enjoyed the story and the author’s style, I would be glad to read more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Like last year's series debut <I>The Bitter Past</I></a>, this entry in Borgos's Porter Beck mystery/thriller series blends fast action, violence, and a powerful sense of time and place. The times are changing, the threats are evolving, and the guardrails on technology do not match human motivations to evade them in pursuit of selfish goals. Borgos uses all this to fashion a take on the reality of policing to bring the Porter Beck series into closer contact with the thriller genre...so be aware that hot-button issues like cybercrime, drug smuggling, and money laundering feature in this read. One more violent scene and I'd push it out of mystery-series territory entirely!

I recommend reading the series starter first, though it's not crucial. This is great for Cotton Malone or Delta Force fans who want something more personal and intimate that still keeps the pace fast and the emotional pitch furious.

Headline: Bruce Borgos hits it out of the ballpark, again, in Porter Beck 2!

Book Review: Shades of Mercy, Porter Beck #2 by Bruce Borgos
Published by St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books, July 16, 2024

★★★★★ (5.0 Stars!)

Author Bruce Borgos' "Porter Beck" series is uniquely set in little-known Lincoln County, NV, (Pop: 4,500) 150 miles due north of Las Vegas. Its county seat is Pioche, home to the Beck family.

The county's southwest corner just so happens to host "Area 51", the USAF facility within the Nevada Test Site that has become synonymous with tales of UFOs and government cover-ups. It is also in this area that Soviet "illegals", circa 1950, took up residence under deep cover to try to infiltrate America's atomic and scientific research advancements.

(Also, of significance to the series, Lincoln county is where "Nevada Test Site Downwinders" lived, with residents invariably exposed to radiation from atmospheric nuclear tests, from 1951 to 1957. Hence: Porter Beck Book 1 "The Bitter Past".)

In Borgos' Book 1 "The Bitter Past" (2023), Sheriff Porter Beck deals with the brutal killing of a retired FBI agent, a lawman who'd dealt with Soviet "illegals". Author Borgos spices up the book with the decades-long enduring love between a KGB spy and the daughter of an American scientist, a tale ever so subtly embedded in the DNA of none other than the protagonist himself....

// "Shades of Mercy", Porter Beck #2 (2024) //

Groom Lake, Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), North of "Area 51"
Lincoln County, NV

An armed Vulture RPA (or Remotely Piloted Aircraft) is hijacked!

"...She just won't respond. Someone else is flying her!", reports the pilot of the RPA, an ex-Navy aviator with twenty-two years of actual flight experience.

Then he sees the Vulture's weapons systems arming, flashing red. Missiles ready to fire...!

-----

4th of July, Independence Day
Pioche, Lincoln County, NV

County Sheriff Porter Beck and his 12-man department have their hands full. With twelve forest wildfires ablaze, out-of-control over 32,000 acres of county woodland. "Area 51" crazies gearing up for "Alien Independence Day" to storm the site. The contagion of a vicious fentanyl and synthetic opioid epidemic, claiming many of the county's youth, and some of it's best - hitting near and dear to Beck.

Tunnel Vision. The former US Army intelligence officer, polyglot, son and now caretaker of the incapacitated former sheriff, Joe Beck, is he himself ailing. Porter Beck is afflicted with "Retinitis Pigmentosa", commonly known as tunnel vision, with his eyesight severely curtailed after dusk.

But Beck is not alone.

He has next to him his closest friend, Colombo. "Bo" for short. An ex-narc, hired in the county budget as an officer-in-training. The fox-red English Lab wears a ballistic K9 vest when on duty. Also alongside, his adoptive sister, Brinley Cummings, maverick, arms expert, crack shooter, trainer of movie stars on set. Newly promoted lieutenant and sidekick, Tuffy Scruggs. And Charlie Blue Horse, a Northern Paiute Native American law enforcement officer. The latter, of special interest to Beck.

A USAF Special Investigations agent and the NSA are fast choppered to investigate the hijacked drone and missile firing case. For damage control or perhaps to cover-up, not a tactic alien to the feds, as they lean hard on Beck. The Vulture's missiles had been fired at the "Double J" ranch owned by Jesse James Roy, another close childhood friend, who, as it turns out, proved to rather be the bane of Porter Beck.

Enter Mercy Vaughn.

Teenager, hacker extraordinaire, enfant terrible. She's institutionalized after having been suspected of hacking a cool $Bliion from the Feds. Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair-skinned. A typical Caucasian SoCal girl.

Except she's not. She's the daughter of a Red Chinese dissident. An Uighur. Possibly a "Zhelaizhai", a descendant of legendary Roman soldiers captured from the "Battle of Carrhae". (Nifty historical tidbit from Author Borgos, I must add.)

But the People's Liberation Army wants Mercy firmly back on their side! They send in their best agent, a spy disguised as a South Korean to team up with the largest Mexican drug and gun running cartel in the area, with an unwitting Nevada rancher in the tow. And a Nevada sheriff caught in the crosshairs.

But "Mei Wu" would have none of it...!

A must-read!

Review based on an advance reading copy courtesy of St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley.

Bruce Borgos lives in the Nevada desert and it clearly shows in this thriller set in his home state. In this novel, there are a number of demands on Sheriff Porter Beck. He is in charge of a relatively small number of officers and he and they are tasked with covering a large territory.

Much happens over the course of this novel. A friend of Porter’s dies and another is attacked. In the following pages, there are hackers, drones and a young girl, Mercy, a clever hacker, who may be connected to some of what transpires. Matters are further complicated when she disappears. Don’t forget fentanyl, drones…and more.

Readers will enjoy getting to know the characters in this second title in a series. (I need to go back to the first one). They will also enjoy following the complicated action and plot. Luckily Burgos is in control in telling the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

After reading and enjoying The Bitter Past, the first book in this series, I was eager to return to Porter Beck.

Once again the author does not disappoint. He is excellent at developing characters, plots, and the setting.

In this case, Beck is investigating a series of fentanyl deaths and the very strange death of a prized steer of an old childhood friend. The steer appeared to be a target of a government drone that had been hacked.
Other government agencies become involved and Beck finds himself not sure who to trust. Especially when the hacker turns out to be a teenage girl. Beck needs to find her before the others do.

Lots of action, strong details of the setting, and fully developed characters. Add to that a mystery with plenty of twists and turns and you have another great book from Bruce Borgos. I can’t wait for book number 3!