The Blue Horse by Bruce Burgos

I love the Porter Beck series. Each story can stand alone, but each book does build on previous well-developed characters, including Colombo, Beck’s dog.

There is always a mystery to be solved, great chase scenes and a worthwhile ending. This story develops around wild horses and an equine rights group in Nevada, with a sub story about Beck’s sister Brin and a runaway teen. It all fits together nicely, making an exciting adventure for the reader.

Another solid four stars for Burgos and this energetic Porter Beck novel.

This book was a captivating thriller. The combination of suspenseful storytelling and vivid descriptions of the Nevada desert created a compelling atmosphere. The inclusion of wild horses adds a unique and beautiful element to the setting, enhancing the overall experience. The author crafted such engaging characters that their interconnected relationships heighten the tension and stakes. Discovering a new author who can keep you on the edge of your seat is always a thrilling experience in itself. I am anxious to read more of this author’s work which provides an intriguing mix of suspense and stunning landscapes. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I had not read any Bruce Borges until this one, the third in the Porter Beck series. I will read more from this author.
Starting with a helicopter-driven wild horse roundup directed by the BLM, and protested by the groups who think wild horses are getting a bum rap, there are a lot of characters, a lot of action, a few murders, Beck's eye issues, Beck's girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse, and his sister, Brinley, play roles in this book. There is a lithium mining plant run with some bad guys in charge, a teen resident of a juvenile home - he sees himself as the biggest loser of all time.
Lots of twists and turns and they are all believable. A new character to the series, Rafa, may be heard from in subsequent books. The end notes tell a bit more about issues of returning soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

This is quite the thrill ride; just a pun there! Not only is this thriller exciting and intriguing, it's descriptions of the Nevada desert are actually quite beautiful, so are the wild horses! I really liked the main characters and the story line was something quite different than the other more domestic thrillers I normally read! I thoroughly enjoyed the characters being intertwined, girlfriend, sister, etc. It truly made the stakes higher, adding to the suspense in the story! I'd highly recommend this book, my first by this author and a thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat!

The Blue Horse is the third book in the Porter Beck series, but can be considered a standalone. While reading the first two books will add to your understanding of the story, a plus is that they’re each very enjoyable on their own.

Like the other books, this one is fast paced with characters that are well written and have actually become like good friends. The Nevada location is different than usual police procedurals and makes for a nice change. The author immediately grabs our attention with an interesting plot that includes the controversial roundup of wild horses; and, to a lesser extent, COVID and PTSD.

Filled with action, mystery, suspense, drama and a few tear inducing moments, this was a book I enjoyed immensely and couldn’t put down. Please hurry with the next installment, Mr. Borgos!

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

I found this third book in the Porter Beck series to be slower paced than the other books in the series—not quite as engaging.

In this novel, there is a round-up of wild horses in Nevada. Animal rights activists are against the ranchers who are all for getting rid of the animals. When a helicopter pilot helping round the horses ends up dead, and another woman involved in the round-up dies in a gruesomely unusual way, Beck works alongside his agent girlfriend and the FBI to find the killer. The FBI quickly latches on to what they think is the most obvious suspect, but Beck thinks there is more to the story.

This all takes place during Covid. Since they are in a very red area, no one wants to wear a mask or quarantine even after they test positive, and with agents and others getting sick, Beck has an even smaller staff and more to worry about than usual.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JULY 8, 2025.

Well-drawn characters, interesting setting, intriguing plot
While Sheriff Porter Beck and his deputy are observing a controversial roundup of wild horses that is strongly opposed by local wild horse advocates, someone shoots down the helicopter that is helping corral the horses, killing the pilot. Soon another person involved in the round-up is brutally murdered. Suspicion falls on the leaders of the group opposing the roundup, but Beck soon discovers other interests that might have been involved.
The setting is interesting in several dimensions. It is set physically in the high desert of Nevada, which provides beautiful wilderness scenery; law enforcement nonetheless is very modern in the technology ,e.g., they use six-inch-long drone helicopters with three cameras to search the wilderness area for Beck and the bad guys. The book takes place during the COVID epidemic of 2020, which affects the movements of quite a few of the characters and has some long-term consequences.
The characters are well developed and rounded out. Beck has a lot to worry about in addition to the murders. His retinitis pigmentosa limits him in many ways. He has decided to take another position that will require him to move while enabling him to be closer to his love, state detective Charlie Blue Horse, but he wants to assure a smooth transition to his successor. He also has concerns about his father (and predecessor in the job of sheriff), especially when the elderly man comes down with COVID. A “character” I especially enjoyed was Beck’s deputy Columbo, a ginger-haired Labrador!
Even when I am reading a thriller, I enjoy a laugh, and there is humor provided in appropriate ways, like the name of Beck’s horse, Harry Trotter.
The plot moved swiftly and certainly kept my interest! I did have to use some suspension of disbelief to accept a few items in the denouement, but that will not keep me from looking forward to the next stage in Porter Beck’s life.
You can enjoy The Blue Horse without having read the first two books in the series, and if you begin with this one, I am confident you will want to go back and read the first two!
I received an advance review copy of The Blue Horse from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

For a while I wasn't sure about this one - one very crude comment about a woman at the beginning was too reminiscent of what I disliked about book 1 in the series, and a grisly murder description, same - but it came together really well in the end.

Bruce Borgos takes the best of both slow-burn and fast-paced thrillers and finds the sweet spot in between where investigative thrillers thrive. He starts the narrative on a slope, rounds off as the story gets fleshed out with more clues and twists and keeps a steady pace to ensure readers have ample time to both appreciate and prepare themselves for the discoveries, and then picks up the momentum again at the end for a highly satisfying conclusion. Throughout this all, he never leaves a moment to fall off course; every page feels vital to the narrative and every character plays an interesting role to advance the story with surprise revelations that catch you off-guard.

Excellent third book in the series set in the high desert of Nevada, with sheriff Porter Beck.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is conducting a roundup of wild horses, when the helicopter pilot driving the horses to capture is shot and killed. When the woman running the project from the BLM is also killed in a very disturbing manner, both Porter and his girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse, investigate. Prime suspects are the groups of protesters trying to protect the horses, and an ex-military guy capable of the sniper-style shooting.

There are several threads to the book, with lots of twisty turns and characters involved. Porter's sister Brin is tracking down a missing kid from a wilderness camp when she goes missing too. New mining operations are buying up land from ranchers, and something isn't right with those deals. Set in early 2020, Covid also makes an appearance, and several of Porter's crew are sick, as well as his father.

While dealing with his own vulnerabilities, Porter and Charlie Blue Horse need to get to the bottom of everything, while the FBI and various government agencies are involved.

Great characters, from Porter who is laid back and deep, dealing with his own issues and concerns for the future, to Charlie Blue Horse, an intelligent and quick-thinking woman with her own family concerns. Then we have Tuffy - his excellent tough and no-nonsense deputy, and the 'Jolly Greens' who are members of his team. The author has created really interesting people and set the stories in such a fascinating location.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and hope for more from Porter Beck.

Wow! I loved this book! The setting, the story, the characters were all engaging and well-written. There is a wild horse roundup that not everyone is happy about it. Murders occur and Porter Beck, the local sheriff, is investigating, along with Beck’s girlfriend, Det. Charlie Blue Horse, and the FBI. His sister, a reporter, and a young abused teen soon become involved. COVID, PTSD from the wars in the Mideast, controversy over wild horses and more combine to make a book that you can’t put down! Living in the southwest US, I am familiar with the strong feelings on both sides of the wild horses. This is the third Porter Beck mystery, but the first I have read and I have already downloaded the first in the series!
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a fast-paced, action-packed police procedural that I could not put down.

Plot summary: Porter Beck is the town sheriff in small town Nevada, and he witnesses a helicopter crash into a canyon as the pilot gets shot. As he begins to investigate, there are another two murders that seem related. The FBI is called in and has its eyes on two culprits, but Beck thinks that things are not as they seem. Together with his girlfriend, Charlie Bue Horse, and his team, Beck tries to find out the truth.

My review: This starts out slow, but boy does the pace quicken. There's a strong emphasis on the care of wild horses in Nevada, which is apparently a real-life issue, with strong opinions on both sides. Interestingly, in the afterward, the author says he has a strong opinion himself, but he hopes it didn't some through and that the portrayal was balanced.

There are amazing characters here driving the story. Beck, who gets bling at night and has a night vision dog who will do anything for him. Go Bo! Charlie, who is fierce but feminine. Brin, who is Beck's not-real sister and is awesome. She has a side plot with Rafa, a 14-year old who has been abused as bad as Brin, and they become heroes, outsmarting the bad guys and saving someone's life. You can't help but root for them, as well as Race, who has PTSD and needs to prove his innocence.

The subplots are all tied together neatly, and you see how every good deed is justly rewarded.

Highly recommended. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Bruce Borgos for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.

Bruce Borgos’s third Sheriff Porter Beck procedural, The Blue Horse, opens with a pop and a wow—a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) wild horse gather, also known as a roundup, is interrupted when a helicopter crashes while pushing a herd through a narrow canyon in Beck’s Lincoln County, Nevada—but ends with a shrug and a sigh. Beck, who was watching the gather from the back of his own horse, locks down the crash site almost immediately. And in no time at all Beck and his deputy, Tuffy Scruggs, determine it was no accident. The pilot was shot by a sniper and they even find a spent shell casing atop a blue plastic toy horse.

The primary suspect is Etta Clay, the leader of a wild horse advocacy group called CANTER. The local Nevada ranchers, and the BLM’s leadership, think CANTER is fanatical since it has compared the removal of wild horses from Nevada’s rangeland to genocide. But Beck isn’t so sure of Etta’s involvement in the killing or that CANTER is wrong about the way the horses are managed on public lands. Then Lincoln County is shocked with another brutal murder and while the two killings are different in style, Beck figures they must be related.

The Blue Horse has a complex plot with angles and nuance—the Montreal mafia plays into it, as do ranchers, modern mining, Beck, who suffers from night blindness due to a congenital disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and, since the action takes place in September 2020, so dies Covid. Not to mention, Beck’s sister goes missing in a national park. While the complexity adds drama, it lessens the impact of the action and makes the climactic clash a little ho-hum. The villains are nasty, but (especially in the last third of the narrative) are cartoonish and have all the subtlety and competence of clowns. With that in mind, Beck is solidly drawn and likable, the setting is vivid, and the didactic discussion about wild horses is interesting as heck. If you like Craig Johnson’s Longmire, you’ll enjoy The Blue Horse but all the while wish it had that same richness as Borgos’s previous novels.

This review will be posted at darkcityunderground.blogspot.com and gravetapping.blogspot.com on July 7, 2025

I really enjoy this series but this one was my least favorite book of the 3. Once again Brinley is my favorite character. Would love a series about just her. The storyline and characters are good but I hated all the COVID references. I felt like it was a solid 3 through almost all of the book until the end. I loved the way it wrapped up so I would give it a 3.5 instead. Interested to see where the characters go from here. Lots of big things happened towards the conclusion of this one and I want to see how they are treated in the next one. Will definitely continue with the series.

I enjoyed this book. The story is full of suspense and the author paints a picture that makes you feel you are there. There is a bit of a twist at the end of the book. The book is part of a series but easily could be read as a stand alone. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This is the third installment in the Porter Beck series. Porter is a sheriff who is suffering from night blindness, so his primary investigations have to take place in daylight.

This episode features a battle between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and a wild horse conservation group. BLM is rounding up horses, supposedly to avoid over population beyond what the land can sustain. The conservation group sees the activity as unnecessarily cruel and against what BLM's charter is supposed to advocate.

Several murders bring Porter into the mix. A lively adventure ensues compounded by the early days of the COVID pandemic.

The book can be read as a standalone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to future adventures with Porter Beck, his sister, Brin, and his girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse.

I.received a free copy of, The Blue Horse, by Bruce Borgos from the publisher and Netgalley
And I am truly grateful. Was wonderful start to finish
This is my first Porter Beck book. I don't see how I missed the other. I am going back to read now
Thanks truly

When two people are killed during a wild horse round up in Nevada, state and federal officers, including his girlfriend Detective Charlie Blue Horse, join county sheriff Porter Beck in investigating. In addition to trying to deal with the outside personnel while solving the murders, Covid is beginning to ravage the area and Porter’s sister goes missing. And just what does a lithium mining operation have to do the situation? There is danger everywhere.

This is the third in the Porter Beck mystery stories. Let me start out by saying I don’t typically chose books with horses in them, but I have enjoyed this series from the beginning and wanted to stay with it. I was rewarded with a suspenseful, action packed, thrilling ride through the west filled with a variety of colorful characters. I enjoyed that a variety of timely topics were touched upon by the plot, including environmental concerns around mining and rare earth minerals, the ethics of using modern methods to round up wild mustangs, PTSD among our nation’s veterans and I love Porter’s “deputy" dog, Columbo.

Although part of a series, this would work as a standalone. Trigger warnings; there is violence against both humans and animals. There is also some questionable plausibility, but that didn’t take away from my being fully engrossed in the story.

Another thrilling novel of crime and all its ugliness. The characters are superb with quirks and a ton of knowledge. The scenes are enhanced by descriptions of the surrounding territory that draw you further into the story. A true winner.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Blue Horse is another exciting well written book in the Porter Beck Series.

COVID is rampant and people are fighting for their lives.

Porter Beck is my hero. He isn't perfect, has his flaws but above all else he puts his heart and soul into solving the case at hand.

Wild horses are controversally being rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management .

A helicopter is shot down and the pilot killed and thats just the tip of the iceberg as the body count mounts up.

Beck is on his last case as he leaving for a new job opportunity and his is determined to solve this diabolical case.

Chaos, lies and secrets and gruesome murders continue to follow Beck and his girlfriend.

No one is safe and corruption is at every level.

Bruce Borgos is a master at drawing the reader in and writes so graphically that you feel you are right there along with Beck.

I cheered for Porter Beck, I cried with him and worried about him but most of all I admired his tenacity for solving what seems like an insurmountable case.

The Blue Horse is a nait biting read that will have you staying up into the night to read that final chapter.

I highly recommend if you havent read any of the series start with Book One but be warned you soon will be binging the series.

Cant wait for the next Porter Beck adventure.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books for the privilege of reading and reviewing one of my favourite series.