Another fantastic Porter Beck mystery that also takes on the issues of contamination with mineral mining, wild horse roundups, and Covid infection in the susceptible population. I enjoy Beck because he is more mature and deals with serious life issues such as caring for an aging parent, the nurturing of a teen that his girlfriend is the guardian of, and a progressive disease affecting his work and life. He's got an uncanny internal compass and street smarts that serve him in his position as the Sheriff. Although the books chronicle Beck's life when read in order, the crimes are not linked from book to book, and the books can be read as stand-alone mysteries in any order. This novel focuses around a wild horse roundup and the sparks that fly between the local ranchers and the wild horse activists. Both sides take losses when a BLM agent and a roundup helicopter pilot are killed, then a corral of wild horses are used as target practice ... and bring in the federal agents! Of course, there is a lot more going on than just this altercation, and uncovering hidden threads is Beck's time to shine. We meet a new set of characters, some likable, some despicable, and some just sad - but they all play an important part in this conflict. This is a book you won't want to put down!

** spoiler alert ** Buckle up, because this book is wild literally. Sheriff Porter Beck is thrown into a brutal double murder investigation in the Nevada desert, where a wild horse round-up turns deadly. A helicopter pilot is shot mid-air, a Bureau of Land Management official meets a grisly end, and suddenly, everyone activists, feds, and mining execs is a suspect.

This book hooked me from page one with its sharp writing, breakneck pacing, and just the right amount of dry humor. Beck is the kind of sheriff you root for smart, wry, and just messy enough to feel real. His dynamic with Detective Charlie Blue Horse? Chef’s kiss. And then there’s Brinley, Beck’s fearless sister, who gets tangled up in the chaos in a way that had me yelling at the pages.

But what really got me was the tension between government agencies, corporations, and passionate wild horse advocates, everyone has something to hide. And the Nevada landscape? Almost its own character vast, dangerous, and full of secrets.

If you love crime thrillers with morally complex characters, high stakes investigations, and some seriously cinematic moments, this one’s a must read. Think Longmire meets Yellowstone, with a murder mystery twist.

Set back in 2020 and the resulting pandemic of Covid-19, this novel reminds most readers of those scary times. In this story there are a few added twists beyond the pandemic ones. Included it a vision problem for Sherriff Beck of Lincoln County, Nevada and other issues with his erstwhile girlfriend Charlie Blue Horse. Typical of a later in life romance there are issues here well beyond the pandemic ones.

Pulling in a strand that looks at the environmental impacts of lithium mining in a state that had some of the nuclear testing of the late 1940s and '50s. These seem naturally to bring in big business and maybe even some shady international characters. With the idea of international actors, enter the FBI, who seems to like to run roughshod over the locals.

Another issue deals with children (Mercy & Brinley) who were abused and later adopted into loving homes. There are some younger people (Rafa) who need those homes and they become part of the story. A third central issue deals with the roundup of wild mustangs from BLM lands.

As you can see there are lots of story pieces and they are handled very nicely by the author who pulls all the disparate strigs together. Makes or a great read. I certainly enjoyed it, a lot. There are some unexpected consequences of actions and some injuries and even deaths --but these are not central to the story line (mostly).

Definitely a good read and a pretty quick one as it was hard to put it down once started. What you may think of as the reason for the "blue horse" might change at the end!!

The Blue Horse by author Bruce Borgos. I’ve read all three of the Beck Porter series and have thoroughly enjoyed all. This novel is about wild horses and the murder of 2 people working for the BLM. This story has so much action and heart stopping moments. I really enjoy the characters in this series, so strong and yet so vulnerable.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

It’s 2020 and Lincoln County, Nevada sheriff Porter Beck has a great deal more to worry about than Covid. He and Deputy Tuffy Scruggs are riding out to observe the round-up . . . or gather, as the government called it . . . of some fifteen hundred feral horses at the behest of the Bureau of Land management due to drought concerns.

Porter wonders about the use of the helicopters; certainly the horses were spooked and raced off in the direction the herders wanted them to go, but did those helicopters also frighten the horses? Unlike city folks, Porter and Tuffy knew just how destructive the wild horses could be . . . and their encounters with automobiles were problematic.

Porter and Tuffy watch as a helicopter heads toward the horses. They watch as the pilot drops and climbs. Suddenly the copper slips out of sight and crashes. As they race toward the crash site, Porter, having heard a gunshot just before the crash, is not surprised to discover the pilot has been shot.

But who was responsible? That activist group protesting the gathering?

And what about the blue horse?

=========

This book, the third in the author’s Porter Beck series, contains sufficient backstory, working well as a standalone for readers new to the series. With well-drawn, believable characters and a strong sense of place, readers will find themselves pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset.

An undercurrent of tension flows through the unfolding narrative; suspense builds as the investigation explores issues involved in the rounding up of the wild horses and the possibility that someone in the protest group was involved in the murders. Readers also have an opportunity to see how Porter’s personal life affects his work as the mystery keeps everyone involved in the case.

Readers who enjoy modern western tales or those who love a good mystery will find much to appreciate in this unputdownable tale.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#TheBlueHorse #NetGalley

Multiple murders, multiple suspects, some wild horses and a mining operation. Want to know how the connect? You will just need to read this to find out. Follow Porter Beck as he tries to make sense of it all. I had a hard time putting this book down. Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my arc.

Another great book in this series. Possibly the best yet. I've enjoyed reading the Porter Beck series and look forward to future installments. But this one was exceptionally gripping and full of action. There's a lot going on - wild horses, murders, bad guys, COVID - but it all comes together seamlessly.

Anyone who liked the first two books in the Porter Beck series will love this one! They were both genre home runs but Borgos hits a grand slam with The Blue Horse. This one is epic. The seeds of promise Borgos planted in the first couple of books are fully realized in this instant classic. Beck and company face an international danger that might be too much for them to overcome. The crisis is compounded by threats to Beck's loved ones. What's a Sheriff to do when confronted with professional and personal challenges? The Blue Horse is a book of triumph and tragedy. Borgos moved into a new level of greatness with this book. The final act is wonderfully executed. This will be one of the great reads of 2025. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wild horses are being rounded up and moved to other locations,supposedly for the good of the surrounding areas. Activists are protesting the inhumane treatment and the involvement of a lithium mine. Then people start dying. A helicopter pilot is shot and killed and then the woman in charge is murdered in a really horrific manner. Lots of plot twists,which I particularly enjoyed. I did not guess the bad guy at all. I really enjoyed reading this.

It’s 2020 and Nevada county sheriff Porter Beck’s small department is scrambling to cover protests over a Bureau of Land Management roundup of wild horses when a helicopter pilot and BLM manager are killed. The murders are blamed on the protesters, but it seems just a little too convenient for Beck. Hampered by COVID, Beck and his girlfriend state detective Charlie Blue Horse do their best to dig deeper and soon learn that a new lithium mining operation may be involved. What’s really going on and at what cost?

Third in the series that just keeps getting better. Great new author for fans of CJ Box andTony Hillerman. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fan of a book series is always concerned about the next book, right? Y'all know what I'm talking about - will it live up to the previous books? This book definitely meets and exceeds my expectations. I am not generous with 5-star ratings because how many books are that perfect, but this one deserves 5 stars.

Sheriff Porter Beck and his girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, investigate murders of humans and horses. There are other characters that enrich this story, as well....so likeable, so engaging, and I just kept rooting for them all. WOW. I laughed out loud, I squalled more than once, and I could not put this book down until I finished. This author is a craftsman, a weaver of life stories, this time along with a particular focus on the plight of wild horses in the West (without taking sides as the author, which takes some skill, as well). Read the whole series, is my recommendation. Five stars!

Great book. Bruce Borgos has a great character in Porter Beck. This is the third installment of Porter and it is another great read. Keep them coming. Great use and reference of the covid times.. Can't wait for the next book.

Environmental terrorism, lithium mining and the wild mustangs of the Nevada desert. Hot button topics of our time. My first Porter Beck book and hopefully there will be many more. The timeliness of the topics and the fact that I live only a few hundred miles from the set location made this story particularly heartfelt. I can truly recommend this as a wonderful read. I received an ARC from NetGalley, and the opinions expressed are my own.

48-year-old Sheriff Porter Beck has a murder to investigate. His Nevada State Trooper girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse has been assigned to the investigation too. She is all professional, but something isn't right. It's September 2020 and there's a possibly contagious virus that is infiltrating Lincoln County along with a war over the wild horse population.
Brinley, Porter's sister is out in the wild with a group that is working with youth offenders, trying to give them a look at different ways of life. Young Rafa isn't buying it, and he is causing trouble, keeping Brinley on her toes.
I received the advanced reader's copy of this book from Minotaur Books through NetGalley and this is my own unsolicited opinion of it. It is an excellently well written mystery. I'll be right up front. I don't care for foul language. It's that simple. I nearly put this book aside because of the swearing, but the characters and the early mystery was interesting to me, and I read on. There is something going on behind the scenes that Borgos slowly brings to light. A graphic murder is handled as tastefully as possible. I really like the variety of characters and the camaraderie of the law officers who work with Beck. Chief Deputy Tuffy Scruggs (great name) is one of my favorite characters. I appreciated the mention of God. This is good writing, a story that tells itself without the author showing any kind of personal opinion. The handling of the virus exactly fits the experiences I saw here, including loss. And I love Bo!
I figure on a 4.8 rating and have rounded it to 5 stars. This is my first Bruce Borgos book, and I am interested in reading more from the Porter Beck series. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to read it. It worked as a stand-alone for me.

The Blue Horse by Bruce Burgos This third installment in the Porter Beck series was as enjoyable and suspenseful as the first two. Even with the sadness thrown in I loved the book and look forward to the next. Please let there be a next one. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read another great book.

A big thank-you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering me the opportunity to read and review this book prior to its publication.

One description included the suggestion that readers of books by C. J. Box might also like the Porter Beck series. I have read Box's books and enjoyed them, but I had not read the two earlier books in the Porter Beck series, so I checked them out of the library and read them before tackling The Blue Horse. A reader could probably enjoy book 3 of the series without having read the first two, but my own preference is to read books in series order so I can better understand the setting and the characters that were introduced in the earlier books.

Other reviewers have provided fairly detailed synopses, and I will not try to duplicate their excellent efforts. Suffice it to say the story includes the controversial rounding up of wild horses to relocate them as well as a lithium mine that might be poisoning the water table. And in between the larger plot points, there are personal and family difficulties to deal with in the early days of the COVID pandemic.

I consider a book to be very good if it pushes me to stay up way past my bedtime because I can't put it down. This book (as well as the earlier ones in the series) met that criteria.

The story has many moving parts...all of which tell a powerful story. I enjoyed the story despite never having ready a Borgos novel before. I appreciated the details and the way the story played out all the way to the end. The book is a continuation of the series but can be read as a stand alone without much trouble.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This is part of an existing series about Porter Beck, a sheriff, but it was not necessary to have read the prior books to get a good grasp of this character and his background. This book is about a rounding up of wild horses, the Bureau of Land Management and one of its employee's murder, and the variety of groups and people who could have easily committed the crime.

This was a great, fast-paced book. I loved the incorporation of the federal department and the exploration of the issues surrounding the wild horses. This was a multi-layered book that provided many avenues for who could have committed the murder, and it was fun traveling down all of those. Plus, there was a solid personal element to this book as we also got to explore Beck's personal life and how that impacted his work in the field.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Bruce Borgos, St, Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for access to the Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story takes place in Nevada and is centered around murders associated with a wild horse roundup. Detective Porter Beck is on the case along with his staff and other law enforcement agencies.

I found the characters engaging, the writing well done, and the dialog and situations realistic. This is also the first book I’ve read to incorporate the Covid Pandemic in a natural way.

A well written and absorbing detective story, this book is the third in the Porter Beck series and can be read independent of the others. Recommended.

I love the Porter Beck mysteries! The author always writes the characters so well that you feel you know them. The story grabs you and keeps you hooked from beginning to end. Like all of his other books I highly recommend this book.