Whew. The Blue Horse is a dark one readers. Get ready for a ride because Bruce Borgos takes us on a wild one in their latest Porter Beck outing.

As Beck and Tuffy watch a wild horse roundup, the helicopter that is directing the horses suddenly crashes. It wasn't just a crash though, the pilot was shot and neither Beck or Tuffy saw anyone. Then another grisly murder happens for the world to see as it is live streamed. A perfect suspect emerges, but Beck doesn’t buy it and searches for answers where no one wants him searching.

The Blue Horse is more graphic than the other novels so far. It takes place a year after the last book and during the pandemic. We have the whole gang from the previous books, plus a newcomer who I hope sticks around for future books as I really liked this person.

The mystery is on point. I have gotten into the flow of Borgos and I guessed the culprit of the crimes. Well, there was one crime I didn’t guess (the last one) and that’s because it was just so senseless that it could have been anyone. This is one story that hurts the heart if you are an animal lover.

The family dynamics for Beck also hit hard in this book. I had a feeling when the pandemic hit, no one would come out the same - just like real life. I cried. Well I started crying earlier when a shot rang out and didn’t stop from that point on. Borgos hit hard and I felt it. The author makes you feel and connect with the characters and I love that family. I have such a crush on Porter, Brinley, Mercy, and now Rafa. Race might enter crush category too, we’ll see if he comes back again.

The pace is always moving forward in the series. There is lots of action, blood, danger, and death. The Blue Horse is especially violent for the main characters and for the subjects of the story. Hold on to your saddles because this is a wild ride you don’t want to miss.

The third Porter Beck mystery begins with the death of a helicopter pilot who is rounding up wild horses. Sheriff Porter Beck is in his last weeks as sheriff before he takes a state-wide post in criminal investigation.

But the murder of the pilot is only the first death. A video is put up showing the death of the BLM manager involved in the round-up. What doesn't show is that one of truck drivers is also murdered. The FBI comes in after her death because she was a federal employee. The FBI would like a fast resolution to the case, but Beck isn't convinced that the obvious suspects weren't set up to take the blame.

Covid is making itself felt in his county despite it being both very rural and sparsely populated. His chief deputy, who is supposed to take his place as sheriff, comes down with a case of it the is severe enough to require her to spend time on a respirator. His already stretched department is stretched even more with people going out sick.

Meanwhile, Porter is dealing with his night blindness and the prospects of becoming totally blind in the relatively near future. He's also dealing with his girlfriend Charlie Blue Horse's shifting moods and secrets. And his sister Brin disappears when she's volunteering with a group of troubled teens on a wilderness camping trip.

The story is packed with action and very engaging.

Fabulous story! Blend together several mysteries, passion, romance, family love, and care for others, including wild horses, and the great book The Blue Horse emerges. A continuation in the Porter Beck series, this can be read as a standalone or along with the others. Looking forward to the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

3.5 STARS

Sheriff Porter Beck has several difficult and dangerous issues to deal with under his jurisdiction. While driving a group of terrified wild horses by helicopter in the high Nevada desert during a controversial government roundup, the pilot is shot down. Adding to that, the person working for and in control of the roundup is also killed shortly after in a gruesome way. A group opposing the treatment and management of those horses appears to be at the top of the list of suspects. Because of the state, federal, and local involvement, Beck has a lot of agencies to deal with as well as his girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, who is part of the investigative team.

Beck and Charlie’s relationship has been long distance and is fairly new; at the moment, he is trying to do the delicate dance of working with the woman he loves while figuring out their professional relationship. Beck’s sister, Brinley, is out in the wilderness on a camping trip for troubled kids; when one of them bolts, she goes after him ending up near a Lithium mine that has nefarious connections. While all of this is going on, Beck’s elderly father and his deputy, Tuffy, have Covid; since this story is set in September 2020, there is no vaccination for the deadly virus and a lot of people are not surviving the infection.

Adding to every other issue Beck has, his eyesight has become problematic at night due to an inherited condition. Not surprisingly, this story has a high body count with more than one possible person or persons involved. The author has his main characters caught between a rock and a hard place more than once almost to the extent of being over the top. To use another metaphor since this author is very fond of them, there are too many irons in the fire. The most redeeming quality is his likeable characters. This book is third in the Porter Beck mysteries, but can be read as a standalone.

What a fabulous book! The Blue Horse, the third book in the excellent Porter Beck Mystery series by Bruce Borgos, has everything you could want in a mystery/thriller - a complex mystery, intrigue, suspense, and even a bit of romance. Add to that favourite characters from the previous books featured in concurrent yet ultimately intersecting storylines, subtle commentary on social and political issues, and a look at the effect of the arrival of the Covid virus in 2020 and its effect on rural communities, and you have a book that keeps you eagerly turning the pages and staying up way too late reading.
Borgos is a skilled author, weaving different threads together to gradually reveal the solutions to the murders presented to his main character, the likeable Sherriff Porter Beck, The suspense is palpable as Beck goes up against some formidable foes to solve one of the more gruesome murders I have come across in a book, all while navigating the effects of Covid on his family and staff. The setting of the desert becomes almost a character itself, as the challenges it presents become an issue for the some of the characters.
The Blue Horse is a well-written, non-stop action book that will leave you thinking after you've finished.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheBlueHorse. I highly recommend it to mystery and thriller lovers everywhere.

While overseeing a wild horse roundup in Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck witnesses a helicopter being shot down. This is the first of two murders that he gets involved in. He sees a video of the second murder when the victim is buried up to her neck in a canyon just before a herd of wild horses tramples her to death.

The wild horse roundup is said to be necessary, but Porter isn’t a fan of what the government is doing. He discovers that more is involved than rounding up horses.

Porter is a single man who is taking care of his elderly father. His girlfriend is a police detective named Charlie Blue Horse. He has an adult sister who is helping with a group of troubled teens who are camping.

Porter suffers from night blindness, so he is limited to being on his own only during the day. He has a dog that he is training to be his service dog. This part of the story was confusing to me because his sight is totally normal during the day and then suddenly after dark, he is totally blind.

Besides his disability, the story is taking place during the Covid pandemic. Because of this, he is currently working with a smaller workforce. Rather than hand the investigation over to the government, he attempts to solve the murders with his limited manpower.

We are introduced to a cast of characters who are either involved in the crime or working with Porter to catch the killers. I wasn’t always sure who the good guys were.

There is more than one storyline. Besides Porter, there is his romance, and his sister who is camping with the teens, and we are also introduced to Charlie Blue Horse’s adopted teenage daughter. Each storyline had something happening to the characters that made them vulnerable.

The author weaves the storylines together to a satisfying ending. The killer did surprise me. This is part of a series so there are prior books, but this book can be read as a standalone.

This is well written, and I did get hooked early. I did care about the characters. I think I may have been more interested in it because a few years ago, my husband and I made a road trip to Arizona for a wedding. On our way back we drove through Utah and Colorado and while in Utah we saw a few wild horses running along side the highway.

This book reminded me a little bit of the show Longmire. It is a contemporary western mystery. There is some graphic violence but not more than I could handle and I am not a fan of violence.

If you like books set in the west and you like a good mystery, I would recommend this one.

The scheduled release date is July 8th.

In this third installment to his Porter Beck series, Bruce Borgos takes readers on yet another suspenseful, exhilarating ride with his latest novel, “The Blue Horse.” It’s a slow-build mystery with lots of moving parts and action plus plenty of heart to boot.

As the consummate storyteller he is, this author has delivered a cleverly written, detailed crime novel boasting well-defined characters, while simultaneously shining a spotlight on the highly complex, controversial issue of wild horse round-ups. Added to the mix are three bizarre murders, casting a web of intrigue over a story that is not at all what it initially seems.

I absolutely love this series and all of its charismatic characters. And though it is part of an ongoing series, “The Blue Horse” can easily be read as a stand-alone. So, whether you are already a fan of this series or just discovering if for the very first time, I highly recommend adding it to the top of your TBR list.

This is the third book in the Porter Beck series but the first one I’ve read. I can’t wait to read the first two books. Great characters, a well paced plot and some unexpected twists made this a quick and compelling read. I had no trouble reading this as a standalone but I imagine that reading this series from the beginning would avoid relationship spoilers. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced reader copy.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the ARC to this book.

This series is somewhat similar to the Joe Pickett series, and much in the same vein, there is a humanity to the Porter Beck character that is so hard not to like. We see a main character exit and a new character about to enter which sets up the next arc to this story. As always, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. 4-stars!

This is the third in the police procedural series featuring Beck Porter. I have enjoyed them all. His storyline is interesting and keeps you flipping pages, but it also has the character development that makes you root for them as well!

During a wild mustang roundup by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a helicopter pilot is shot down. Sheriff Porter Beck and his deputy, Tuffy, are out on a ride when the incident happens, and discover this was a near-professional long range perfect sniper shot. Beck and Tuffy find a blue plastic horse buried with the brass when they find the shooter's hiding place. This not only delays the already fraught BLM roundup, but kicks off an investigation that ultimately includes the FBI, Beck's girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse, and his dog-deputy, Bo. With wild horse activists, the BLM, and ranchers all at odds, the suspect pool only widens as the investigation continues. At the same time, Beck is balancing a reduced staff due to a new virus (Covid), an unexpectedly crabby girlfriend he thinks is gearing up to dump him, onset of night-blindness, his father battling dementia, and his sister disappearing while on an at-risk youth camping trip.

The Blue Horse is the third book in the Porter Beck series. However, I didn't feel like I was missing anything by starting with book three, and I will definitely be going back for the first two. I liked Beck, Tuffy, and Charlie: they're well developed people who feel real and complex, which is sometimes tricky if you expect readers to already know them from prior books. The depth of knowledge and detail into military procedures and a former military sniper's background as well as the delicate politics of wild horse management in Nevada are really well done. Borgos clearly did thorough research and/or has specific experience (although at one point I wondered if he's had Covid, because his descriptions missed a couple big symptoms that most of us who got it pre-vaccine had, especially the horrendous bone/body aches).

The multi-threaded plot is incredibly tight and fast paced, with new twists and facets that kept a chronic end-guesser like me wonderfully in the dark about "whodunit." That's probably the highest praise I can give for a mystery/thriller: I was completely engaged and had a hard time putting it down. As a horse lover and a visually imaginative reader, there were some tough scenes for me personally, but they weren't gratuitous or unnecessary. I was thoroughly satisfied at the way Borgos brought all those different sub-plot threads together in the end. Overall, I thought The Blue Horse was an excellent book. I highly recommend for anyone who loves modern Westerns, thrillers, or cop mysteries, and I'm definitely going back for the first two in the series.

I have been on a police detective kick lately. I had read Burgos’s first book and enjoyed it. Somehow I missed #2. It is not necessary to read these in order to enjoy this book.

Set in desolate Nevada, Beck finds himself in the middle of the controversial rounding up of wild mustangs and some nefarious characters.

After getting through a very gruesome part of the book, I enjoyed the fast pace and twists, some predictable and others that took a little time to figure out.

A very good summer read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me the honor of reading this book.

Althought it wasn't what I expected and not my typical read i enjoyed the book an am glad I gave it a shot.

I can recommend.

A helicopter pilot is shot and killed during the roundup of a band of wild mustangs. Soon after, two other people involved in the roundup are murdered and the FBI gets involved. The evidence points to an ex-military man with a police record but the evidence seems off to Sheriff Porter Beck and he continues to investigate.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series but this one fell short for me. Partly I think that the author was so busy not having a stance on the management of wild mustangs that the first half of the book felt emotionally disconnected. I also felt that there were too many things going on in the story, some of which bordered on the improbable for me. Also, a word of warning, the story is set during the height of the Covid pandemic and it features prominently in the book.

Another excellent mystery by Bruce Borgos! The Blue Horse is a thrilling mystery which highlights the plight of the wild horses. Extremely well done. I love the Porter Beck series; excellent stand alone books. As a series they are brilliant.

"The Blue Horse” was a good addition to the series. Porter Beck will experience a lot of changes, some positive, some negative. His night blindness and his concerns about what his progressive vision loss will mean for his future, personally and professionally, adds a unique aspect to his character. Tension between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), local ranchers/farmers, mining interests, and conservationists and wild horse lovers provides for a compelling plot. The story has some pretty good surprises. Porter's sister, Brinley, makes a lifechanging decision near the end of the book, and I am curious to see how that will be reflected in future books.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Bruce Borgos, and,St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Always excited to return to the world of Bruce Borgos, I gladly accepted the ARC for his latest Porter Beck police procedural. The rounding up of a number of wild horses has some ominous events surrounding it, and a number of bodies make an obvious impact. Sheriff Porter Beck is ready to lock the case down, but others have a mind of their own, with little interest in following rules. Borgos delivers a great story and keeps the reader poised to leap off their seat.

The flash in the sky could be nothing more than a helicopter, flying overhead as part of a round-up of wild horses. When it crashes and the authorities make their way to the rubble, the pilot is shown to have been shot. This begins an investigation which forces some questions that the person heading up the round-up will have to answer. It is only when the agent with the Bureau of Land Management is murdered, trampled by the same horses, that everyone begins to realize how serious this could be.

There are no suspects and a well organized group that advocates protecting the horses makes waves, but many feel that it is all bluster. The locals and feds converge to ask questions and begin postulating about what this might mean for the investigation. This only adds to the tension and exacerbates the need to solve this case quickly.

Sheriff Porter Beck knows his place in the investigations but does not want to be shelved. Beck's new love interest, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to add her specific angle and hopes to crack things wide open. They make their way whenever the clues take them, some of which set off Sheriff Porter’s mental alarms. What follows is an intense investigation and even more people who find themselves on the wrong side of the living .Bruce Borgos impresses once more and keeps the reader in the middle of the action.

I have long enjoyed the work of Bruce Borgos, who always finds ways of impressing me with his ideas. The story runs smoothly here with a quick narrative and well-paced ideas. Borgos knows how to juggle multiple storylines and keeps the reader on edge as things get intense. There are wonderful characters to keep things interesting, including Porter Beck who always has something to say. Plot points are clear and provide much entertainment for the attentive reader. I am eager to see where things are headed next.

Kudos, Mr. Borgos, for a great addition to the series.

Sheriff Beck and his crew of deputies: Tuffy, the Jolly Greens (twin bros), and Sev, one of Beck’s old Army buddies are back for another fast-paced and action-packed installment of catching the bad guys and protecting their loved ones in the NV deserts. Beck is on his way out of Lincoln County. He’s taken the job as Chief of Investigative Division, and Tuffy will become acting Sheriff. Beck will be working with girlfriend Charlie Blue Horse, who was introduced in the last installment as Beck’s love interest. However, from the get-go, it’s pretty obvious that all is not well and that there is trouble in paradise. I have my suspicions, but there will be no spoiler alerts on that topic.

The book summary pretty much lays out the first half of the story. What the book summary doesn’t mention is the third murder, who was Tuffy’s cousin who worked for the BLM organization rounding up the wild horses, with his supervisor, Jolene, who was trampled to death. Brin, who volunteers at the local Youth Center, was one of the counselors who were taking a group of at-risk teens on a camping trip, just north of where the murders took place. One of the kids, Rafa, takes off in the middle of the night and Brin takes off after him because she knows that he’s most likely going after his abusive father to kill him.

The story flips back and forth between Beck’s investigation of the murders and Brin’s camping trip and her chase after Rafa. It’s deep in the second half that the storylines collide in some really scary and intense scenes especially for Beck, Charlie, Brin and Rafa. LOVE BRIN & RAFA!!! Whoo hoo!!! What a true pair of total bad@$$%$!!! I loved how Mercy showed up too and was the total bad@$$ hacker that she is. I really hope we see more of Rafa and Mercy in future installments. Oh, I almost forgot Bo. LOVE BO!!! The best doggie partner ever!!!

The continuing character development of most of the MC’s and the returning characters was wonderful to see. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline interesting. We saw the battle between a foreign corporation with the environmentalists looking to protect the environment for wild horses and the local farmers fighting for their right to continue their way of life. The writing was well done, with some wonderful scenes of laughter, fierce intensity, and even some tear-jerking moments. Borgos is a really good writer and storyteller. I am compelled to provide a trigger warning about the slaughter of some horses by the hired thugs from the foreign corporation as well as the gruesome murder of Jolene, the BLM person. I’m looking at an overall rate of 4.6 that I’m going to round up to a 5star review. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #BlueHorse

TW: horse slaughter and stampede

The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5/5)

The Nevada desert sets the stage for a dark, atmospheric mystery as Sheriff Porter Beck investigates a wild horse roundup gone violently wrong. Between a downed helicopter, a brutal murder, and a lithium mine shrouded in secrets, The Blue Horse has no shortage of intrigue.

The plot is layered and ambitious, and the environmental themes were compelling. I loved the rugged setting and the slow-burn tension with Detective Charlie Blue Horse. However, the pacing dragged at times, and the heavy use of similes pulled me out of the story more than once.

Still, the mystery kept me guessing and the ending delivered. If you like your crime novels gritty with a side of Western noir, this one’s worth the ride.

🐎 Wild horse drama
🚔 Small-town sheriff
🕵️‍♀️ Messy murder case
💥 Environmental politics
❤️‍🔥 Tense relationships

Available July 8, 2025!

The Blue Horse is the third installment in the Porter Beck Mysteries and another solid 5-Star read. This contemporary western has it all--danger, intrigue, murder, and a touch of romance. The story is well balanced, perfectly paced, and well written. It can be read as a standalone.

Inside the pages of The Blue Horse, east coast beach dwellers like me enjoy a birds-eye view of high desert Nevada and its unique way of life. Horse lovers might especially appreciate this thriller. Whether human or equine, each character adds dimension to the plot and setting. I look forward to revisiting them in the next book in the series. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for providing an advance copy of the book to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews.com at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*