The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos is part spy thriller, part police drama, part historical fiction…all of my favorite genres all rolled into one! The story takes place in remote Lincoln County, Nevada, where there are few people and lots of land. It is the place where the government did nuclear testing in the 50s. The story jumps back and forth between the present day hunt for a former Soviet spy and the spy’s story from the 1950s.

I really liked the main character, Sheriff Porter Beck. The author does a great job of weaving together all the pieces of this mystery and teaches you something about the nuclear age. I would definitely read another book if this series continues!

The Bitter Past is a captivating mystery infused with espionage, intriguing storytelling and skillfully crafted characters.

A retired FBI agent is tortured and killed in Nevada and it falls to Sheriff Porter Beck to investigate. Beck is a former member of the military who worked with Intelligence until a medical condition forced his retirement. The agent had been investigating the infiltration of Russians in the early days of the nuclear testing programs and his death points to Russian involvement. fBI agent Sana Locke arrives to assist Beck but withholds information vital to the case. When the tortured body of a second retiree is found, Beck’s investigation takes him back to the 1950s and a former security guard named Freddie Weaver. Weaver’s burned body was found with the bodies of four Russian agents in 1957, a time when a crucial test was planned. He was actually Georgiy Dudko, dating the daughter of one of the scientists and passing nuclear secrets to his handler. If he had actually survived, he would be the same age as the two victims. Beck and Locke must try to find him, but someone seems to be two steps ahead of them. In an effort to narrow the search, Beck calls on his father, the retired sheriff who is more familiar with the residents of the area.

Bruce Borgos’ story follows a dual timeline as Beck investigates in the present and the story of Weaver/Dudko is revealed in the past. He takes you back to a time when the results of nuclear fallout were still largely unknown. As they became evident they were weighed against the growing arms race with Russia. The Bitter Past is a fast moving mystery as well as a fascinating look at the past and Borgos has provided a true page turner. I would like to thank. EtGalley for providing this book for my review.

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos is a spy/crime thriller that will have you holding your breath until the last page.

This books dual timelines of the Past and Present seems to merge into one great story. In the present we are following Sheriff Porter Beck, our narrator, who grew up in the town. Beck enlisted in the Army and served in Intelligence. He served in the shadows, in places he could never discuss. Now he has returned to his home town to become the Sheriff. Then we have the past, taking place in the 1950s during the testing of nuclear bombs in Nevada’s desert.

Beck is happy being in his small quiet small town, when all of a sudden there are several deaths in his jurisdiction. The story opens up with the investigation of a brutal crime scene of a murdered FBI agent. The scene reviles the FBI Agent was tortured. With these clues a hunt for a hidden Russian mole is underway.

Something far more serious and complicated is going on. Soon they will learn the case has ties to events from the 1950's and Beck's career in the Army intelligence in Russia.

The Bitter Past is a fast-paced blend of police procedural, espionage thriller, and historical fiction that grabs the reader on the first page and never lets go. A really good mystery and I can’t wait to read more about Beck in this upcoming series.

The Bitter Past is a nice debut from Bruce Borgos.

"Sheriff Beck gets a call to a murder scene where it looks like the victim, a retired FBI agent, was tortured. The killer was obviously after some information but what was it? Did the killer get what he came for? Does it have anything to do with the county being close to the old Nuclear testing areas of the 50's? Beck must get answers if he wants to find and stop the killer."

This is crime fiction - but with the flavor of Cold War espionage. The setting is part of wide-open Nevada - a big county with few people and fewer law enforcement personnel. There are multiple layers to several characters. Sheriff Beck is full of surprises - from his military background and medical condition. The killer - hiding in plain sight. And probably my favorite character is Brin - Beck's sister. I hope we get a future book with her as the main character.
This book has dual timelines. The present and past events from the 50s that have everyone looking for answers.
The reveal was a surprise and the ending makes me want to visit Nevada. There's also some interesting tidbits about the fallout from previous nuclear testing.
Borgos has great pace in this book. It's Cold War fiction with a modern twist. Can't wait to see more.

I read this in a day and want more! This is a great story of a former military intelligence office who has settled down in Nevada as Sheriff of Lincoln County. A surprising murder that draws the interest of the FBI pulls him back into the days of the Cold War and, why not, Area 51.
The story telling is magnificent and truly captured the feeling of the Cold War, both in the flashbacks and in how it hangs over us today. I can't wait for more in this series, highly recommend! Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Former Army Intelligence turned Nevada Sheriff Porter Beck is a sheriff in a large, sparsely populated county in Northern Nevada. All things are fairly routine for him and his department until a former FBI agent is found to have been brutally tortured and murdered. The case has links back to the Cold War when they tested nuclear weapons in the desert of Nevada in the 1950s. When an FBI agent shows up to assist, Porter wonders if there's more to this case than meets the eye.

This is the first in a series featuring Porter Beck. I enjoyed the character building and the plot. The story is told in two timelines; the present investigation and in the 1950s at the Nevada testing site. I enjoyed both timelines but found myself more interested in the past timeline as it took Beck's character a little bit to grow on me. I enjoyed the other characters in the book and the pacing made this book hard to put down. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. If you like a snarky, punny sheriff then this one is worth a read!

My thanks to Saint Martin's Press, Minotaur, authorBruce Borgos, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

An intriguing story. I enjoyed the characters in this book. The mystery in the story is mixed in with a story from the past. The story in the past brings up a time in US history that often is ignored. The transitions between the past and current time worked really well. Both stories were interesting and kept me reading to find out how it would end. I enjoyed the book a lot. I received advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Beck is the local sheriff in a rural county in Nevada. Not too many crazy things happen there until a former FBI agent is found tortured. Along comes FBI Agent Sana Locke to help hunt down the killer. Beck soon finds out that the killings are linked to the past and the nuclear testing that happened in the area. Can Sheriff Beck and Special Agent Sana Locke figure out who the killer is before its too late?

The book is told in two different timelines past and present. The past is told in a Russian spies POV. The Russian spy worked in Nevada trying to get information. The present is told in Sheriff Beck's POV. At first I didn't like Beck, but he grew on me. I thought Beck was an insanely smart cop. I also liked Brin, she seemed like such a badass female character. I would have liked to see more of her! I did call one of the twists early on but was surprised on the other!

Being from Utah, I always like reading books where I am familiar-ish with the locations. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of the book!

This Revenge Was Not Served Cold

The novel opens with a very gruesome murder scene. An FBI agent, who has been retired for 20 years, is found bound and terribly tortured. Sheriff Porter Beck tells a deputy to notify the Las Vegas FBI office of the retired agent’s death. When an FBI agent from Washington, D.C. arrives, Beck learns that this FBI agent was still searching for an illegal Soviet spy that worked in the nearby atomic testing grounds. From this start, an engrossing novel of espionage and revenge wrapped in a police procedural begins.

There are three major threads in the main storyline. The first is all flashbacks and tells the story of a Soviet spy at the Nevada atomic test site. This thread merges with the current thread which is the hunt for a Russian assassin killing people looking for that spy. The last thread is about kidnapping of a young wife from a breakaway polygamist Mormon sect. With the assassin killing the Soviet spy last handler and another man who could be the Soviet spy, and the kidnapping of a young wife, the tension is cranked up to high very quickly. The author masterfully weaves these threads, especially the flashbacks, into an easy to follow and very captivating story. I was hooked quickly. I could not stop reading and finished it in 75% of my average reading time.

As this novel appears to be a stand-alone, the background on Sheriff Beck is quite extensive. Most of it is provided through Beck’s interactions, thoughts, and conversations with the FBI agent. There was a quick thread when he was a military attaché in the US Embassy in Moscow. This provides Beck with experience in the dark world of espionage. In addition to the Beck’s background, there is a very interesting B-storyline between one of his best deputies, Arshal Jessup and his brother Amon who is an elder in a local Mormon sect. This storyline also plays heavily in the kidnapping portion of the main storyline. To add to this, there are two C-storylines in the novel. The first is the relations ship between Arshal and Amon that changes over the course of the novel. The second is the story of the illegal Soviet spy into US intelligence asset. All these aspects added much richness to the novel and enhanced my reading enjoyment.

As for the aspects that may cause some readers to stop reading, there may be reasons for concern with this novel. There is on brief intimate scene, and some innuendo. There is rude and vulgar language but not excessive. There is more impious language than I’ve seen in the novels I read. Violence is described in the edgier as it occurs, but after the fact for the more gruesome violence. There are not any previous novels, so there are not any issues concerning anything in this novel that depends upon a previous novel.

This novel has in spades all the aspects for me to have a high-star rating. The main storyline with a rich background story and rich B- and C-storylines quickly captured my interest. Probably, my time in the Navy military and civilian made the cavalier sharing of classified information bothersome for me. Then, I also noticed that the author changed history, physics, and chemistry to reinforce the main storyline. For me, these aspects decreased my reading enjoyment. This is a work of fiction, and these aspects were needed to facilitate the flow of the novel. As these aspects may be more personal to me, I am mentioning them and, let you decide. I really like the last chapter. I do recommend reading this novel for most readers. While for most readers, this can be a five-star read, for me it was a four-star read.

I received a free prepublication e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press. My review is based only on my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

I stopped at the 30% mark and did not finish this book. I did not like the main character, Sheriff Beck. I found his point of view to be sexist and insulting that he could only make physical observations about the female FBI agent. He stayed hung up on her looks instead of her intelligence or other characteristics. I'm sure others will like this book, but it just was not for me.

This is an interesting book that is part mystery (whodunit) and part history, dealing with the nuclear testing in the desert out west. The hero, a sheriff named Porter Beck, is a reluctant but thorough investigator and his interaction with the FBI agent sent in to investigate the murder of a former agent was witty and engaging. I enjoyed the mystery but the graphic details of the crime scene were a bit over the top for me. I also thought that there were a lot of characters to keep track of, both in the current time and in the past during the 1950’s. With a Russian spy as part of the plot, the book was riveting at times and at other times, I thought it had a slow pace with a lot of extra details that were not necessary to the main storyline. The characters were realistically flawed and well developed, the plot was intricate and mostly entertaining. I thought that some of the scenes were written just for shock value and shock me they did. So, I guess horror could be included as a sub-genre as well as some sci-fi being in the mix, too. It was hard for me to like any of the characters or relate to them but that is not because they were not well-developed. The story was just so involved that I felt I needed to take notes to keep up with what was happening, during which time frame and who was involved in all of the events. Lots to like about this book! I am kind of on the fence about whether I would read another book in this series due to the aforementioned graphic details as well as the pace of the book, but it does seem to be a good start to a series that crosses multiple genres.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

There are secrets deep in the Nevada desert from long ago. Why is there a dead retired FBI agent who it seems was killed by a Russian spy and what has it got to do with the present day...What or who is the spy looking for after all these years? Sheriff Beck is determined to find out with or without the help of the FBI agent who comes to town supposedly to help him.

Lincoln County, Nevada is not somewhere many people have been and certainly not somewhere written about and, yet, it was the perfect setting for this mystery/police procedural with two feet - one in the past and one in the present. I know and have spent time in this part of the state and the author captured it brilliantly. I immediately fell for the protagonist of this tory -- Porter Beck -- as he tries to uncover a huge mystery and solve a few murders along the way. The setting was fantastic, the pacing perfect and I read this in one day. I can't wait for more!

The Bitter Past comes out next week on July 18, 2023, and you can purchase HERE! I loved this book and can't wait for more from this series!

We don't have a lot of murder in Lincoln County. The long stretches of open road provide us with more than our share of high-speed vehicular deaths, the images of which can haunt your dreams, but there just isn't a lot of people killing other people on purpose. When we do encounter it, it's never like this. This is something from Hell.

For a debut novel, it was very propulsive. The dual timelines kept me interested, and I found myself more intrigued by the 1957 period than present. My only hesitation with the story was between Beck and Sana. They way Beck spoke to her and her role seemed cliche. I would recommend this novel, with the caveat that he doesn’t really write women well.

If you’re a fan of spy thrillers or police procedurals, you should check out The Bitter Past, a debut novel which I had trouble putting down once I’d started it. The story is set in the high desert of Nevada, in an area that was used for above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s. Porter Beck is the sheriff in Lincoln County, which is a sparsely populated area in eastern Nevada, north of Las Vegas and near the Utah border. The action is mostly set in contemporary times, with flashbacks to the mid-1950s, which revolved around Russian operatives embedded in the US’s nuclear testing facilities back then. The fallout (literal and figurative) from those times has had a big impact on the present day. A retired FBI agent is found gruesomely murdered and a current FBI agent, Sana Locke comes to town to work with the locals on this case. Then a young Mormon woman goes missing. Suddenly, Beck and his small department have multiple investigations going on at the same time, which strain their capacity.

I enjoyed the main character, who has a background in Army intelligence and who was stationed in Russia for several years. He has started to develop night blindness from a condition that is hereditary, and that brought an end to his military career. He has been hiding this problem for quite a while, but it’s getting worse and is starting to impact his police work. His father was the previous sheriff and is suffering from the beginnings of dementia. Since this is the start of a series, it will be interesting to see how Beck’s night blindness proceeds. Beck has a penchant for puns and corny jokes, and that helped to lighten the atmosphere at times. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of him getting personally involved with Agent Locke so quickly, but that’s a minor quibble. There were a couple of really big twists near the end of the book, which I didn’t see coming.

The Nevada desert landscape was so beautifully described. You also get a good feel for how far apart everything is in that region, and how easy it can be to be isolated or go “off the grid.”

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook narrator, James Babson, did a wonderful job.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

4.5 I am so surprised at how much I enjoyed this story! This is not my typical pick, but I am so happy I picked this up. Our lovable main character Sheriff Beck is thrown into a world of Russian spies and a high-stakes case in his rural Nevada county.

The pace is fast moving and the tone manages to stay light throughout, making this a fun and quick read. But although it is quick, I don’t feel like it’s forgettable. The inclusion of the historical timeline was a pleasant surprise and I thought these sections were done well.

I honestly can’t wait for the next installment of this series to follow these characters again!

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

The Bitter Past is the first book in the Porter Beck series. This is a story about espionage and a mystery that is told in two timelines, the 1950's and the present.

In the present Porter Beck is the sheriff in a community north of Las Vegas, Nevada near area 51. Beck is called to the home of a retired FBI agent where he was brutally tortured and murdered. An FBI agent arrives and begins to help Porter with his investigation. Beck wonders why a retired FBI agent would be tortured and murdered, what could they be after.

In the 1950's the nuclear race is a focus between various countries. A young Russian spy has infiltrated a nuclear testing site in Nevada. The spy disappears and all his secrets go with him. Beck and Sana find the files of the dead FBI agent and are in a race against time to find the spy.

This was an interesting story with many twists and turns throughout. I liked this story, and it held my attention until the final reveal. The story is well written, and the characters were likeable. Looking forward to reading the next in the series.

***ARC received from Minotaur Books and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

The Bitter Past is a mix of murder mystery in present day and espionage set during the cold war with a missing Russian spy that holds the truth of what nearly went horribly wrong. I found that this book started with a bang, immediately drawing my interest in both the present and past. It got a little muddled during the middle but ended strong setting up a new series.

Porter Beck is a sheriff out in the desert dealing with a gruesome murder not often seen out in the desert that draws the attention of the feds. I liked Beck, he was a solid lead for a new series, smart, gruff but not bitter and with limitations that will make things interesting in the future. Unfortunately the secondary characters tend to fall more into stereotypes that fully fleshed out characters but its still just the first book, there is time to let them build into more than just stereotypes. I did really like Brinley, she seems like someone always wanting to escape small town but fiercely loyal to her family and the way she and Beck treat their father is very sweet. I wouldn’t say her mental health issues were handled in the best manner in this book but again, only the first book.

The writing is descent, sometimes the dialogue can get a little clunky and confusing to follow as characters repeat exactly what the other just said. I know its normal in certain situations to just repeat and add when talking but in reading it gets a little confusing. The writer clearly knows a lot about Nevada and takes great care in crafting and bringing alive the area that he clearly loves.

After a strong start the middle in present time gets a little lost as it introduces a few too many plot elements that get muddled. Yes they impact the main story but it just doesn’t feel necessary. I wish they had spent more time in the past. The scenes from the 50s are the best of the book and keep the middle sections going while the present timeline gets a little lost. As he spends more and more time with the people of Nevada suffering from the fallout of nuclear testing he slowly sees the truth of what the Cold War is doing and could do to both Americans and Russians. Its a good tight narrative that keeps the book moving toward its conclusion.

At the end I was able to figure out who the Russian spy was, how the characters were that were not all the were portrayed as and I’m not mad about it. As much as I like not being able to figure out the twist there is a satisfaction in having your suspicions play out and I got that from the book. Granted who the Russian spy has a lot of misdirection that make you think it could be other characters that never feel forced.

This was a good start for a new mystery and I’m interested to see where it goes and how the revelations in this book impact Beck in the future.

5 stars

This book is a little out of my typical reading selections, which makes me even more surprised that I enjoyed it this much. Rather than speeding through it (a common m.o. I admit to somewhat begrudgingly), I tried to really slow down with this one. Then, when I was almost finished with an e-version, I received the gift of audio. What do you know? I just had to read it twice in a row!

Porter Beck, the m.c. on which an apparent series will now be based, is the kind of guy you might want to punch in the face (I did) at first because of the creepy way he talks about women, but he gets into a consenting relationship with a woman who seems to dig it (and it's not the worst - just cringy - the bar is low these days), so it's passable. Fortunately, everything else about this character is pretty great, including his voice and perspective, which kept me engaged in two separate versions. For me, the even more intriguing character is in the (now fairly distant) past, a (then) young Russian spy (one day those of us with similar origins will find some other representation, but okay...paging Elizabeth Jennings). The jumps between the present day and this character's experiences are so well devised. There's never a feeling of abruptness or disconnection. Instead, the timelines build suspense, provide critical insights for readers, and keep the plot speeding toward an ending that I found absolutely worthy of the characters and of my time!

I could do without Beck's brand of "romancing," but even with some related eyerolls over here, he's a great character whom I'm thrilled is getting his own series, mostly because I want to see many more appearances from his family members - chosen and otherwise. This book concludes nicely (no frustrating cliffhangers or major unanswered questions), but there are definite and obvious opportunities for continued expansion. I'm already ready for the next one and will be aggressively trying to lay eyes (or ears) on it as soon as possible.