★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE BITTER PAST ABOUT?
Porter Beck is the Sherriff of Lincoln County, Nevada. We meet him as he and his deputies are looking at a horrific crime scene. A retired FBI Agent has been tortured and killed, and Beck and his crew are clueless as to why.

Well, that's not entirely true—Beck has an idea, but he needs the autopsy results before he starts to act on it. Before he came back home and became Sherrif, Beck was in Army Intelligence and recognizes signs of a Russian Foreign Intelligence Service operation. An FBI Agent has been sent to look into the case and works alongside the Sherrif's department, Beck confronts Special Agent Sana Locke about this and she comes clean.

The dead agent had spent decades trying to find a Russian agent who had infiltrated US nuclear tests in the 1950s, and there's a reason to think that the Russians have come to find that agent for themselves. It's up to Beck and Agent Locke to stop them.

The only way I can sense to talk about this book is to focus on each timeline/storyline separately.

THE PRESENT
We spend a lot of time getting to know Beck and his deputies—a colorful and interesting batch that I hope we get to spend a lot more time with in the years to come. We also get to know Beck's father—the former Sherrif, now battling dementia—and his adoptive sister, a firearms expert and instructor (who could probably be the protagonist in a series of her own).

In addition to trying to find either the killer or the agent the killer was looking for (in order to find the killer), they have to deal with a missing woman from an FLDS compound.

Both active cases stretch the small department to the limits—it's a large county (roughly the same area as Maryland)—and tensions within the department staff start to build as they do their best to cover routine duties as well as pursue (and generate) leads.

We don't get to me a lot of non-law enforcement residents of Lincoln County, I assume that'll change in future books—but those that we do tell me that I want to meet more of them.

THE PAST
In the mid-to-late 1950s* the US conducted several tests of nuclear weapons in the desert of Lincoln County. Our Russian Agent, Lt. Georgiy Dudko of the KGB, had spent a long time preparing to come to America and pass himself off as an American citizen**. Once here, he got hired on as a security guard on the base that conducted the testing and started gathering information for Moscow as worked his way into better and better positions on base.

* and maybe later, too—I'm not sure of the history off the top of my head, and it's beyond the scope of this post to get into that.
** Think of the FX show The Americans but Georgiy never got to wear any of the impossibly great wigs. Poor guy.

Georgiy never lost sight of his mission—but at some point questioned some of his orders. He thought they damaged his overall mission and he had other moral/ethical concerns that I really can't get into. But this led to the Present-time story, so the reader is able to start putting the pieces together right away.

This is largely background material, but that doesn't keep Borgos from keeping it as gripping as if it's the only story in the novel. Early in this story, I saw it as background and was in a hurry to get back to Beck's storyline. That ended quickly and I didn't want to step away from Georgiy's story—even once I knew pretty much how things had to go. And my notes say that a lot.

THE SETTING
Obviously, the setting of any book is vital to the overall novel—you can't tell Elvis Cole or Harry Bosch stories outside of L.A. (with a couple of exceptions), Spenser and Kenzie & Gennaro need Boston, Walt Longmire and Joe Pickett have to have their stories in Wyoming—the geography, the character of their homes, and the history of the area shape and form the people, crimes, and type of stories you can tell.

The same is true here—these are stories that can only be told in this part of the world. The history of the area informs so much of this novel that it cannot be overstated—but the empty spaces, the long distances between neighbors, and the amount of territory Beck's department is responsible for are just as important as that history. It's a perfect combination of locale and subject.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE BITTER PAST?
I cannot believe that I haven't been reading these books for years—I felt right at home with the characters almost instantly. I could feel the rapport between them—even between Beck and his rival deputy—as solidly as if this were the fifth book in the series.

I want to spend some time discussing a couple of the deputies at length, but I've gone on too long already. So I'll just leave it by mentioning my favorite parts of the book. There are a couple of scenes of Beck and the deputies looking around crime scenes and dissecting them—each pointing out evidence and trying to build an explanation for what's before them, what happened during the crime, etc. Yes, Beck's the Sherriff and has the most experience, but it's a true team effort, which is just a joy to watch. If Borgos gives me a couple of those in every book, I will be reading him for as long as it already feels like I have been.

That opening crime scene is grisly—I can't think of anything worse since M. W. Craven's The Puppet Show—and any reader is going to want to read about that killer being stopped.

Borgos puts enough wit and humor in both storylines to keep things from getting too bogged down in blood and intrigue (and nuclear fallout), the characters are all the kind you want to spend more time with (even the Russian spy), and the cases are intriguing. The pacing is perfect—he keeps you turning pages and trying to guess at what's coming next without keeping things at a breakneck speed, so you can enjoy the scenery and his well-put-together sentences.

I don't know if Borgos will be able to structure another book like this—and I frankly don't care. If all we get is Beck and his crew, I'm fine. If he does have another trick like this up his sleeve, I'm all for that, too.

I strongly recommend this book—particularly for fans of Craig Johnson and C.J. Box. This is the beginning of the next great Western Mystery series. I'd have ordered Book 2 already if the option existed, and I think I won't be alone in that.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post--thanks to both for this.

Deep thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Publishing and Minotaur Books for the ARC of "The Bitter Past" in exchange for an honest review.
Attention all avid readers......here comes one of those books that we all hope and pray for, the kind of non-stop read we never stop searching for.
You know the book I mean. The one that turns all the daily things we put up with .(meals, work, chores, sleep, TV news, etc. etc.) into annoying distractions........annoying and distracting
because they're keeping us from feverishly turning pages of this book to see what happens next.
Yes..... it's that kind of book.
This one pushed all kinds of buttons for me. I've always loved stories set in the arid, lonely and forbidding deserts of the American Southwest. And that would also account for why I'm additionally obsessed with the mid-40's to 1950's history that unfolded amidst that landscape - the development and testing of the atomic bomb. Of course that includes everything that came with it.........the cavalier test detonations that sent deadly radiation floating into the winds and the frenzy and fear about Russian spies, trained to look and sound like us while they steal our vital top secrets.
"The Bitter Past" throws together all of those elements in one big suspenseful package........it's a contemporary breathless thriller whose seemingly endless twists and turns have their roots firmly in the past.....back to the atomic espionage in the 1950's Northern Nevada deserts.
That's the mystery facing Sheriff Porter Beck as he investigates the beyond horrific torture and murder of an elderly retired FBI agent. And he finds himself both perplexed and entranced by his most unlikely ally in his hunt for the killer -FBI agent Sana Locke, stunning to behold, but sitting on any number of secrets of her own.
Flashbacks to 1957 also unfold, where a deep cover Russian spy-saboteur manages to infiltrate an atomic testing site posing as an all-American security guard......even to the point of courting the daughter of the scientist in charge of of the site of a new, highly unusual test.
Put all of this together and you've got a mystery-suspense-action-adventure thriller guaranteed to make you want to put off everything I listed earlier.....meals, work, chores, sleep, shopping, etc, etc. When the plot twists start poppin', they come at you like a literal hailstorm of surprises......and in the rapidly steamy banter of Beck and Locke, there's laugh out loud wit, a duel of two suspicious minds, and the all the simmering sexual combustion that comes with them.
Since I've now given what I think is pretty accurate description of a 5 star read, I'll end the review right here....except to mention thriller fans need to jump this one to the very top of their TBR's. Enough said?

Told in two timelines, The Bitter Past is a combination of historical fiction, mystery, and espionage.

1950's The nuclear race is on! A young Russian spy has infiltrated a nuclear testing site in Nevada.

Present - Porter Beck is the sheriff in a community north of Las Vegas, Nevada where his father once was sheriff. He came home to help care for his father who now had dementia.

When a retired FBI agent is found brutally murdered, the clues point back to the 1950s and the nuclear testing site. Things get even more interesting when an FBI agent working alone shows up and begins to help Porter with his investigation. Porter will rely on the skills he learned as an intelligence officer in the Army to help with his investigation.

I struggled a little with the writing and found that I was never fully invested in the plot. When there are two timelines, I tend to enjoy one over the other. I found that I enjoyed the timeline in the past more. I wanted to know if the Russian spy would ever get caught, what he would learn, would he get away, etc. In the present, I never warmed to Sana, the FBI agent who showed up alone to help. I also didn't quite buy into the instant attraction between the Porter and Sana. In fact, I found it annoying. Although I enjoyed Porter, it was his sister, Brinley, who became a favorite for me. She had a personality that I enjoyed.

I did enjoy how the author brought the two timelines together. I found this to be well thought out and a nice touch.

Others are enjoying this much more than I did. Please read their reviews as well.

This was a gripping first book in a new series and I couldn't put it down. The characters are great. The plot is full of intrigue and surprises. There were twists I didn't see coming. Plenty of action and fast pacing kept me turning pages. I'll definitely be on the lookout for the next one!

This memorable thriller includes history, espionage, police procedure, and a riveting mystery. It was complex and well-constructed, with intriguing characters and proceeded rapidly to an action-packed and startling conclusion. An underlying theme is the compulsion and cost of doing the right thing against orders.

The story is set in the high desert of Nevada, about 150 miles from Los Vegas. Currently, Sheriff Porter Beck has jurisdiction over a widespread area with sparse inhabitants. It is relatively crime-free. He had worked in intelligence for the American government in various places and spent time in Russia. He now follows his father's profession as sheriff, which covers the same area where his father worked. His father is now in his 80s and showing signs of dementia with short-term memory loss. Beck has an adopted sister, Brinley, an expert in weapons.

The peace of the area under Beck's control is shattered by the gut-wrenching torture and murder of an elderly, retired FBI man. Furthermore, it seems someone is targeting elderly men. Why? Clues lead back to a time from 1951 to 1957 when the nuclear testing site was nearby. In the early days, a Russian spy was able to infiltrate the heavily restricted and guarded area and pass on secrets to his mother country. Now, someone is looking for that spy who may hold a long-hidden secret of something that happened there and has been covered up. It is now believed that people and livestock were victims of nuclear fallout from the tests resulting in miscarriages and lethal cancers that the government ignored in their race for nuclear superiority over the Russians.

We learn about the layout of the testing site and some early events around Area 51 through the eyes of a young recruit, Freddy. He is in love with Kitty, the daughter of a powerful man who controls some areas and promotions. The Russian spy was ordered to steal a dirty bomb to be exploded over Los Vegas. The spy that an unknown person is looking for today, if still alive, would be in his 80s or early 90s. He must be killed before revealing what he knows.

As Beck begins his investigation with the help of his small staff, an alluring FBI agent Sana shows up to help. There are reports of some vandalized graves. A young married woman has vanished from a religious cult, and there is an effort to find her before she is killed. This serves as a distraction from espionage events of the 1950s, but could there be an unlikely connection? Beck and Sana begin a romantic relationship, but can she be trusted? There is a complicated entanglement where false identities and names must be clarified. Now, Sana has been abducted, and Beck goes all out to rescue her and the missing girl from the cult. He recruits his sister, Brinley, for support and help. There are intense, heart-pounding action scenes, with the offer to trade Sana for the elderly Russian spy, or Sana will be tortured and killed.

This a stellar debut by the writer Bruce Borgos, and I can't wait to see what Beck does in the next book of an expected series. As Area 51 is now believed by conspiracists to be hiding remains of crashed UFOs and alien bodies, maybe he could take a look at that? Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this gripping ARC. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy spy thrillers and mysteries. It is due to be published on July 18.

This is such a good story filled with adventure, Russian spies and murder with so many twists and turns. Beck is the sheriff of a very large area in desert of Nevada. When an ex-FBI agent is found dead after being tortured, Beck has his hands full trying to find the killer. An FBI agent shows up in his office to help. Is she really trying to help? When more dead bodies show up, Beck knows he has to find out about the past before he can set things right in the present.

This suspenseful police procedural is set in the Nevada desert and told from the past and present. Beck is a retired Army officer who is now the Sheriff of a small jurisdiction. The plot is a page turning event that will keep readers glued to the pages. Beck, Sana and the other characters are wonderful and entertaining. For the start of a series, the author has made a bang. Readers will thoroughly delighted by the story and be eagerly anticipating the next in series.

Sheriff Porter Beck is investigating the gruesome murder of a retired FBI agent. He was basically skinned and then burned on face! Sheriff Beck works with Waldell which bucks everything Beck wants to do. You also have Tuffy she is really good on investigations. Then you have Sana Locke FBI that comes to help Sheriff Beck whom he starts developing a crush on. Beck’s dad had been the sheriff in this Nevada town for year’s previously but had developed dementia. Multiple murders start happening and Sheriff Beck needs to find the common denominator.

This was set in the mid 50’s and it starts out with Freddie really liking Kitty and he is fascinated with working at Area 51 with her father an engineer there!

This is a thriller beyond and it was interesting to see how easy it is to infiltrate oneself where they definitely do not belong. I am waiting for more in this series!

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I devoured this exciting story! Part spy thriller and part historical fiction, this novel is all action. With a flawed but fetching hero and an otherwise brilliant cast of characters, this story of the Cold War and its ripples moves surely and swiftly. Really well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

Publicity is placing this book in the ranks of Craig Johnson and C.J. Box. In some ways, that's where it belongs. It features a Western sheriff, ex-miliary, with a beautiful and gutsy love interest and partner in solving crime. Very Longmirish. Sheriff Porter Beck heads up the very small law enforcement team of a very rural county in a part of Nevada adjacent to an Atomic Energy Commission area where the American nuclear weapon program was launched and tested.

The book opens with a gruesome scene; a retired FBI agent has been viciously tortured. If you are squeamish, I would suggest skipping this opening. To make sense of the book, it's only necessary to know the torture happened. Beck's investigation is shortly joined by a beautiful female FBI agent, and the hunt for the killer begins. The book moves back and forth between Beck's investigation and the mid-1950s when a Russian spy was involved at the nuclear testing facility. The plot is complicated, with most of the characters hiding something in their past. Part of this sets up the relationship between the Cold War, Russian and American spies, and modern day Nevada while part of it sets up the series. There's a lot going on, maybe too much, but it all comes together at the end of a very fast-paced exciting book.

Beck has several characteristics that play into the plot as well as adding depth to his character. At the start of the book, his "awe-shucks" approach to interactions was annoying, but it gave way to his intelligence, photographic memory, sense of humor, and wide-ranging training. Over time, he became a likeable character who should stand up well as the series progresses. I will be looking for his next book to see if Borgos can tone it down just a tad while keeping the tension high.

I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller. The story goes back and forth between the 1950's atomic testing in Nevada to the present day where there have been gruesome murders committed. There's a Russian spy, long held secrets, and a Sheriff who has to make sense of all of it.

If you think the government cares about the people, you really need to read this book to be dissuaded of that notion. It doesn’t, and it hasn’t cared about its citizens for a very long time. This tale takes us back to the mid 1950s and the secret experiments conducted near Area 51. And the people in charge will tell the public any lie and do whatever is necessary to protect government secrets.

What do the gruesome murder of a retired FBI agent and a Russian spy who infiltrated the Nevada Proving Ground in the 1950s have in common? The US government used this area to test atomic weapons. The spy from long ago is still alive, and his motherland is looking for him before his secrets are spilled. They'll stop at nothing, leaving a string of human carnage along their search. And it's up to Sheriff Beck Porter and his small staff to stop them.

This was a bit of a slow start for me, bit within a few chapters I was enthralled. The only thing dry and dusty about this police procedural was its desert location. The sheriff with the eidetic memory learns quickly that things are not as they seem, and people are not who they claim to be, with some of it hitting too close to home.

This was my first novel by this masterful wordsmith but it certainly won’t be my last. Riveting and intriguing with jaw-dropping twists, this one is sure to please mystery and suspense readers everywhere.

This book was part mystery as Beck tries to solve a recent murder in his county. But it soon turns out to be something much more, and turns into a bit spy thriller, bit mystery. I absolutely loved this combination as these are two of my favourite types of books! The beginning with the interaction between Beck and Sana reminded me a bit of Archie Goodwin and noir so I was happy from the very beginning.

I did figure out two of the major plot twists, but it didn't detract from the overall story. Still a very satisfying read.

I wanted to like this book. I did like this book. The story build up and layers throughout were well done.

What I did not like or appreciate were the religious puns, negative comments, and bad mouthing organized religion. I think they are excessive and without adding value.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review this book. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

An interesting mix of a Cold War era spy novel and a modern day murder mystery set in Nevada near the site of the 1950s nuclear tests. The story goes back and forth between the two time periods but the juxtaposition was well done and was never confusing. I certainly hope that the author tends to write more books featuring Porter Beck.

A small town is rocked by a horrible murder/torture of an elderly man in his home but when the FBI arrive in town sheriff Porter Beck knows there's more going on here. With the help of a beautiful FBI agent Beck is determined to get to the bottom of this murder and quickly because more bodies of elderly men are turning up.
A fast paced story that starts out gruesome. I enjoyed it but found the random sex thoughts by the sheriff were done at inappropriate times which sort of made it turn away from the seriousness of the situation. Otherwise the story was interesting and entertaining.

In the 1950’s the Russian government sent spies to the proving grounds where the first Atomic bomb was being developed. One of those spies was asked to steal something but after seeing what the effects were from the plutonium, he made a decision that would have long reaching effects.
Now a community is faced with a murder and a missing girl and oddly a vandalizing of graves. Fifty years after the development of the Atomic bomb.
Full of action, witty dialogue, subterfuge and a rather surprising ending, great read and I highly recommend.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.

I am grateful to NetGalley for an advance copy of The Bitter Past. A 4.5 for me. This is one wild ride. Mr. Borgos has given readers a thrilling spy yarn. It starts with a present-day gruesome murder of a retired FBI agent in Nevada. The story involves the atomic trials of the 50’s in the Nevada desert. The protagonist is local sheriff, Porter Beck, who brings his own history in Russia to the story. He is a really likable character. He’s told “you have a problem with authority” and replies ‘I spent almost twenty years in the Army, lady. Of course I have a problem with authority.” It’s observed that he is quick-witted and doesn’t take himself too seriously. That’s what makes him a likable character but he is dead serious about his family and his mission. He has great skill and instinct, making him extremely effective. This is a fast-paced, tense, but fun, tale. I look forward to more from Mr. Borgos. This is scheduled for release in mid-July. Mark you calendar!

4.5/5⭐️

Porter Beck, the sheriff of a high desert Nevada county north of Las Vegas, is suddenly thrown into the brutal torture/murder investigation of an ex-FBI agent living off the grid. Following the clues, he finds the case might be related to the 1950s atomic testing in the area and the race to thwart the Russians. As elderly males are being targeted by an assassin, he and his trusty team of deputies, his former-sheriff father and his expert markswoman sister must put the pieces together to uncover decades-long secrets and why they’re being brought to light now.

Beck is a humorous, loyal, highly intelligent character with a shadowy military past, and I’m guessing lots of layers to unravel. As this is billed as a series-starter, I’ll be happy to follow along for the unveiling as I really loved this beginning. I was impressed with the writing, the story flow, the character development and the suspense. Told in dual timelines, I found the ‘50s storyline equally interesting and horrifying, and I was engaged with how the author weaved the two stories together.

I’m always looking for a new and exciting mystery/thriller series to follow, and with this introduction of Porter Beck, I think I’ve found it.

Recommended.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for providing the free early ARC of The Bitter Past for review. The opinions are strictly my own.