Audiobook Review - James Babson delivers again! Love this series of books with the right amount of intrigue, mystery, romance and good olde fashion whodunnit. In this episode set during the Covid 19 pandemic our characters are thrust head long into a disturbing tale of malevolent big business trying to win at all costs!!

(4.25 stars)
I was so happy to see that there was a third Porter Beck book coming out! The first two were excellent mysteries/thrillers and this third one does not disappoint. (Note: while this is the third book in a series, I firmly believe that someone new to the series can easily jump in with this one.) These books combine a fast-paced, complex story with truly interesting characters, a winning combination IMO.

Porter Beck is the sheriff in a Nevada county made up of small towns and high desert. The book opens with a controversial roundup/gather of wild horses by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). There’s a lot of controversy because many feel that the horses should be left to roam free while others worry about them eating all the pastureland that their cattle need. (Simplistic explanation, sorry). They are being rounded up by a new technology, helicopters, not your traditional cowboys. When a helicopter is shot down and the pilot killed, the book takes off and doesn’t stop until the end.

In addition to the horse situation, we have a lithium mining company which may or may not be polluting the land, the effects of the early months of COVID, and more. Beck is a sympathetic character who is dealing with his advancing retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which causes a gradual decline in vision, often starting with night blindness and peripheral vision loss. This is obviously not ideal for a sheriff and he is planning on changing jobs in the near future. In the meantime, his military experience helps him in many ways. He’s almost 50 now and his dad, the former sheriff, is in early stages of dementia. His girlfriend, a detective named Charlie Blue Horse works from Reno, so they’re trying their best to deal with the long distance between their home bases.

I love Beck’s dog, Columbo, who he is trying to train to be his future guide dog. Beck’s sister, Brinley, is another great character and plays a large part in this story.

I was privileged to have a paperback and an ebook, courtesy of Minotaur Book and NetGalley, and an audiobook, courtesy of Recorded Books and NetGalley, and I actually wound up using all three at various points. The audiobook was narrated very well by James Babson, who also narrated the first two books in this series. Thank you to all of the above for the opportunity to read and listen to an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”—Winston Churchill"

"What does it take to break a man? How far can you push him before his relationship with humanity is severed? The military trains its soldiers to resist...but the sad fact is that no training will prevent the killing of the soul."

It's writing like this, found in The Blue Horse, by exceptional storyteller, author Bruce Borgos, that has me grateful for the opportunity to write reviews. To share the joy of reading an emotionally rich murder mystery with high octane action, thought provoking life choice situations, and real dialogue fueled with humor, anger, fear and love.

At 49, Sheriff Porter Beck feels every year of his age. Dealing with his father's poor health, his sister missing in the Nevada mountains, leaving a job, and the town he loves, to be close to his girlfriend, State Detective Charlie Blue Horse, and the knowledge that his inability to see at night will eventually leave him blind. Now he has two murders to solve. A helicopter pilot shot down while wrangling wild horses for a land management firm and then the coordinator of the firm is gruesomely killed live online.

Voice actor James Babson is remarkable as Beck. He personifies the true grit of Beck's soul that the writer imbues so effortlessly into him. We never doubt who Beck is...a truly decent man.

The other hero is Columbo "Bo," a fiercely loyal protective tracking ginger Lab. Beck would be lost without him.

There are many suspects, one might be being framed, and Beck will need that grit to find the truth. The Blue Horse is book 3 of The Porter Beck series but an easy standalone and my answer to why I like to read.

Book 1. The Bitter Past
Book 2. Shades of Mercy
Book 3. The Blue Horse

I received free copies of this book/audiobook from St. Martin's Press Minotour Books and RBMedia (Recorded Books) for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos and narrated by James Babson is the third book in the Porter Beck Mysteries series and I enjoyed listening to it, especially as it was the first book/audiobook I have listened to within this series.

When a helicopter suddenly crashes and Sheriff Porter Beck started to investigated why it had crashed, whilst investigating he found that the pilot had been shot. Then the person coordinating the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management is savagely murdered, buried up to her neck and then trampled to death by the very same wild horses.

Are both murders connected? and why?

As Sheriff Porter Beck looks deeper, he finds there are lots of suspects within the wild horse advocacy group having sworn to protect the horse At Any Cost! and "Nothing" must stand it its way!!!

Now the state and federal agencies are showing up looking for answers or at least a scapegoat and 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, he needs help!

Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days and needs help in finding who murdered these two people.

Detective Charlie Blue Horse, is Beck's new girlfriend, and she is there to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells.
Brinley, who is Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When But, when Brinley catches up to him, just outside the mine, was he in the wrong place, at the wrong time. But, why was he there?

Now with Beck's personal life which is in turmoil. There are too many suspects and so many secrets flying around.
The feds are pushing for a quick resolution, and his impetuous sister in the mix.
But, with one wrong step could be deadly for Porter Beck.

Brilliant especially as it was full of twists and turns that will have you guessing till the very end.

I highly recommend this audiobook.The narrator James Babson was excellent. 4⭐️

Big thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia | Recorded Books for my ARC Audiobook

The Blue Horse involves a contentious community battle over the removal of wild stallions by the Bureau of Land Management from the Nevada desert. Sheriff Porter Beck is keeping tabs on the situation when he's called to the scene of a helicopter crash. The pilot, who is part of the BLM project, was shot while flying. Then, the woman in charge of the BLM project is brutally murdered with the crime shown on a You Tube video. Becks' long distance girlfriend, State Police Detective Charlie Blue Horse is visiting and it is early times in the COVID-19 epidemic. Beck's night vision is shot as his genetic eye condition continues to advance. Some issue involving organized crime is going on (we know this) but Beck doesn't know about it till later. Borgos weaves together a number of story lines that all fit together and are all interesting. Beck's adopted "sister" is involved with a wilderness camp and, while going after a runaway, runs into danger. Beck and Charlie are having unclear issues. His dad's dementia is often more troublesome. He is planning to leave his job and his second in command, who is learning from him to take over, contracts COVID. They are completely short-staffed, have several murders on their hands, a missing person of interest who could be very dangerous, in the background inexplicable things happening that get in the way of the investigation and lots of fun getting to know the various interests and characters in Beck's jurisdiction. My favorite character was the runaway kid, I'd say, but he has competition.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audio version, narrated by James Babson. 4.5 rounded to 5

As a Nevada resident, I love reading books based in my home state. And I’m a fan of Porter Beck and his loyalty, reliability, and commitment as a Sheriff to his family, friends and community. This installment is a great one, involving the murder of those performing the capture and removable of the wild mustangs from the open spaces where cattle roam. It was engaging and action packed, with a bit of romance thrown in. I think this is a series you need to read in order, so if you haven’t read the first two books, I’d pick those up first.

The Blue Horse is a somewhat interesting murder mystery around some rural horse movement, as Bureau of Land Management contractors are killed under very creative and elaborate methods. Night-blind Porter Beck is the lawman navigating the situation, with some help from his dementia- and COVID-addled father and his girlfriend/colleague. The schemes unfold in interesting ways and it's a time capsule reminder of how different people reacted to the beginnings of COVID, and the changes in greetings, reactions, etc. The twists and turns go in great ways, especially with colorful characters like a conspiracy-minded journalist appropriately nicknamed X Files and some cartoonish Lithium miners.

This book reminded me a lot of C.J. Box’s writing style—gritty, engaging, and full of suspense—but with noticeably less language, which I really appreciated. (Not that Box’s books are overly profane, but I don't recall any foul language in this)

One thing that surprised me was how heavily COVID was woven into the story—mentions of the CDC, masks, coughing, vaccines, and more. Normally, I tend to DNF books that focus too much on the pandemic because I’m honestly just burned out on it in real life. That said, this story still managed to hold my attention, and I enjoyed it in spite of this.

Even though this is the third book in a series, I didn’t feel lost at all and think it works well as a standalone. The narration was solid, and I’ll definitely be keeping Babson on my radar for future audiobooks.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

There is something so compelling about the Porter Beck series. The main point of view being a sheriff, with lots of military intelligence training, set in a small town with lots of natural beauty, are all positives. The Blue Horse is around a series of both horse and people deaths during some wild mustang roundups. The mafia is involved in the background.

Beck has been dating Charlie and has planned to move to Reno to work in the state intelligence agency. She seems off as they begin investigations. She is fostering Mercy from the previous book. Covid is just starting in this story set in 2020. Both Beck's father, and Tuffy, the deputy planning to become sheriff get ill.

Beck's sister, Brinley, is working at a wilderness camp for kids from bad situations, much as she had been. She takes to a big fighter with no trust called Rafa. He runs away from the camp and Brinley goes after him; she likely has COVID. A chase across wilderness and mountains with limited food and water but plenty of poisonous snakes is a struggle. They end up near the source of Beck's suspicions and rescue an older man nearly beaten to death. But shortly they are the hunted.

There are plenty of bad guys who are more than willing to kill. They have worked to frame an ex-military guy, Race, who is friends with the group leader, Etta, protesting the wild mustang roundups. But he turns out to be helpful in tracking down the bad guys. The FBI is initially determined to arrest Etta and or Race. Beck is sure they are innocent. In the end, it takes all of them to catch the killers.

There is plenty of personal growth here for Beck, Charlie and Brinley, all while risking their lives and having it rough. It's also interesting to see the effect of COVID in this remote area. The action doesn't stop for a minute in The Blue Horse. I'll be very interested to see how they are doing next time.

Narration:
I enjoyed the narration, and have listened to all the books in the series. The narrator is Beck for me. He also keeps me in the story with voices which are distinct but fitting for the characters. I listened at my newer 1.75x speed.

When a mustang round up turns deadly, Sheriff Beck and his team find multiple motives and suspects. Gruesome murders are balanced with Beck’s life as he deals with his failing eyesight, his father’s dementia, an unexpectedly cranky girlfriend Charlie, and the impact of COVID. A secondary storyline around Beck’s sister took awhile to tie in to the main mystery, and there were several plot twist I didn’t see coming. Facts about the controversy surrounding mustangs are woven throughout the high action thriller. Narrator Babson keeps the pace moving. Although this is the third outing it can stand alone. Porter Beck is a unique character in a distinctive setting. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review audio. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for providing me with a copy. Here’s my honest opinion.

Bruce Borgos is a must read anytime a new book comes out because his stories don’t disappoint. The characters round out the story nicely, and I was pleased see the return of his girlfriend Detective Charlie Blue Horse along with his kick-ass sister Brinley and computer genius Mercy (love her character).

This third in the Porter Beck series has his department investigating several deaths with a backdrop of a wild horse roundup by the Government, protestors, and lithium mining interests in rural Nevada. It’s set as the COVID pandemic is beginning capturing the rural reaction well.

Easily makes my 2025-favorites list and loved the audiobook version.

Sheriff Porter Beck has two murders to investigate but multiple suspects. He will follow where the clues lead in this complex novel.

Very well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Very good characters in this well paced novel set in Nevada and the round up of wild horses. Plenty of action and tension. Porter has personal issues at the same time to work through. Highly recommend.

Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos was my first Porter Beck mystery, but it definitely won’t be my last. I loved the setting in the wilderness of Nevada, I loved the story about the plight of wild horses and I loved Beck’s investigative skills and his relationship with his father, his sister, his girlfriend, and his co-workers. Three murders, the killing of wild horses, a lithium mining operation, a soldier with severe PTSD, and a very troubled and abused young teen, and covid (this takes place in 1920) all play a part in this fast-paced mystery that you won't want to stop listening to.

I was looking forward to diving into the third installment, but sadly this one just wasn’t for me. I had a very hard time connecting with it, especially when COVID was brought up. I struggled a lot during COVID, and it’s really triggering for me, which took me out of the story completely. While I’m excited for Porter and what’s to come next in his chapter, I truly hope the next book doesn’t mention you know what. The narrator, James Babson, did a wonderful job portraying Porter, Charlie, the officers, and the other characters. I was able to easily differentiate between them.

A very special thanks to Recorded Books + Netgalley for the ALC.

An overall good storyline, but way too much talk around COVID for a 2025 book.

A helicopter driving a controversial round-up of wild horses suddenly crashes and the pilot is found to have been shot. Then the person coordinating the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management is savagely murdered, buried up to her neck and then trampled to death by the very same wild horses. And there's no lack of suspects—with the wild horse advocacy group having sworn to protect the horse At Any Cost! Now the state and federal agencies are showing up looking for answers or at least a scapegoat.

Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days.

Porter Beck's new girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells. Brinley, Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When Brinley catches up to him, they're just outside the mine—in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

4 stars

If Porter Beck is involved, it's a must-read scenario for me. I enjoyed the first two books in this series, and this - the third installment - fit in nicely with its predecessors.

Beck is an excellent character, and while this book can be read as a standalone and the suspense/thrills will be enough to keep most readers engaged, the highlight of this series is the way Beck's character develops. My top recommendation is to read the first two books in the series before this one to best appreciate the directions each character takes.

Now, beyond the joy of the series overall, and especially its featured character, this is an absolutely compelling book on its own. There is a lot of action, there are changing relationships, and there are opportunities for continued installments, which thrills me. I also knew exactly nothing about the situation with wild horses in this country, and I found that aspect (as well as Borgos's note about this after the fact) intriguing.

I continued to really enjoy this author and series and look forward to more!