Thank you NetGally, St Martins Press, Minotaur and the author for the gifted copy & the e-arc!

This series has been a really great ride so far! Sheriff Porter Beck is THE MAN! Snarky, smart & nothing gets by him! He’s a fantastic, funny & entertaining MMC! But really … all the characters are great too! They all bring something special to the table. And Bo absolutely has my heart! 🐶

The investigation of the grizzly crimes build in suspense as the story progresses … and concludes with an action packed finish plus a nice little twist! It was sad reading about the wild horse round ups. It’s a hard thing to picture & my heart is a little broken up about it. But all things Beck & Charlie make my heart happy again! 🥰

The Blue Horse is book 3 in the series & although you could probably read it as a stand alone & not get too lost, I recommend reading them in order so you can grow right along with the characters!

I haven't read the other 2 books in this series but I plan to correct that. I didn't feel at a loss not having read the previous volumes in this series - The Blue Horse is easily a stand alone novel. This book was incredible - the characters have depth, the story never drags, the dialogue is believable. Never did I think I'd feel that way about a book involving horses and gathers, but I was so wrong. There's a twist at the end that I never saw coming, and it's the kind of twist that I place in the 'Scooby Doo' category - out of the blue, no build up, no reason to suspect this would happen. It's probably the only problem I have with this book, but it's such a great story that I can overlook it.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher, the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

A controversial wild horse round-up in the high desert of Nevada results in two murders and too many suspects for Sheriff Porter Beck to deal with.

I love Porter Beck. He is one of my favorite characters. And he has his hands full in this tale.

I had one spot in this book that just about got me…when the wild horse round up was occurring. This stressed me a bit. But, Porter really did save the day.

That is not all he saves in this book. As with all the Porter Beck novels, this one moves quickly and has some major intensity and Porter doesn’t take anything off the Feds. His interactions with these guys tickled me. But, Porter knows what needs to be done to find the killers!

Need a fast paced drama…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

The Blue Horse by Bruce Burgos was a good mystery in a series of books by this author. I didn’t know that when I read this book, so I will go back and read the first two. I would like to know more about the characters. Burgos is a good author who uses a lot of interesting and different analogies. Some of them I really enjoyed, but there were a few that made me groan. There were a few too many murders or people and horses. I had to take a break after some that were too graphic.There were too many references to Covid that didn’t go anywhere. I loved the dog named Columbo.
Overall I would recommend this book due to the author’s skill in writing and some interesting characters. This review is totally my opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC.

I've read all the books in the Porter Beck series and they just keep getting better and better! Love this series and loved The Blue Horse. Great characters, beautiful setting, intriguing storyline that kept me guessing until the very end. There is nothing Bruce Borgos could do wrong with Sheriff Porter Beck at the helm!! I'm already ready for the next chapter in this series!!

Set during the early days of COVID, The Blue Horse finds Porter Beck expecting to deal with animal rights protestors, not multiple murders, environmental and international issues. The description of the book gives a fair bit away but it is an interesting read seeing how Beck gets there. I had the pilot's killer wrong in my head but the rest was pretty obvious - and set up to be that way with a call shown in book.

I clearly still have some COVID trauma to deal with and there is a lot of it in the book, so do prepare yourself for that or skip this one if not in the right headspace for reliving that in detail. Some of the deaths are also quite gruesome.

Horse management is not something I have ever really thought about. The animal abuse angle yes, but we don't have a lot of wild horses around here. Unless you want to count the horses that broke out of their barn and went to a drive thru for coffee? I was worried that the book would be too country and western for my liking but it very much focuses on the investigation while still having a country feel and dropping some information about how Nevada handles wild horses.

This is book 3 of the series, but very readable as a standalone. I would like to go back and read Mercy's story at some point though. Her role in The Blue Horse makes sense, but I want to know why coming back was dangerous for her.

As far as the investigation, for a decent detective, the Sheriff missed some major clues about his girlfriend. It was interesting seeing him navigate the job while dealing with a degenerative vision issue that likely would force most people out of the job. The 'bad guys' were a touch overdone but the ends all tie up well in the end.

I would love more of Brinley, I found I connected with her character more than the others. Thanks to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

This series just keeps getting better and better! I really enjoyed the dissertation on wild horses and the setting (as always). This is one of my favorite series right now and I can't wait for more. If you haven't start this series yet, what are you waiting for? Great setting, unique characters and fast paced but interesting plot twists!

The Blue Horse comes out next week on July 8, 2025, and you can purchase HERE!

The old man hung up the phone. He let the receiver sit for a moment, then picked it up again and placed it to his ear.
Instantly, the operator in the basement answered, "Sir?"

"Have someone find out what the fuck is happening in Nevada." He pronounced the name of the state Ne-vah-da, like someone who had never been there might.

My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St.Martin's Publishing for the ARC of "The Blue Horse" in exchange for an honest review.

A warm welcome back to Sheriff Porter Beck's third mystery/action adventure thriller. And once again the stalwart, nobody-to-be-trifled-with Beck is up to his neck in multiple villains amid the vast desert and mountain landscapes of Nevada. At the height of the raging COVID pandemic, Beck's faced with two wildly different murders related to the Bureau of Land Management's controversial roundups of wild horses. A helicopter pilot assisting the roundup from the air is shot down by an expert sniper. Then later the woman in charge of the Bureau's roundups is horribly slain, her tortuous death captured on a video........a video apparently posted online by the activist group protesting the roundups. Or was it?

As if Beck's plate isn't full enough, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, the love of his life, has grown oddly cold and argumentative. Beck's ailing 90 year old father is fast succumbing to dementia, his trusted deputy's contracted COVID and his sister Brinley has gone missing while searching forests and mountains for a deeply troubled teen boy. Also adding to his woes - the Sheriff's advancing affliction of night blindness, leaving him literally in the dark when the sun goes down.

Bruce Borgos, a superb born storyteller, expertly manages to bring all these elements together in a harrowing finale that'll keep you in enough suspense to stop every other activity (including sleep) until you've reached the last page. Yes, it's that good. You'll find yourself both worrying about and cheering on Beck and his vividly drawn 'Scooby' bunch of law enforcement teammates as they take on a lot more danger than they bargained for.

"The Blue Horse" works fine as a stand alone in the Porter Beck series, but I can guarantee upon finishing it, you'll want to catch up on the first two right away.

4.25/5 stars

Third in the Porter Beck series this adventure centers around the wild horse debate...leave them alone, relocate/domesticate them. Porter Beck, a small-town Nevade sheriff must navigate a series of murders surrounding this debate involving the Bureau of Land Management and a wild horse advocacy group, in the midst of which he discovers a very surprising personal situation, deals with a heart-wrenchingly sad but inevitable event and anticipates moving to another job.

As I have enjoyed the previous two books, this one was not an exception to the rule. I love the no-nonsense, sometimes gruff but always with a heart of gold Porter Beck. He's funny and one-of-a-kind. I did miss a bit more interaction with his deputies. While there is some, it's always more fun with more of them featured as they are a great cast of characters and work so well as a team. It was also interesting as this book was set in the beginning stages of Covid and how everyone regarded the imminent health event.

While I did love this outing, I don't think it was as much as its predecessors, and I'm not sure why. It almost had the feel of a closure to the series, but I believe it is continuing on (yay!). I think I'm not as enamored with Beck's girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, and I think it's because I can't get a good read on her and am not particularly enamored with her character. It felt like they fell for each other in a very short period of time. But those are just my own thoughts.

Again, well done addition to the series and looking forward to further installments.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books for providing the free early arc of The Blue Horse for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

When a helicopter driving a controversial round-up of wild horses suddenly crashes and the pilot is found to have been shot, and then the coordinator of the round-up is savagely murdered, there’s plenty of suspects for state and federal agencies to investigate. Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days, and his team is under the weather, so his girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, comes to help with the investigation which leads them on an unexpected journey and everything on the line.

What an incredible addition to the Porter Beck series! I came into THE BLUE HORSE with no knowledge about wild horse round-ups in Nevada, or elsewhere, nor the controversies surrounding it, so it was interesting to learn a little bit about this topic.

Note: I didn’t realize that this book would be set during 2020 and discuss the effects of the pandemic, so do prioritize your mental health if that is a triggering topic for you. That said, I didn’t find the mentions to be too overwhelming, or graphic compared to other books set during this time period.

THE BLUE HORSE features a plot that is fast-paced, suspenseful, and filled with action amidst the many twists and turns. I often had the feeling of uncertainty as to whether Beck and his limited team could pull it all off. While the novel is told primarily in Beck’s third person POV, there are several chapters with other key characters’ third person POVs as well. I really enjoyed these other viewpoints because they added a lot of necessary information to the goings on and furthered the plot.

It was great to catch up with characters from the previous books, namely Beck (of course), Brin, Charlie, and Pop. A special mention to Bo, a spectacular dog and excellent partner!

The ending was well done and leaves me wondering what is to come for these characters in a future installment of this series.

<i>I would like to thank the publisher, Minotaur Books, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.</i>

I sadly didn’t resonate with this story. I was intrigued at the start but the more I read the more disengaged I became with the plot and what was happening. There seemed to be too many moving pieces for me to really get into the mystery itself, and I just didn’t connect with any of the characters. While I understand that this book was written during a time when Covid was still prominent there were so many mentions of it that I just got tired of hearing about it especially when it didn’t massively change the outcome of what was happening. Although one main character misdiagnosed themselves with it. Overall, this book was just okay for me. Nothing that I will sadly remember when recommending new titles to readers.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This is a twisty story that starts out with a murder that seems to be connected to the gathering (round-up) of wild horses but then there's also a lithium mining operation that enters into the storyline. I appreciate that the author presented both sides of the issue but didn't interject his opinion. Throughout the story we saw more of the personal life of Porter and Charlie Blue Horse, Porter's sister and father, and how Porter's disease impacts his life and those around him. There were some pretty dangerous moments, family/community connections, some humor, and some emotional moments. I can't wait to see what is in store for Porter next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.75 stars

This series just keeps getting stronger. Fast-paced, full of action but with plenty of interesting nicely-developed characters and relationships.

Sheriff Porter Beck has followed in his father's footsteps as sheriff of a sparsely populated Nevada county. His father has slipped into dementia although sometimes his recall of past cases and geography is amazingly accurate.

This novel is set during the pandemic and conveys all the uncertainty, fear and denial of that time. A wild mustang roundup is being conducted by the BLM and strong opinions on all side are evident. A seemingly well-behaved and well-financed group of protesters is present, at odds with the local ranchers. Porter is there to keep the peace until a BLM helicopter pilot is shot dead by a sniper.

There is no shortage of suspects among the protesters, including a PTSD-suffering vet with a military background in weapons and special ops. And the pilot's private life also brings up some possibilities. Then a second gruesome murder occurs, broadcast on social media and Porter and his short-handed crew are taken over by the FBI. Porter is not a heavy-handed law enforcement type, although we sense he could be if required. He cares about the welfare of the people involved and the horses, and straddles a line while retaining the respect of both sides. He's not afraid to bend the rules if common sense and his instincts dictate it.

At the same his adopted sister Brin is shepherding around an outward-bound type group of kids including one who escapes from camp and becomes embroiled in trouble. And, Porter's girlfriend is acting strangely and he has no idea why.

As if this isn't enough, the sheriff is saddled with a serious degenerative vision disease that means he can't see, navigate or drive in the dark -- a serious drawback in his line of work.

This is a compelling read with a fast and lively pace. There are some big surprises saved up for the end as well. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another solid entry in the Porter Beck series. Porter Beck continues to be a likable and interesting character. In this novel, Beck is investigating two murders that happen during a wild horse roundup. There are a lot of suspects and threads to pull on, and Beck is navigating the beginnings of the covid pandemic as well as trying to figure out why his girlfriend Charlie is so irritated with him (no spoilers, but that one was way too easy to guess!). The villain reveal at the end felt a little implausible, and there were a lot of characters to keep track of, but I'm still really enjoying this series and I look forward to the next book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for a digital review copy.

Thank you Minotaur Books @minotaur_books and Bruce Borges @BruceBorgos for this free book!
“The Blue Horse” (Porter Beck #3) by Bruce Borges⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Genre: Police Procedural. Location: High desert, north of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Time: 2020.

THE SERIES: Porter Beck (40s) was born and raised in Pioche in the Nevada high desert. He served 20 years in Army deep intelligence and is fluent in several languages. Now home, he’s Lincoln County sheriff, doing the same job his father did. Beck’s small department covers 11,000 square miles with a population of only 6000. And he’s losing his vision due to retinitis pigmentosis, so he’s training his red English lab Bo to help.

THIS BOOK: Beck (now 48) is leaving his sheriff job at the end of the year to direct the Investigative Division of the Department of Public Safety. But for now, there’s a controversial wild horses roundup to oversee. A helicopter crashes while pushing the wild horses-the pilot has been shot. The round-up coordinator is buried, then trampled to death by wild horses. Beck and girlfriend Detective Charlie Blue Horse head to the Lithium mining operation near the round-up area. Meanwhile Beck's sister Brinley is leading a wilderness program for troubled kids when one bolts. They end up just outside the mine-the wrong place at the wrong time. Making everything worse, Covid hits the high desert hard, impacting Beck’s family and friends.

Author Borgos has written an unpredictable high desert thriller full of action, colorful details, and diverse characters. His character descriptions are vivid, and also respectful. As usual, his ending is action-packed and drawn out. Borgos knows his way around the windswept Nevada high desert and it shows in his attention to detail. I really enjoyed it, and it’s 5 stars from me! 👩🏼‍🦳 #bruceborgas #thebluehorse

The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos is gripping, suspenseful, and has a lot of information about wild horses across the country. I thoroughly enjoy the Porter Beck mysteries and look forward to the next one.

This was my first Porter Beck mystery (third in the series), and he's a solid detective. With this being the first time I was "meeting" the characters, I was at a little of a disadvantage, but nothing too terrible to figure out. While I didn't have the relationship background between the characters, it was pretty easy to understand how they work together and their relationships both in and out of work. This was a good mystery, with a few moving parts. Some graphic descriptions (this isn't a cozy mystery!), but overall, really solid.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC!

The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos is the third book in the Porter Beck series. Porter Beck is a sheriff in Nevada. He took over the position (i.e. won the election) after his father was struggling with the demands of the job. His girl friend Charlie Blue Horse arrives to

The Bureau of Wildlife Management is heading up a round up of wild horses in Beck’s area. He goes to check out the progress and runs into a situation where the helicopter helping move the horses is shot down when the pilot is killed instantly. Later he goes to investigate the process with some people on the ground, and witnesses the cruel way some of the cowboys are treating the horses and puts a stop to it. This leaves him investigating a situation while trying to maintain a balance between the two opposing views (yes or no to round ups). Then the person in charge of the round up is killed in a horrific way and Beck has another murder to solve.

His girl friend Charlie Blue Horse arrives to help with the case and later the FBI joins in (not so helpful). Meanwhile his sister, Brinley is missing. Beck has a service dog to help during the night, but that does not negate his struggles of being blind at night and still needing to solve crimes.

The Blue Horse is a fascinating story. I was captivated from beginning to the end and found the various characters fascinating. The issue of rounding up the wild mustangs and the mining industry polluting the area are two of the main problems that are ongoing in the region, but add murder and missing people and the plot put me on edge with curiosity. The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos is a great read.

This is my 3rd summer getting to enjoy books in this series and I have yet to be disappointed. From the rural Nevada setting and high stakes crimes/mysteries to the lovable characters, I continuously enjoy my time with these books!! I’m excited to see where book 4 picks up.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A hotly contested gathering of wild horses leads to murder

The rounding up or "gathering" of wild horses is a hot button issue for those who live in the western US. Animal lovers and environmental advocates think the measure is more extreme than necessary, while area ranchers regard the feral creatures as pests who consume grazing areas that could be used by their livestock and that need to be removed. When the Bureau of Land Management decided to initiate a gathering in Lincoln County, Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck knew to expect crowds of protestors near the capture site. What he could not have anticipated, however, was seeing the helicopter that was herding the mustangs towards the desired end point crash...a crash deliberately caused by a gunshot to the cockpit. Had someone associated with the protesting groups decided to put an end to the gathering by taking the helicopter out of the equation? There are those who jump to that immediate conclusion, but Beck isn't so sure. The pilot is only the first to die, and evidence seems to point squarely at the woman leading the demonstrations. The second killings are far more gruesome...is the killer the same person or group, or is there more at play than it would seem? Even as Beck tries to get to the root of the murders, he is juggling multiple challenges in his personal life....the arrival of COVID 19 and its effects on some of his team and his elderly father (who is already struggling with dementia), a runaway teen who disappeared from a wilderness program for troubled kids who has Beck's sister Brin in pursuit, and his girlfriend Charlie who is acting very strangely and whom he suspects is looking for an off-ramp from their relationship. There may be more connecting some of these challenges to one another than Beck suspects....and the killer or killers may not yet be on his radar.
The Blue Horse is the third in the fantastic new series featuring Porter Beck by author Bruce Borgos. It features a vivid Western setting and a fascinating protagonist whose years in the military have honed his exceptional investigative skills and who has returned to the small town he couldn't wait to escape years earlier to take over for his ailing father as sheriff as he comes to terms with his own physical challenges. The cast of characters who surround him are well-developed, quirky and dedicated to their jobs, but are also more than willing to exchange humorous barbs with one another. The mystery at the heart of the story is full of twists and turns that keep the pages turning and the tension building until the end. Threaded through the well-constructed thriller are issues like the government's management (or mismanagement, depending upon one's viewpoint) of wild horses, the challenges of COVID in the early days of its spread, and the push for rare earth mining. This can certainly be read as a standalone, but those who have read the previous two books in the series will have a deeper grasp of the different characters backstories. This is one of my favorite new series of the last few years, and The Blue Horse is a fantastic addition to its predecessors, 4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5. Fans of those earlier books as well as readers of C. J. Box, Paul Doiron and William Kent Krueger should definitely grab a copy at their earliest convenience (and if they haven't read the first two, they would be wise to pick those up as well...you'll thank me later). Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for having introduced me to the series and for allowing me access to this latest installment in exchange for my honest review.